XNUMX years living in Mexico,

“Showing the true face of Mexico to the world!'

with the motto

I'm Kou Iwasaki, a licensed tour guide and driver in Mexico.

 

Due to Corona

I haven't cut my hair since March,

My head is unkempt. (smile)

Maybe I'll have my wife cut it this weekend...

 

I'm glad that my head is like that,

Today's topic is

 

Tonina.

Tonin a

Write.

 

In the big tree of the Maya family,

If there is a branch of the so-called Mayan language,

another branch,

In other words, in a language called Tzeltal in another parent branch,

"Stone House"

is what it means.

Maya and Tzeltal are

Although it is a Maya language in a big sense,

If you look closely,

It is the language of cousins.

 

So what is Tonina?

It is a city ruins (remains) of Mayan culture.

Until now,

Calakmul,

I have seen Palenque,

It was the last large city of the early Maya period.

one more,

There is an important city ruins (ruins) called Tikal,

This is neighboring Guatemala,

I will omit it in my blog.

 

This Tonina

The most prosperous from around XNUMX,

It is said to be around the year XNUMX.

Many stone monuments have been found

The last one is from XNUMX.

 

Geographically

About XNUMX km in a straight line southwest from Calakmul,

Located about XNUMX kilometers due south of Palenque,

The town of Ocosingo in Chiapas is nearby.

The area with Tonina and Okosingo is a valley,

There are mountains to the north and south,

It is a terrain that runs east and west.

The location of this Tonina is

Even in this Ocosingo Valley

It's one of the highest places.

It is located at the western end of the Maya cultural sphere.

☝☝☝Ocosingo Valley
from google map

 

of Tonina Ruins

"Ball Ritual Ground"

In the vicinity

Nearby Palenque and

A stone statue believed to be a warrior has been found at the Copan ruins in present-day Honduras.

Those statues have their hands tied behind their backs.

You're a prisoner of war.

☝☝☝This is it.

 

Tonina is a city that has endured about XNUMX years of war.

By that war

Overthrow Palenqueand two sons of King Pakal, considered the greatest king of Palenque.

taken as prisoners of war.

Copan becomes an alliance.

This

After Palenque

It became the most powerful city in the early Maya period,

The Last "Witness" of the Early MayaIt became.

 

There is a large religious building "Pyramid" in the ruins.

What a height of XNUMXm,

That's taller than the famous Teotihuacan Pyramid of the Sun! ?

And the width is XNUMXm, which is also wider than Teotihuacan! ?

 

It's not a quadrangular pyramid that is generally imagined.

carved a small hill,

It is made up of XNUMX layers.

 

According to official references,

The central "staircase" (called escalinata in archaeology)

There are XNUMX steps.

this number,

Mesoamerican calendar,

Tonalpohualli

It matches the number of days in a year.

 

Tonalpowari is Nahuatl,

in the Mayan languageTzolkinIt's called.

 

I will explain properly later,

Maya and Mexica (Aztec)

Although the name is different,

In Mesoamerica, a calendar with a common mechanism was used.

It's strange, isn't it?

Although the culture, customs, location and language are completely different,

common in Mesoamerica.

One is the solar calendar that is still in use today.

It is a calendar of XNUMX days + XNUMX days.

Also one more

XNUMXth x XNUMX weeks,

In other words, it is a XNUMX-day calendar.

This is Tzolkin in Mayan,

Or tonalpowari in Nahuatl.

Four more to be exact

A total of six calendars were used by the Maya.

 

By the way,

The "hole" in the "pyramid" of El Tajin in Veracruz

There are XNUMX of them.

(Picture at the top of my Facebook)

 

On the other hand,

These numbers are

I can't rule out the possibility that I was forced to match it at the time of restoration, so

I"For your reference"

I take it as

 

"Unfortunately," Tonina said,

It doesn't seem to be picked up in the guidebook, but (bitter smile)

It is one of the important places to know the Maya cultural sphere.

 

If you let me

Depending on the time

Calakmul,

Of course Palenque

We stopped at some distant ruins such as Bonampak and Justiran,

Descending south, stopping at Tonina,

We can also take you to many other Chiapas attractions along the way.

Tentatively,

In the ruins above

I think that I can generally know the early Maya period.

 

From and to Mexico City

Even at the nearest airport pick-up & / OR drop,

You can freely set up a schedule according to your time and convenience.

I will drive from the capital,

If you come with us, we can save on airfare. (smile)

 

Journey to the early Maya,

Recommended. (smile)

 

#MexicoCentralTours

[Kiote Communication]See also back issues