Translation: Jon Alkorta Martiartu, PhD (UPV/EHU)

The mouths of hell. The dark world of the Maya

In this entry we approach a recently published title: Las Bocas del Infierno. Imágenes mayas de una teoría universal, by Miguel Rivera Dorado, published by Miraguano. Keep reading if you are interested in the Mayan culture and its vision of the sacred.

The author

Miguel Rivera Dorado is Professor of Mayan Culture at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Among his milestones as a researcher, we can mention his lectures as guest professor at the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris. For almost thirty years he has carried out excavations in different countries in America, and in 1986 he was appointed director of the Spanish Archaeological Mission in Mexico. His most notable investigations took place in Oxkintok, in Yucatan, where he studied the famous labyrinth of Satunsat. He has published numerous articles in Spanish and foreign scientific journals and around ten books.

A short interview

 Pedro Ortega: Your book tells us about the Mayan civilisation and their relationship with the world beyond. To give us some context, tell us during what period they were active and what areas they occupied geographically.

 Miguel Rivera: Between 500 BC and 1500 AD, about 2,000 years. They occupied almost 300,000 square kilometres in the Yucatan peninsula and around its base in Mexico, Guatemala and Belize.

P.O.: One of the books that we must be familiar with in order to understand the Mayan civilisation is the Popol Vuh. Although this and other books were written in the Columbian period, what clues can we find in them to understand the sacred world of the Maya?

 M.R.: The Popol Vuh is a compilation of the oral and written tradition of the cosmogonic myths that form the basis of their worldview and religious thought.

P.O.: Could we say that the sacred world of the Maya is related to animals? What do the different animals of their fauna represent for the Maya?

M.R.: As in Egypt, animals are a source of inspiration to give form to metaphysical ideas.

P.O.: Let’s move on to the sacred Mayan constructions: what are the main funerary constructions they built? What are the zoomorphic doorways and what significance did they have for the Mayan culture? 

M.R.: The pyramids. The zoomorphic portals are gateways to the Other World.

P.O.: In your book you argue that man, in different places and at different times, gives similar answers to his essential problems. What is this theory grounded on? 

M.R.: On the biological and psychological unity of man and his will to adapt to the environment.

P.O.: Finally, give us some of the keys to what we will find in the book.

M.R.: The book is an attempt to penetrate the secrets of ancient Mayan thinking about the Afterlife.

The book

If you are interested in the Mayan culture and its perception of the underworld, Professor Rivera expands on this information in his new book. In the following link you can get your hands on it:

Las Bocas del Infierno – Miraguano Ediciones – Miraguano — www.miraguano-sa.es

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