Then, lastly, the number of planes forming the rooms—the two of the ceilings, the two of the sides, the two of the ends, and that of the floor—seven in all, shows conclusively not only why the builders adopted the triangular arch instead of the circular, but also that the plan of their buildings was conceived in strict adherence to the mystic numbers 3, 5, 7, or their multiples, as we see by the height of the pyramids; the number of courses of the stones forming the walls; that of the terraces on which the temples stood; that of the degrees of the stairs by which they were reached.
Only two edifices of different construction have been found among the ancient cities of the Mayas. One, now completely ruined, having been shattered by a thunderbolt in 1848, was in Mayapan. That place was destroyed, according to Bishop Landa, in the year 1446 of the Christian era, by the lords and nobles of the country, to put an end to the dynasty of the Cocomes that governed with tyrannical rule. The other, still standing, although much injured by the action of time and vegetation, is to be seen in the most ancient city of Chichen. These buildings were consecrated to the study of astronomy; no doubt also to the performance of certain religious ceremonies connected with the worship of the sun, moon, and other celestial bodies. They were circular; their ground plan formed three concentric circles representing the Zodiac, and their vertical section, in its general outlines, conveys to the mind that, in their inward or esoteric construction placed before the eyes of the masses yet hidden from them, the architect wished to represent the figure of the mastodon, which was venerated by the people as image of Deity on Earth—probably because this pachyderm was the largest and most powerful creature that lived in the land.
Among the ornaments which beautified one of the seven turrets that adorned the south façade of the north wing of the ancient palace of King Can, and were dedicated to each of the seven members composing his family, on that set apart to commemorate the name of his eldest son Cay (Fish), the high pontiff, are seen these symbols:
| Fig. 1. | Fig. 2. |
My knowledge of the symbols and sacred characters used by the learned priests of Mayax, in the mural inscriptions and ornaments of their temples and palaces, enables me to understand their exoteric meaning. The first (Fig. 1) is composed of an equilateral triangle with the apex downward; through it passes a ribbon tied in a knot. The triangle seems here to represent the whole country, the "Lands of the West," composed of three great continents, "North and South America" of to-day, and "the great island," called Atlantis by Plato, that disappeared in the midst of an awful cataclysm, under the waves of the ocean, as described by the author of the Troano MS., who thus confirms the account of it given by the priests of Egypt, to Solon. The ribbon tied in a knot would indicate that the initiates, to whom the esoteric explanation of the symbol had been imparted, were bound to each other, to secrecy and to their oath. Its hidden meaning may have been that the equilateral triangle represented Deity ever watchful, always creating—Nature in which we move, and live and have our being, in which all things are bound.
The second emblem (Fig. 2) seems to have belonged more particularly to the highest degree of the sacred mysteries, since we find it among other symbols sculptured on the slabs that formed the external casing of the mausoleum raised to the memory of the high pontiff Cay. This second emblem is also a ribbon, tied up so as to form three loops, each occupying one angle of an oblong square, image of the Universe; the fourth angle being adorned with flat folds, that are emblematic of Mayax the seat or head of the government, so arranged as to form the steps—5 in number—of a throne. This accounts for their being placed at the upper angle. The three round loops are symbolical of the three great parts composing the "Lands of the West," that the Greek mythologists figured by the trident of Poseidon, their god of the sea. As to the sign
, in Mayax as in Egypt, it was meant to represent the sun. It was placed in the middle of the square simply to signify that as the sun was the centre of the universe, the vivifying soul of all things, so his representative the "Child of the Sun," the high priest, was the light that illumined the secrets of the sacred mysteries by his wisdom; and whose knowledge made him the fit ruler of the country.
Is also the first letter of the Maya and Egyptian alphabets, corresponding to our Latin letter A, initial of Ah, maya masculine article, denoting strength, power—Ah being likewise the first syllable of the word Ahau King.