Murals: Twin Myth (Popol Vuh) and Maize Myth
As Saturno, Stuart and Taube have argued, the murals on the northern and western walls of the chamber in the base of the temple pyramid ('Pinturas Sub-1') depict elements of Maya creation mythology reminiscent of the Popol Vuh as well as of Yucatec cosmological traditions.
The north wall mural consists of two scenes. One scene is situated in front of a mountain cave (belonging to the Flower Mountain); several persons are walking and kneeling on a large serpent. The Maya maize god is shown in the midst of a group of men and women, while receiving (or perhaps bequeathing) a vine calabash. The other scene shows four babies, with their umbilical cords still attached, surrounding a calabash, which has now split up and from which a fifth, and fully clothed male emerges. A large deity figure watches the scene.
The west wall mural has a far greater number of scenes. One part of the mural has four successive images of trees with birds, kings, and sacrifices (consisting of fish, deer, turkey, and fragrant blossoms), to which a fifth tree has been added. The five trees are comparable to the directional trees of the Codex Borgia and to those mentioned in the Book of Chilam Balam of Chumayel; the associated birds represent the Principal Bird Deity. The sacrifices are comparable to those in the Year Bearer section of the Dresden Codex. The first four kings are shown piercing their penises (see fig.), spilling sacrificial blood, then offering a sacrifice. These four kings have been interpreted as personifications of Hunahpu. The fifth figure, associated with a fifth tree belonging to the centre - the tree of life itself - is the Maya maize god. The directional representation as a whole might refer to the initial arrangement of the world.
Another part of the western mural depicts three scenes from the life of the maize god and the coronation of a king, showing divine right to rule coming from the gods, and providing evidence that the Maya had full-fledged monarchies centuries earlier than previously thought. The three maize god scenes show (i) a maize baby held by a man kneeling in the waters, (ii) the maize god inside a turtle cave, dancing before two enthroned deities, and (iii) the maize god flying in the sky, or perhaps falling from the sky down into the water. Scene (iii) has been suggested to represent the death of the maize deity.
Read more about this topic: San Bartolo (Maya Site)
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