Queen Moo's Talisman: The Fall of the Maya Empire

								

refreshed by the nourishing rain which, then particularly, after a
season of drought, pours down upon those latitudes where the Maya
nation had its birth.
The Maypole dance is yet performed among the natives of Yucatan, the
land where it probably originated. The dancers are invariably thirteen
in number, which may be another reminiscence of the land submerged
beneath the waves of the Atlantic on the thirteenth day of the Maya
month of Zac.
This Maypole dance, called in Yucatan “Ribbon Dance” is unquestionably
a vestige of sun worship; the ancients, versed in astronomy, thus
celebrated the sun’s entrance into Taurus, and the vernal equinox. The
Maypole, as known in Europe, has been satisfactorily shown to be the
remains of an ancient institution of Persia, India, and Egypt, where
Maya civilization was carried in past ages. The May Queen is a
personification of the goddess Maya, the feminine forces of nature;
possibly too of that Maya country whence it came. In Yucatan there is
no queen connected with the dance; there it is and was sun worship pure
and simple.
In Yucatan, as in the British Isles and elsewhere, the pole is planted
before the residences of leading citizens, and the dance is performed
for a recompense. In Ireland the dancers wore over their other dress
white shirts, a detail which becomes interesting in view of the fact
that the Maya people always dress exclusively in white.
In Dr. Le Plongeon’s prolonged studies among the remarkable Ruins on
the Yucatan peninsula, after finding, by much patient endeavor, a clue
to the hieroglyphic signs covering the walls of ancient palaces and
temples, he clearly saw that the word CAN was inscribed in a variety of
ways on all the buildings, and as he advanced in his studies, he
learned that this had been the title of several monarchs who
constituted a powerful dynasty. It is a remarkably interesting fact
that the same title, spelled Khan, is to-day given to rulers in many of
the Asiatic nations; furthermore, the principal emblem on the banners
of those Khans is the serpent or dragon.
Continued research, including excavations and a close study of every
object found, together with several tableaux of mural paintings,
convinced Dr. Le Plongeon that he had succeeded in tracing certain
incidents which occurred in the last family of the CAN dynasty, and
which led to its downfall. Upon studying the famous Troano MS., he
found the same story recorded there; and the tragic events resulting
from the acts of one member of that family, Prince Aac, are the theme
of the present poem.
The scene is laid at Chicħen, which appears to have been the favorite
city of the CANS, judging from certain indications, among these the
prevalence of the serpent as an ornament in all the buildings. These
serpents are represented covered with feathers indicating that they
were emblems of Maya potentates. On ceremonial occasions royal
personages and high officials wore mantles of feathers, whose colors