Balamkú, Campeche, Mexico Tour Or Travel
Pictures And Photos Page One

George And Audrey DeLange

Balamkú, Campeche, a Mayan ruin located 3 km Northeast off of highway 186 halfway between Xpuhil and Escarcega. Balamkú, in Mayan means "Jaguar's Temple" (balam- jaguar, ku- temple). Balamku was discovered by chance in November of 1990 by Florentino García Cruz, an archaeologist for the Campeche Regional Center of INAH. The local people call the site Chunhabil. Balamkú has carvings that are remarkable in their detail. Consisting of three large stucco friezes of a rabbit, an alligator and a jaguar, the major reliefs are then flanked by many other small animal carvings. This early pre-Classic site is best known for the building called the Structure Of The "House Of The Four Kings". In the "House Of The Four Kings" lies the before mentioned frieze made of polychrome molded stucco, unique in the Mayan area, which was built between the years 550 and 650 A. D. The frieze represents the surface of the Earth formed by several images such as jaguars that symbolize war, aquatic elements that represent fertility and masks of the Monster of the Earth (Cauac), separating the underworld (kingdom of the dead), from the upperworld (kingdom of the gods). From this surface aquatic animals emerge (2 toads and 2 crocodiles) with their mouth opened into 180°, which represent the Earth in its vegetative and fertile feature. The kings of the upperworld are responsible for the abundance and wealth of its subjects. When we enter the edifice through its three doors that are located under the frieze, our entrance symbolizes the entrance to the Mayan underworld. The following is quoted from an INAH Sign at Balamku. "Besides illustrating the opposite and complementary aspects of the underworld, Balamkú's frieze compares dynastic and solar cycles. The king raises from the earth monster's maw, just as the Sun emerges from the Earth's mouth. The ruler's death is seen as if it were a sunset, when he falls into the monster's mouth. A double emanation is illustrated: an amphibian arises from the earth monster's cleft, and from its mouth the king emerges. The large masks and jaguars express the wealth of the earth, and the amphibian assures transition between these two worlds. Simultaneously this motif signifies glorification of the kingdom and the demonstration of its earthly origin and its nexus to fertility. The frieze indicates the nature and function of the building where it belongs: the upper level corresponds to the earth's surface, and the substructure is the underworld. Therefore, when someone enters through one of the building's doors, it is as if they were penetrating the underworld." Balamku, Calakmul, Chicanna and Xpuhil are so close together that they can be visited in one day if necessary. If you visit Balamku you will notice that the frieze is so very large and that the room it is enclosed in is so very small and dark that the frieze is difficult to photograph. Also no flash photography is permitted. We suggest the use of a wide angle lens and if using film you need to use 800+ ASA film. We suggest having a photo lab to develop the film and to push it one stop. If using a digital camera, set your camera for low light with wide apature exposure. Try to set your camera speed for less than a half second. Our photos were with wide angle at low light conditions on a digital camera. Unfortunately our low light focus was not working and some came out a little out of focus. Our photos were taken on February 2, 2004 at about 1 PM. Many of the structures are unmarked so we have no captions under most structure photos on this page.