Genital Self-Sacrifice among the Yucatan Mayas in the Postclassic

Abstract

The objective of this essay is to establish the function of the collective ritual of shedding blood by piercing the phalluses with a rope. Although genital puncture is a ritual with a long tradition, recorded since the Preclassic, the study is limited to the Postclassic period. The visual evidence of the Tro Cortesianus Codex (Madrid) and the succinct descriptions of some New Spain documents are analyzed, particularly, the Landa’s Relación de las cosas de Yucatán. Epigraphy and iconography are used, but only as tools to establish the symbolic meaning of each of the aspects involved in the ritual, since the focus of this essay is the history of religions. The contribution of the work consists fundamentally in the detailed explanation of the ritual process, highlighting the understanding of space, time, objects, and the subjects that participate in it. The function of genital self-sacrifice by cording, from the postclassical Maya cultural perspective, displays virility, guarantees fertility, justifies authority, and strengthens community ties.