Ek Balam: Where East Meets West?

by Mari Pintkowski

Macario Gomez, a small Mayan village on the Coba Road just 15 minutes from the sparkling sands of Tulum Beach, might seem like an unlikely place to begin a tour into the heart of the Yucatan, but consider this: You wake up refreshed and replenished from a night at an elegant jungle retreat, La Selva Mariposa, and want to see MORE. More ruins, more cenotes, more pueblos, more history, more culture! Over a platter of tropical fruit and cinnamon-flavored French toast and a mound of crisp bacon, your hosts at the B&B describe a ruin site less than an hour away where East meets West. You are intrigued to see for yourself the sculptures that are strangely similar to ones that were found at Angkor Wat in Cambodia. With the elusive butterfly (mariposa) as your guide, begin your day by heading West on the Coba Road in the direction of Valladolid and beyond, to the stunning ruins of Ek Balam.

At the round-about leading to Coba in one direction (20 min. from Macario), take the straight road to Valladolid and follow the signs to Highway 295 leading to the Cancun Cuota. You will be following signs that lead in the direction of Tizimin by way of Temazon. Temazon is an interesting village that specializes in smoked sausages, and it also has an array of carpenter shops fabricating windows, doors and furniture. The town square and market are always bustling with activity where the residents can be seen with their plaid bolsas (shopping bags) stuffed with cilantro, avocados and tortillas, or sitting on their tri-cycles, that serve as local taxicabs.. The buildings of Temazon are getting a face-lift and the park is being remodeled. The ancient Catholic Church across from the park is still the center of life for many of the families.

Your destination is the ruins of Ek Balam, only a few miles from Temazon, so keep a look out for the signs leading to the archaeological site. Parking is free and the modest entrance fee will leave plenty in your wallet to hire a tour guide (about $20). Ask the gentleman at the desk if Juan is available. He was directly involved in the latest reconstruction efforts in 2004, when he was the assistant-archeologist for the project. His insight into the life of the civilization that continuously inhabited the site from 600 AD until 1545 is something you will never forget.

There is evidence in the architecture of Ek Balam that other civilizations, like the Toltecs around the year 900 AD, inhabited the city and blended their culture and traditions with those of the Mayan. The site was abandoned for a year, and in 1546 the Mayans returned to pick up where they left off. Little is known of this period except that the Spaniards arrived in 1579 and found an abandoned city covered by jungle vines with crumbling buildings buried beneath them.

In the little pueblo of Ek Balam, where descendants of the Mayans still live, archeologists discovered that the Spaniards built the tiny church (still evident today) on top of a house foundation using original stones from the ruin site nearby. They also found evidence that the Spaniards kept cows in the main plaza of the sacred city; penned in by walls built with the precious stones taken from the temples. There was no rational way for the archeologists to tell just where each of these stones belonged, so they are currently piled up near the outer boundary of the site; hence another mystery lies unsolved.

Unfortunately, little is known of the life of the Mayans civilization that inhabited Ek Balam, as there are no books remaining that describe the life and times of these amazing people. What we do know comes from the frescos, carvings, and sculptures that were found buried under mounds of rock beneath tightly woven jungle vines.

We have learned that the ancient Mayans built splendid temples and palaces, maintained a harmonious relationship with nature, consulted the stars and venerated their thirteen gods. There are a few remaining copies in museums of the code, finally broken until 1972, that unlocks the secrets in the hieroglyphics that accompany the art work. Some of the Mayan glyphs represent phonetic syllables and others represent whole ideas.

One of the architectural ingredients that made Ek Balam unique was the fact that the city was built behind three walls. Juan has informed us that the walls were used for protection, even though they were only three or four feet tall. The thick, low walls were a base for a wooden fence built on top to give additional protection. Since the walls were so thick, it is believed that guards patrolled the exterior of the city while walking on top of them. Stone from a third wall remain today connecting each of the buildings in the main quadrangle.

Who were the enemies and what were the inhabitants of Ek Balam protecting? In the 3,600 square kilometer area inhabited by Mayans, all was not tranquil. Ek Balam had discovered a source of salt, which was as valuable as gold, and this precious commodity needed guarding. In the post-classic period near the turn of the century, the Aztec and Toltec warriors began taking over near-by Chichen-itza and Tulum. The people of Ek Balam used several strategies to protect the sacred sites from intruders. One of the statues even has carved figures perched in front of the eye lids of the monster. Historians believe the purpose of these figures were to hold the monster’s eyelids open to constantly watch for danger.

You will enter the central area of this 12 square-kilometer city forced to bend your body in reverence as you walk forward up a steep ramp and proceed through the spectacular corbel arch that is uniquely open on all four sides.

