Women Rulers
Although the Maya preferred rulership to pass to sons and not daughters, the eighth ruler of Palenque was a woman. Her name was Yohl Ik'nal and she ruled for twenty years. She was most likely the sister or daughter of the previous ruler, Kan B'ahlam I.
El Perú (also known as Waka') is a site in northwestern Guatemala. At this site, archaeologists have discovered the almost untouched burial tomb of a Maya queen which dates to approximately 800AD. The queen’s skull and leg bone are missing, and were possibly removed to be used as relics. Though her name, lineage, and cause of death are not known, it is believed that the queen was between 30 and 45 at her death. Inside the tomb archaeologists found more than 1,600 artifacts, including a plated helmet with jade plaques, and a small jade carving of a deity in profile, which were worn by Maya royalty. Stingray spines, which were commonly used for ritual bloodletting, were also found, placed upon the queen’s pelvis in the tomb. According to David Freidel of Southern Methodist University, the placement of the spines may served to represent the queen as both male and female.
Read more about this topic: Women In Maya Society
Famous quotes containing the words women and/or rulers:
“I had heard so much about how hard it was supposed to be that, when they were little, I thought it would be horrible when they got married and left. But that’s silly you know. . . . By the time they grow up, they change and you change. Eventually, they’re not the same little kids and you’re not the same mother. It’s as if everything just falls into a pattern and you’re ready.”
—Anonymous Mother. As quoted in Women of a Certain Age, by Lillian B. Rubin, ch. 2 (1979)
“Of the best rulers The people only know that they exist; The next best they love and praise The next they fear; And the next they revile. When they do not command the people’s faith, Some will lose faith in them, And then they resort to oaths! But of the best when their task is accomplished, their work done, The people all remark, “We have done it ourselves.””
—Lao-Tzu (6th century B.C.)