Lacandon forest

1. Ceiba or Silk Cotton tree

2. Village house

3. Mayan local

4. river inside jungle

Photos are taken by my husband Debrup Chakraborty.

After visiting Bonampak pyramids we visited the Lacandon rain forest where Mayan ,rather Lacandon Mayans still live in their secluded communities. The Lacandons are the descendent of the ancient Mayans. They still rever their old cultures and customs and live as before in their village. They could survive the Spanish because of their living deep inside the forests. Now approximately 700 people can speak Lacandon Mayan which resembles Yucatec Maya. We got the oppertunity to see a Lacandon house,a walk inside the forest where we noticed many undiscovered pyramids lying deep inside the forest ,some waterfalls ,and varried trees and insects and butterflies. We were told Jaguars are also there but not in the part we were visiting. Among many tress in the jungle Ceiba is worth mentioning because of its size. These people has demonstrated the subsistence farming inside the forest area for the preservation and conservation of the tropical forest ecosystem. since they depend on it at various levels like fishing,wood,hunting so its preservation has been key.

Bonampak

Bonampak is another Mayan pyramid site that we visited in chiapas along with Yaxchilan and Palenque. Bonampak pyramids are again located deep inside the stunning Lacandon(native with Mayan origin) forest. The entrance of the pyramid site makes one feel to be surrounding by mystic natural forces. One can hear howler monkeys,Oropendula bird or woodpeckers making their nest . the pyramids are known for their beautiful colourful wall paintaings depicting several rituals done by the ruling dyansties. the construcion of the site was dated 200-800A.D. Till date some Mayan living in nearby villages come to offer prayers to their Gods in these pyramids. The frescoes in the walls are thought to have carried immense information in understanding the PreHispanic society. Earlier only potteries or some tablets were found to have paintings.

We travelled to this place from Palanque in Chiapas.Palanque itself has lots of pyramid sites. This is situated near Usumancinta river which in fact is the border river between Mexico and its neighbouring country Guatemala. After our visit to Bonampak we visited the Lacandon forest to see the Mayan village.

Palenque in Chiapas

1. Queens bath waterfall in forest

2. Temple of the cross

3. Mayan glyph

4. The palace

5. The palace

6. Tomb of the main king Pa Kal or teple of inscripciones

Palanque is in the state of Chiapas and has some marvelous pyramids all surrounded by the lust forest of the Tumbala and its wild habitats. The pyramids in palenque are of Mayan origin and its rise to fall dated from 100 B.C to 900 A.D. Around 600 A.D a very powerful king called Pa Kal came to power at 14 years of age and fortified this place. His son Kan Balam also became powerful. His tomb was excavated in the temple of Inscripciones(4th picture) against the beliefs that pyramids in Mexico are not used for burials as in Egypt. This place reached its importance due to its architectural beauty and its proximity to the mountain and the forest which had almost engulfed the place when excavated. There are still many pyramids which remain underneath the forest in th lap of eternity of time. One can hear howler monkeys and can also spot some exotic bird like Toucans. Other buildings which are of importance include temple of cross, temple of sun etc. This place is visited by many tourist so when we visted we could hear guides telling historical stories to tourists about the place in French,German, Japanese,English and spanish. The pyramids are very tall so some of them gives a good view of the forest around and the pyramid site from the top.There is also a small waterfall inside the forest road. Guides say earlier queens used it for bathing.

We reached this place from Tuxtla Guiterrez however one can approach it through Villahermosa(it gets flights from mexico city). We stayed in a jungle lodge mainly frequented by alternative people and its called El Pancham. The pyramid site is around 2 km from this place. The weather is usually very hot at day.

