“This city was called Mayapan (the standard of Maya), the Mayan being the language of the country. Cuculcan governed in peace and quietness and with great justice for some years, when, having provided for his departure and recommended to them the good form of government which had been established, he returned to Mexico the same way he came, making some stay at Chanpotan, where, as a memorial of his journey, he erected a structure in the sea, which is to be seen to this day.”[9]
We have here the direct statement that the principal structure at Mayapan was called Cuculcan; and from the language of Herrara the conclusion is irresistible that the principal structure of Chichen-itza was also called by the same name. These are extremely interesting facts, going far to show that the figure represented in the “Castillo,” and which we have identified upon other evidence as being that of a personage corresponding to Quetzalcoatl, is none other than the figure of the demi-god Ku Kulcan, or Cuculcan, to whose worship the temple was dedicated and after whom it was named.
If we consult the etymology of the name Ku Kulcan we shall have further and striking evidence in support of this conclusion. Ku in the Mayan language means God, and can serpent. We have, then, Ku Kulcan, God—Kul, Serpent, or Serpent-God. What Kul signifies it is not pretended to say, but we may reasonably conjecture that it is a qualifying word to can serpent. Kukum is feather, and it is possible that by being converted into an adjective form it may change its termination into Kukul. The etymology may therefore be Kukumcan Feather-Serpent, or Kukulcan Feathered Serpent. We, however, repose on the first explanation, and unhesitatingly hazard the opinion that, when opportunity is afforded of ascertaining the value of Kul, the correctness of our conclusions will be fully justified.
And here we may also add that the etymology of Kinchahan, the name of the principal god of the Mayas and corresponding to Tonacatlcoatl of Mexico, is precisely the same as that of the latter. Kin is Sun in the Mayan language, and Chahan, as every one acquainted with the Spanish pronunciation well knows, is nothing more than a variation in orthography for Cään or Can, serpent. Kin Chahan, Kincaan, or Kincan is, therefore, Sun-serpent.
The observation that Quetzalcoatl might be regarded as the incarnation of Tezcatlipoca, or Tonacatlcoatl, corresponding to the Buddha of the Hindus, was based upon the coincidences in their origin, character, and teachings, but there are some remarkable coincidences between the temples dedicated to the worship of these two great teachers—or perhaps we should say, between the religious structures of Central America and Mexico and Hindustan and the islands of the Indian Archipelago, which deserve attention.
From the top of the lofty temple at Chichen-itza, just described, Mr. Stephens saw, for the first time, groups of columns or upright stones which, he observes, proved upon examination to be among the most remarkable and unintelligible remains he had yet encountered. “They stood in rows of three, four and five abreast, many rows continuing in the same direction, when they collectively changed and pursued another. They were low, the tallest not more than six feet high. Many had fallen, in some places lying prostrate in rows, all in the same direction, as if thrown intentionally. In some cases they extended to the bases of large mounds, on which were ruins of buildings and large fragments of sculptures, while in others they branched off and terminated abruptly. I counted three hundred and eighty, and there were many more; but so many were broken and lay so irregularly that I gave up counting them.”
Those represented by Mr. Stephens, in his plate, occur in immediate connection with the temple above described, and enclose an area nearly four hundred feet square.
In the third volume of the “Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society” is an account of the mixed temples of the ancient city of Anarajapura (situated in the centre of the island of Ceylon) by Captain Chapman, of the British Army. The remarkable character of these ancient structures and the decided resemblances which they sustain to those of Central America, and particularly to the group of Chichen-itza, justify a somewhat detailed notice of them.
According to native records, Anarajapura was, for a period of thirteen hundred years, both the principal seat of the religion of the country and the residence of its kings. It abounded in magnificent buildings, sculptures and other works of art, and was, as it still is, held in the greatest veneration by the followers of Buddha as the most sacred spot in the island.
“At this time,” says Captain Chapman, “the only remaining traces of the city consist of nine temples; of two very extensive banks; of several smaller ones in ruins; of groups of pillars, and of portions of walls, which are scattered over an extent of several miles. The nine temples are still held in great reverence, and are visited periodically by the Buddhists. They consist first of an enclosure, in which are the sacred trees called the Bogaha; the Thousand Pillars called Lowá Mahá Payá; and the seven mounds or Dagobas, each one of which has a distinct name given it by its founder.”