Valery Oisteanu
The Dwarf of Uxmal
Uxmal, in Mayan language, means thrice build, and many of the pyramids of this archaeological complex are built one on top of the other. Certain legends shared by the Mayan tour guide point out that one of the pyramids was built in one night by a magician dwarf. This huge oval pyramid, the most impressive in this archaeological site, placed in the middle of the jungle, bears the name of magician, and probably was built in a classical Mayan period, 200-900 AD, a type of architecture called Puuc (mountain style
architecture).The story goes that one night, before Spring Equinox, the old witch from Kaban, hatched a blue egg, and a weird child came out of it. The child grew unusually fast by day and by night, and soon he was growing hair and a beard. In several days, everyone was amazed that the child turned into a dwarf with supernatural power. He became fascinated with witchcraft and fire ritual, and one day, poking at a log in the witch's fireplace, he scooped up a hollow trunk called tunkul that had an unusual sound of a drum. The dwarf hid the log with his cane, and a deep resonating sound came out of it and reached the royal palace of the King of the Mayans. The King had previously heard a prediction that a sound of a tunkul drum will signal the end of his dynasty. A tug-of-war ensued between the King and the dwarf, and before the main drum beat could be sounded, the King put the dwarf to an incredible task to build a pyramid in one night, in the middle of the forest. The dwarf obeys and the magician pyramid was created. The pyramid still stands in the middle of the Yucatan Peninsula, 20 some miles from the city of Merida. The actual archaeological complex has many buildings, such as an astronomical observatory, nunnery, a temple dedicated to warriors, etc. The main pyramid is a building composed of five superimposed pyramids built one on top of the other, over a period of centuries.
The legend's version also includes building of a road from the village of the old witch, to Uxmal (built by the king in hope to buy sometime) and a version in which two coconuts are placed on the heads of the dwarf and the king, and cracked with a hammer to test their resistance. The king dies and the dwarf takes his place. The mother witch advises him to be compassionate and charitable. But the dwarf, invested with powers, creates his own god made out of clay, a sculpture of a giant, hollow, ceramic god that produces frightening sounds of a bell when a fire is lit inside. Eventually, for this heresy, the gods destroyed the temples of Uxmal. Before leaving, a prophet predicted that men dressed in cloth and riding on large fishes (boats) will come and bats will leave their caves and will suck the blood of the Indians, but they will not touch either their heart or their eyes. He also predicted a severe drought, and the sun, the wind and the blood will pass by, and peace will return.
Mayans moved to other temples where the tradition was maintained, and sacrifices were made as atonement to the gods for offenses committed against them. Offerings are given as recognition for the thanks conceded by Mayans for the gods. Both acts must be carried out with pure intent. Those who make a sacrifice or an offering must say "I offer this for the wrong I have done, and I offer more for the kindness I have received."
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