Yaxchilan(means Green stone) in Chiapas

1. temple

2. Lady Xoc performing blodletting rituals.

3. structure 33

4. Laberynth leading to main plaza

Another great pyramid site of Mayans are in Yaxchilan. Though of lesser grandeur than Palanque but still it hold its mystical aura. But to reach this place from Palanque it takes around 4 hours and one needs to take a boat ride through the river Usumancita which is one of the common borders shared with the neighbouring country of Guatemala. There are crocodiles in the river. The pyramid side is again covered with lush tropical forest. It atkes a little walking to reach the ain temple side. One is welcomed by the vibrant wildlife of the site like howler monkeys and spider monkeys living like old days. This site was build around 200-900 A.D It has 86 known buildings and to enter one need to cross the labyrinth. It has 3 main sites: Great Plaza, Small Acropolis and Large Acropolis all of which are so made with staircases and ramps so as to mix well with the surrounding limestone hills. One can climb these levels of levels of buildings to explore the architecture. The Lacandons(Mayan natives) still come here to worship their ancestors and Gods. King Jaguar Shield,his 2 wives and son were the main rulers. This place was unique to have Lady Xoc who is one of the wives of the king depicted in several stellas doing rituals. While exploring the site one reaches the top of the pyramid which gives a good view of the surrounding forest and can also be used as a perfect meditation spot. This place can truly be considered best in terms of its timelessness and peacefulness.

1. The observatory

2. The castillo or castle

3. Group of 1000 pillars

This is Chichen Itza which is Mayan(Classical Period) pyramid site. Only recently it has been added to the Seven wonders of the world. Like teotihuacan(refer my previous blog) this pyramid is also thought to have different purposes. It used as a religious site and the structure of the pyramids were also made keeping in mind the astrological or astronomical events like Equinox. The pyramid is thought to have represented Mayan Calendar and during equinox there is shadow play of ascending and descending KuKulKan(Serpent God) in its staircase for which this site earned its Seven wonder title. The site has 8 major architechture marvel namely Pyramid of kukulkan, Ball court, group of 1000 pillars,El Caracol or the observatory site, The Nunnery, Temple of Jaguars and 2 cenotes which are considered to have witnessed many human sacrifices as offering to God. Like all mesoamerican pyramids the main Palace or Tomb of Kukulkan has larger pyramids built over smaller pyramids. During excavation an inside chamber was found to have the statue of the Mayan rain God Chac Mool and a Jaguar throne with inlaids of Jade. The pyramid is step pyramid with 91 steps at 4 sides and total number of stairs add to 365 representing Mayan calendar year or Haab. It is widely believed that Mayans used to desert civilizations and cities according their own will and the calender specifications. Caracol has inner stairways resembling snail. Its windows are oriented at 4 cardinal directions and also according to equinox. Mayans were obsessed with astronomical observations and had built pyramids according to such events.The Ball Courts were seen in almost all mesoamerican pyramids. It has great acoustics. Sounds at one end can be heard at the other end of 40mt ball court. Only the aristocrats were allowed to attend and the losing team captain was either to believed to have been sacrificed or the winning team is given some animal sacrifice. It was prestigious game at that time. The 1000 pillars site depicts 1000 warriors and it is very similar to Toltec pyramid in Tula.

Mayans had their own writing in the form of glyphs and lots of information were gathered from these glyphs written on the stone tablets.Chichen Itza is located only at 3 hours drive from the city of Cancun. It is one of the largest pyramid site in Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.There is light and sound show at 7:00p.m

Some pyramids of Mexico

Its been 5 years that we are staying in Mexico. We had visited many tourist places during this time which includes some of the well know pyramid sites which dates back to the Aztec or Mayan civilizations and some are protected by the government till date .Mexico had a vibrant history thriving with civilizations in its different parts which had left indelitible mark on this earth with its architecture, culture,language,dress,food,business and so on and so forth. As per the history books the historians had divided its studies among 4 main periods:1)The Pre Classical Period(3500BC-300A.D).2)The Classical period(300A.D-900A.d).3)Post Classical period(900-1521A.d).4)The Spanish Conquest(1521-1810A.D).The MAyan civilization was dated to the Classical period and the Aztecs to the Post Classical periods.But there are numerous significant cultures like Olmecs,Toltecs,Teotihuacans etc who are responsible for shaping up the powerful civilizations like Maya and Aztec.The very first pyramid among them which I had visited was in Teotihuacan.

