WeRead Powered by ReaderPub
The Myths of Mexico & Peru cover

The Myths of Mexico & Peru

Chapter 222: Kabah
Open in WeRead

About This Book

An illustrated survey of pre-Columbian civilizations and their myth systems, beginning with Mexican society and its pantheon and presenting major myths, rituals, cosmologies, and legends—including Aztec and Maya traditions and representative figures such as the feathered‑serpent and night and rain deities. It examines Maya origins, narrative cycles, and ritual practice, then turns to the civilizations of the Andean world and their mythic motifs, and offers comparative interpretation alongside archaeological observations, bibliographic references, a glossary, and numerous illustrations that connect mythic narratives to surviving monuments and artifacts.

Kabah

At Kabah there is a marvellous frontage which strikingly recalls that of a North American Indian totem-house in its fantastic wealth of detail. The ruins are scattered over a large area, and must all have been at one time painted in brilliant colours. Here two horses’ heads in stone were unearthed, showing that the natives had copied faithfully the steeds of the conquering Spaniards. Nothing is known of the history of Kabah, but its neighbour, Uxmal, fifteen miles distant, is much more famous.