The Maya Murals of Bonampak, Mexico: Art History Fully Explained

These are the incredible murals of Bonapak. They're among the finest and best preserved Maya paintings in all of Mesoamerica. They teach us about Maya art, rituals, and especially Maya music. Located in the beautiful southern Mexican jungle, Bonapak sits near the Lacaya River in the current state of Chiapas. Bonapak was a significantly smaller city compared to other popular Maya sites. The main acropolis is only 90 by 100 meters with only nine small temples. Facing west, a building known as Structure 1 has three tiny rooms in the shape of vaults. In those vaulted rooms are where the three incredible murals are painted. The building itself is only about 16 meters long, 4 meters deep, and some 7 meters tall. Within these three murals, the Maya artists painted 270 Maya figures on 1,615 square feet with 108 hieroglyphic texts. The Maya were master writers and created the only complete writing system in all of the Americas. Nearly 30 pigments were used to paint the murals over a thick coat of limestone plaster, so these murals have been labeled as fresco murals. The word Bonapak is a contemporary Mayan word that means painted walls. The Maya painted these masterpieces in 791 AD, more than 1,230 years ago. This video will fully dissect the fantastic 360 degree mural in Room 1. By the way, this is what the mural looks like inside the vaulted room and here is the Room 1 mural completely laid out flat so you can see it easily. And these versions are the incredible modern recreations. This shows what the mural looked like brand new some 1,200 years ago, before any ancient and modern damage. Let's get into it. There is a total of 77 figures painted in Room 1. The mural depicts a fantastic procession with musicians, dancers, and invited nobility for the presentation of a royal child, likely the heir of Yahan Chan Muan, the ruler of Bonapak. Yahan Chan Muan. Beginning from left to right, the first scene has nine people. The first Mayan is a male wearing a white hip and loincloth. He's also wearing an elaborate headdress shaped like a drum with the Mayis god in front. At the very top is a tiny creature, which appears to be playing a drum. This man's playing a small flute, probably an ocarina, a tiny wooden flute. And this flute player is the tail end of a 12-person band. In front of him are two trumpet players playing long, gorgeous orange trumpets. The next six people likely represent religious deities. They're all wearing masks, probably representing important Maya gods. And if you look closely, they're all wearing water lilies on their headdresses. And many of them also bear the glyph title Batsam, or head throne. The first two men are exchanging an air of green corn. The first man with a deity mask has the glyph for wind in his eye, denoting that he and his partner are wind deities. Their long beaky snouts are associated with the Aztec wind god, Ehecat Quetzalcoatl. And both men appear to be wearing protective coverings for the ball game. The ball game was the most popular team sport played throughout Mesoamerica, known as Pocotoc or Olama. As wind deities and ball players, they both bring the rain and open the cracked earth for maize to grow. Just below is a seated person with red face paint. The wupili suggests this is a female. Red face paint typically pertains to females, so this is likely the Maya maize god. And she seems to be pointing to the man in front wearing a caiman alligator mask, which goes down to his neck. The rest of his body is painted a dark indigo. But one of his arms is not painted and the object on the floor may be part of his hip cloth. An incredible crayfish mask with arm attachments is worn by another man just above. And his arms are flailing in the air, and he's wearing an elaborate chest plate. The last figure has a large red and white object and a long baton. He wears a skeleton hood, and you can see the jawbone and teeth on his mask. He could be holding a drum, perhaps a slit gong drum known as tecol by the Maya and teponatzi in central Mexico. It's clear these six individuals relate to the terrestrial realm, water, wind, rain, and fertility. So let's continue on the first level of the mural, but on the other side. Here are three turtle shell players, and they are using deer antlers to bang their turtle shells. Just behind them are two parasol carriers. They provide shade and cooling for the procession. Staring back at the turtle shell players is the only drummer. He's playing a huehuet. In Mayan, it's called a pax. This bonapak drum is the earliest dated example of this type of drum, and the drum appears to be in the huge style of drums found in Teotihuacan with the tripod stance. The drummer wears an elaborate headdress that has a fish nibbling on a giant water lily with a flower motif on top. Five maraca players are next, and they lead the band. The first and second players are actually named cayum, meaning singer, and these first eight musicians, along with the drummer, wear matching painted deer hide skirts wrapped at the waist with hip cloths. The last of the five rattle players wears a red deer hide