Since it is very near to Mexico city where I live I got chances to visit it 5 times or so and it always mesmerized me. It still beholds the aura and grandeur of its time.Its a UNESCO heritage site. The culture and architecture of teotihuacans are thought to have been influenced by the Olmec people which is considered mother civilization of the Mesoamerica(It refers to approximately todays Central America) .It has 2 big pyramids named Pyramid of Sun and Pyramid of moon and also there is Temple of Plumed Serpent God called Quetzalcóatl.This civilization also worshipped rain god name Tlaloc.The pyramids unlike Egypt are not meant to preserve kings or aristocracy after death but is mainly considered as religious sites. But here some rich human graves were found after excavations. Human sacrfices were also part of their religious practice and it is believed that they had Ball Game(juego de pelota) where the defeated teams were sacrificed. The pyramids site has 2 Big pyramids and also houses made for the people on 2 sides of the main avenue of the Deads as it is named. There are still tablets found with coloured paintings of Jaguars and other animals and birds.The city continued to have flourished till 7 or 8th century A.D and it was believed to have 200,000 population at its peak. Pyramid of the sun is the second largest pyramid in volume in the world.However its still unknown why such a flourishing city was suddenly abandoned by the city dwellers. There are many theories of drought,outside invasion or internal conflicts related to it.They didnt have any writing systems and most of the references of this city was found in Mayan writings which had adopted many of the Teotihuacan architecture techniques and styles.

The site has a museum which has a big replica of the pyramid site and also preserves figurines and skeletons found during the excavations.

Market

Markets(mercados)

TIANGUIS

I was initially thinking of writing more elaborately about the various foods which I mentioned in my previous blog. However just postponing the idea I am writing few things about the markets in Mexico city . There are ofcourse 24 hour Supermarket, Sears, Walmart, Comercial Mexicana,Chedraui and other big places from where one can buy the stock for the month. But there are weekly markets in many localities which are called Tianguis. These are like Tuesday or wednesday markets in India where one can find local vegetables,fruits, fishes, meat, daily use articles, clothes, flowers, games, books, beauty items, soaps and so on. These were called tianquiztli by the Aztecs in Nahuatl language which means marketplace. these are mainly mobile shops which travels to different localities in different days of the week. The vendors are basically part of a loosely organized, informal commercial association. Each market has its own leader who is responsible for assigning each vendor his position on the street and who secures the necessary permission from the local government for setting up the market in the public thoroughfare. Often, this "permission" consists only of an understanding between parties, and rarely involves any formal paperwork.The owners of each stand pay their leader a daily quota for the privilege of doing business with the group. The amount varies according to the location of the stall within the tianguis itself, and the kind of neighborhood where it is situated. Even the prices of the items vary depending on the localities.

The vendors start coming with their tents and steel rods from 8:00a.m in the morning and while they have their breakfast with tortillas, sopes,tamales(vapoured corn wheat with sauce)which are sold by food vendors who had their stalls sometimes even before day breaks. In an hour or so the place starts reverberating with latest music from the cd shops, with people chatting and hawkers shouting to sell their items. Children and babies love to buy their favourite video games, or barbie doll accessories or dinosaur or Ninja toys at cheap prices. Its easy to find bonsai, or chillie plant, or buckets of roses and chrysenthemums. There are shops which sells shoes and sandals, shops selling junk jwelleries and sometimes one can find them making it there too, shops of lipsticks,nail polishes, eye brow curlers,hair rollers,artifitial nails, colourful hair bands all are available.Vegetables are fresh and one can find some vegetables which are otherwise not available in big markets too. Potatoes, tomatoes, brocooli, peas, cauliflower,beet,turnip,raddish , carrots,cabbage, brinjal, ginger, garlic, spinach, chillies of different types like habanero, jalapeno etc, lemon, beans, calabasa(its like pumpkin), squash, capsicum, mushrooms all are available(desponible aqui,in Spanish:) ) There are shops for different mole(mole is a mixture of some 20 ore ingredients of spices and sometimes chocolates) mixtures,spices like cumin, pepper,and lentils like frijoles. Different parts of the chicken are also found like claw,feet,breast,liver separately. Fish vendor comes with varities of fishes like red snapper, sharks, mojarra, sierra, ponfrets etc and there are elaborate beef and pork shops too. Pozole , tacos, tamales,hot salsas, carnitas, tocinos, chicharron(pork skins fried) shops are the most visited places where people can be seen to have lunch or late big breakfasts. Varities of cheese can also be found. Cheese of the cow , goat milk are tasty too. I heard its amazing how all these items were craftly collected from different places and sold in these tianguis as some items one can find at cheap rates too. some people sell self made foods and woollen clothes , table clothes, decoration items . The tianguis is a good example of pre columbian market culture with practicality of modern times. The tianguis in my colony is only few blocks away and are on Wednesdays. So its the day when I visit the market to buy vegetables, wools for the scarf I knit, fish, chicken, makeup items or honey, rice etc.