You will see two indented stones on the floor, just big enough to fit a foot. Perhaps this was a purifying ritual that was required before entering the sacred city? Because of the steepness of the ramp leading down from the arch into the city, it is believed that it was customary to precede down backwards with your body, once again, bent in reverence to the gods.

Many of the buildings surrounding the site were actually used as living quarters. Shards of pottery used for daily living were found inside the ruins, along with built-in stone beds. Some of the remains of the paintings on the walls inside these structures showed people sitting in the lotus position on pillows. Did you know that the early Mayans did not sleep in hammocks? These were introduced to the Yucatan peninsula with the arrival of the Spaniards who brought with them natives they picked up along the way in the Caribbean Islands who were accustomed to sleeping in these woven beds.

Fifty-two structures have been found to date, and include many that were believed to have been used for religious purposes, while others were for administration, daily living, or games. The outside of these buildings were plastered and painted red, and the interior walls were painted yellow and decorated with frescos painted in a palate of colors. One of the two ball courts excavated has been restored to its original splendor. Juan explained the significance of the ball game, which had both religious and gambling aspects to it. At the far end of the historical site sits the building known as the Acropolis. This spectacular building is the second largest of its kind in the Yucatan. The largest is in the “yellow city” of Izamal.

As is typical in other Mayan ruin sites, there is evidence that structures were built upon structures. There could have been as many as six layers built, and rebuilt over the 1,200 years the city was inhabited.

In 2000, the royal tomb was discovered behind the imposing open mouth of the monster that resides half-way up the structure called the Acropolis. In the past, this image was believed to be a jaguar, as the name Ek Balam means black jaguar or bright star jaguar. With further study and investigation, archeologists know that the coxox or witz monster at the entrance of the tomb is a mixture of all the creatures that inhabit the earth. It has combined qualities of a feline, a serpent, and a human. The tomb is guarded by a winged human-like creature on either side of the opening that was believed to lead to the underworld. We know the Mayans did not believe in angels, hence another mystery. These winged creatures may have been ancestors, as they have club feet, and other deformities that were a sign of royalty. The deformities were a result of the inbreeding between members of the royal family, and were considered to be special. The Ceiba tree (sacred tree of life) is carved into each side of the giant opening, along with wavy lines connecting the trees together at the bottom with a fish and lily pad carved in the area representing water leading to the underworld.

The statues guarding the eyes of the monster were very similar to statues found in Cambodia. Juan, the principal guide, however, believes that the connection between these two distant cultures is only a myth. He personally did not discover any remnants of pottery or jewelry from the Eastern culture inside the tomb, and he will vouch for the fact that the stature is a young man, not a woman as in the Cambodian statues.

The human remains of a royal person, Kulh Nal, were found inside the mouth of the monster. He was believed to have been between 55 and 65 years old when he died. Buried with his bones were over 7,000 treasures including jewelry, shells, clay vessels, knives, and jaguar claws. Three objects had the name of the royal king on them and the elongated shape of the skull found in the tomb indicated indeed this person was of royal linage. Juan, and the other archeologists who excavated the ruins, are convinced that under the piles of stones there are other kings buried, but only time will tell if money will be allotted for further investigation.

To the right of the tomb you will see a set of small stairs going up to an open room. On the side of the entrance there are perfectly preserved drawings and glyphs that indicate that merchants were present in the area. Under the steps was written “The White House of Reading.” What were they reading? Why was this entire area, including the mouth of the monster, buried behind a sealed stone wall and filled with broken stones between the wall and the inner chambers?

Perhaps you will be lucky enough to hire Juan as your guide to find out more about the ancient civilization that was or wasn’t directly connected to the sacred site of Angkor Wat. It is a story that is still emerging and we learn something new every time we visit Ek Balam.

After touring the ruins, you must be ready to relax your mind and body, so hook up with the Mayans at the entrance of the ruins who will take you on a one- mile bike ride to an amazing cenote where you can rappel by rope to the bottom of the deep cenote 60 feet below to swim in the cool, sacred water. For the faint of heart, there is now a set of stairs where you can enter and exit the cenote. The people of Ek Balam are working each day to improve this area and soon the masses of tourists will arrive, so plan a trip to visit this area of the Yucatan without delay.

Driving out of the cenote car-park about 100 meters down the dirt road on the right you will see a small open air restaurant. Stop for some delicious ceviche and a cold beer or soda with plenty of lime slices before driving back on the highway toward the city of Valladolid.

Throughout the state of the Yucatan, colonial cities with their churches and convents stand as testimony to Spain’s 16th century efforts to convert the indigenous people to Christianity. This blending of the cultures changed the face of the Yucatan forever.