with a brilliantly painted feather serpent head turned upward, his mouth wide open. It's an amazing snake reminiscent of Quetzalcoatl and other Mesoamerican serpents. All the maracas players and the drummer are wearing white shell and animal teeth necklaces. They also wear the same type of headdress, and they're adorned with what has to be quetzal feathers. By the way, this order of band members is also typical for the Maya. Rattles in front, then drums, turtle shells, followed by the trumpets we saw earlier. The centerpiece of the mirror has three royal dancers called chokes, meaning sprouts, a term for elite youths. They're the first thing you see as you walk in the room. They must be incredibly important because they're center stage, and they're the most frequent persons and best labeled persons in rooms one, two, and three. Their names are inscribed in glyphs. The first dancer is called Bird Jaguar. The second choke is named Puma Mouth, followed by Ash Balam, and they're dancing a quetzal feather dance, and each has a royal title The three dancing youths are wearing incredibly feathered back racks full of quetzal feathers, and we'll see them again on the second level of the room one mural in about one minute. Next to the dancers is a procession of 13 people. It's the last section of the first level. It's composed of sahals, or regional governors. They're dignitaries, and at least two are named. Akanatu Japat Bayani Sahi is the first guy. Akana Yuma Achaki Mani is the second. These two main sahals wear jaguar kilts. One of them carries a short parasail in his left hand, and a mini red and green throne under his left arm. Perhaps they're gifts for the child. They have thick waist wraps, which is common for ball game players, and if so, they certainly will play against the two gods discussed earlier. This figure appears to be holding a baton, and their postures suggest they are singing or dancing. This Mayan smokes a long thin cigarette, just like in a fashion scene today, especially by my freaking neighbors, and they're all wearing headwear, and they're all elegantly dressed, perhaps forced to wear nice clothing, meaning they were purposely giving fancy clothes to wear for this special ceremony, which is also a custom among the Aztecs. And we're nearly done, so let's get to the second level, which will be quick. On the two left sections, there are 14 lords. They are awaiting the presentation of an heir, which based on the child's face paint and costume, suggests the child is not a boy, but a girl. This mural clearly records the accession of someone, perhaps his child, some 14 years after the Hachan Moans' own accession. Now look closely, the invited nobles are wearing incredibly precious and red spondylous shells, with jade pendants, and their headdresses are tremendous. The first guests have a single quetzal feather, and at least one has a deer's head as his headdress, and they're all wearing white mantles, or clothing reminiscent of a cloak or overcoat. After the 14 guests and the royal heir, a magnificent red throne with a green outline is seen. Likely the royal family is seated here, but it's unsure. The largest person on that throne obviously works out, he's freaking ripped, check out those arms, he's essentially wearing a see-through shirt, or a gauzy and barely visible upper body garment, that actually has more in common with Nevertheless, this figure is likely a man, because he does not have the red face paint worn by others in that section. Yahachan Moan's name runs below, and is badly damaged, yet it is unclear who is the king in this mural. And in front of the throne is cacao, which is labeled as 40,000 beans, suggesting The three dancers from before are here, Ajmalam, Bird Jaguar, and Puma Mouth, and they're being dressed by Anjabs. So this scene takes place before they're dancing earlier on the first level. Here, attendants assist the youth putting on their feathered back racks, and their jade bracelets. Okay, let's get to the final level. The top level is brief, with only a few images resembling glyphs. On the south wall is the frontal head of a deity. The frontal deity has flowing maize foliage, associated with agricultural bounty at Palenque. The frontal head is flagged by two profiled depictions of Hunal, the jester god of Maya rulership, worn frequently on rulers headbands. On the east wall, a gray crocodilian descends, bearing in his teeth a jaguar club, and we see the same jaguar clubs at Yachilan on Lanto 6. This is the front head of one of the great Maya sky dragons. His rear head is really a headdress, and is skeletal and solar, and is sometimes called the quadripartite badge. It usually appears upside down, as it does here. A central spine just grazing the headdress of that buff figure who sits below. And yes, we are done. Thank you for paying attention. If I have any more brain cells left, I'll do a video for rooms 2 and 3. I want to thank all the researchers who contributed to our understanding of Bonapak, and especially Mary Miller, the lead zeppelin of Bonapak studies, who completed many works, but probably the most famous is The Spectacle of the Late Maya Court.