SAN JUAN

The next market which I will be writing about now is Mercado de San Juan. It is located near the central place called Zocalo. Spaniards started this concept of Zocalo in every cities where there is main church, governor or president palaces . People congregate here , sell items, celebrate big events and just enjoy. San Juan is a big market in the heart of the Mexico City. It used to exist during Spanish time too just like the Tlatelolco market. It attracts the French food conosiurs, Chinese and oriental food conesiurs equally. Here one can find meat of the chicken, beef, rabbit, lambs, baby piglets(lechon) ,iguana, armadillo, duck, ostrich,buffalo,crocodile and even lion(which is not recomendable to eat) !!. Pheasant meat, tortola (like pigeon, its from chile) ,quails. They import meat from Honduras and also wild boars(jabali) from Texas. The fish section has varities of fishes, crab from Alaska, sharks on ice, frog legs, skunk, and sell viper meat, caracoles, octopus, prawns small and big ones.

Cheese from Argentina, Hungary, Spain, France, Chile and also Oaxaca which is used in quesadillas for its elastic texture. Cheese with garlic, some herbs, chipotle, cashewnuts are sold.

Also different types of seeds(mexicans use these to make moles or use it in soups). Seeds like that of Amapola poppy(used in cakes and has medicinal value), sesame seed, mustard seeds,crushed parseley seeds,roasted pumpkin seeds(used to give green colour to sausage), tomillo or thymus which is used to flavour meat, soups and stews,oregano .

Apart from these among spices azafran, cinamom, romero,vanila veins,aniseed, alcapara, cloves, cumin, pepper black, red , white , alholva(fenugreek), moles, bay leave, laurel leaves, cilantro,mint leaves, albahaca or basil, are also available. All sorts of dals or lentils and chick peas and rajma can be found here. Salsas which can be red or green are also sold. Different varities of vineger, italian pastas, olive oils are available too.

Varities of meat products like salchichas(or sausage,, chorizzos, jamon cerrano from Italy or Spain, Chistorras (Spanish sausage which are mainly used as a starter and are cooked with garlic, paprika by frying in olive oil) , proscuitto (ham for italian)are all found here.

Some rare vegetables and fruits like exotic mushrooms, green banana, bitter gourd, asparagus, spring onions, bottle gourd(lauki), european pepino or cucumber , french beans,tuberculos of the Caribbean like Yuca(or cassava), Chinchayote is root of the chayote or squash which are eaten as potato, malanga(starchy root looks like yam or sweet potato used for making flours,chips, in soups), name, blackberries, mamey(tropical fruit)used for drinks and sweets, mangoes, Guanabana, Naranj(h)as(like oranges) can be seen.

However this place is very near to Barrio Chino which means chinese locality and Chinese resturants so one can find tofu shops(home made), or soya sauce shops and varities of mushrooms. Here people comes and asks directly in Chinese, never bothering to translate:).Things like Lo Pa is a white radish, Shishuan is Chinese pepper and Tofu and cheese made from soya., vineger rice, sesame oil and sesame seeds, chícharo chino,algae for the soup, noodles all at one place.

Outside the market ant eggs or escamoles and grasshopers or Chapulines and Maguye worms can also be sampled and tasted. They are usually fried with salsas and tastes interesting. Tasty tacos and tamales and atoles(corn drink which is sweet and energetic too)are served hot in some shops as breakfast. So after a hectic shopping one can just sample and eat food also. The photos above shows ant eggs and fried grasshoppers.

There are some other important market places like La Merced, whitchcraft market of Sonora, Ciudadela for artesenia and handmade products , loacted in Balderas, and La Central de abasto is the central big market area from where all big items get distributed through out the city. Its incredibly huge.

Chao,

Will write more on tortilla based foods next time then.