Mayan Vision Quest Through Enema

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NOTES ON THE MAYA VISION QUEST THROUGH ENEMA1 Brian Stross and Justin Kerr University of Texas Abstract An unusually garbed dispenser of ritual enema substance is identified on a Maya painted terra-cotta vessel, leading to (a) suggestions about the sex and place of origin of this person, (b) a consideration of the enema bag that includes a plausible identification of the "obsidian bloodletter" glyph (T712) as a clyster or "enema syringe", (c) speculations concerning the ingredients of the enema substance, and (d) a discussion of the "cosmic howl" in relation to the consumption of inebriants and hallucinogens. Introduction A beautiful and important Classic Maya vessel, No. 155O in the Justin Kerr photographic collection (Figure 1) , depicts some part of what clearly must be an enema ritual, which may be viewed as an aspect of the Maya vision quest. The individual administering the clyster is garbed in a style different from what we have come to expect in Maya iconography, and the facial features are perhaps unexpected as well. The physiognomy of this person, like that of the other assistant, appears, admittedly on a subjective basis, to be non-Mayan. The clyster held in both hands of this individual has a characteristic shape motivating a new interpretation for at least one element of the Maya glyphic script; and the three huge jugs depicted, apparently filled with whatever is being administered in the enema ritual, have their own secrets to be investigated. The following is an attempt to follow up some of the implications of the scene on this Maya vessel for our understanding of the Classic Maya ritual vision quest. Implications of the Dispensing Assistant The individual receiving the enema is clearly the central figure in the scene on the vessel under consideration here. Semi-nude--wearing only a loincloth (maxtlatl), a neck

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