Pre-Hispanic ritual and New Wave fads at Mexican pyramid

The Independent ^ | 23 March 2002 | Jan McGirk

[ThJ1800]

Pre-Hispanic ritual and New Wave fads at Mexican pyramid
By Jan McGirk in Mexico City
The Independent, 23 March 2002

More than a million Mexicans jostled with shamans and charlatans to mount the ancient Pyramid of the Sun, 30 miles from Mexico City, at dawn on Thursday.

The huge step-pyramid at Teotihuacan, twinned with the Pyramid of the Moon, annually draws throngs of sun-worshippers and geomancers dressed in white, with red sashes knotted over the solar plexus or binding their temples.

Since the millennium, turn-out has soared. There are bricklayers and backpackers, chambermaids and chartered accountants, but the majority seem to be working-class Mexican mystics.

During vernal equinox rites every 21 March, most pyramid climbers face the sun, eyes shut, intent on charging themselves up with energy. Through an ad hoc blend of pre-Hispanic rituals and New Age fads, they seek a mystical epiphany.

Visitors peak at daybreak, noon or sunset. They mass along the 3km Avenue of the Dead, skirting a sacred lava tube considered to be the womb of the gods before they climb.

The Perez family arrived shortly after dawn, toting a conch shell which they blew in all four cardinal directions from atop the pyramid. There was noisy competition. A San Francisco couple had hauled up a didgeridoo, a quartz crystal the size of a hummingbird and some fragrant sage for a witchdoctor to set alight. Following a new directive meant to protect the pyramids from damage, uniformed police quickly confiscated the herbs.

Some 3,000 security police lined the pyramid's steps like gargoyles with mirrored sunglasses, stationed to prevent thefts and falls. Last year, a boy was crushed on the rocks 230ft below when he lost his footing and his parents had to retrieve his body from a bed of obsidian chips.

Sophisticates may sneer at New Age tomfoolery; others worry about keeping the site sacred, for these immense ruins, constructed 1,900 years ago, were already venerable when the Aztecs stumbled on to the deserted city they called "Place of the Gods".

Arturo Zárate, the director of the archaeological site, was determined to limit access and keep vandals off the pyramids, but he could not stop the momentum of this event.

Pre-Hispanic revivalism, known as Mexicanidad, does not seem to faze populist Roman Catholics, however. Nuns joined in these equinox celebrations with gusto.

[Libertarian_4_eva]

This is not new these groups started in the late 1800's with rich people here in the states.

[ThJ1800]

I think what is of import in the article is the growth of this movement, not its point of origin.

[Dialup Llama]

>Nuns joined in these equinox celebrations with gusto.

Why does this not surprise me?

[FITZ]

As soon as Hollywood hears about this, it will become a big fad there too. We'll soon see the celebrities jumping on the pyramids to celebrate these pagan feasts.

[FITZ]

The huge step-pyramid at Teotihuacan, twinned with the Pyramid of the Moon

They're going to have to put some railings on those pyramids or there's going to be some terrible accidents with people falling. Those pyramids aren't that authentic anyhow after the Mexican government fixed them up for the Olympics.

[dennisw]

Are they going to have any Aztec human sacrifices to the sun god?

[sarcasm]

When I was there in the early 70's the place was deserted - interesting article.

[Semaphore Heathcliffe]

Pre-Hispanic ritual and New Wave fads at Mexican pyramid

Rituals conducted by shaman wearing parachute pants and Vans?

[FITZ]

Maybe we could convince them to sacrifice Hollywood celebrities if they do show up there.

[FITZ]

When I was there, it seemed Mexicans resented the pyramids because the same government that fixed them up for the tourists for the 1969 Olympics is the government which shot down those 300 students in Tlatelco plaza. I was told they were mostly fake because the government just wanted them to look impressive and didn't bother with authenticity.