In Guatemala, with the repair of one of the oldest private houses under several layers of plaster were discovered unique colorful murals of people Isil, which still represents one of the biggest groups of the Mayan civilization.
a study published in the journal Antiquity. Polish archaeologists surveyed several buildings in the ancient chajul in the West of Guatemala. The result was discovered unprecedented set of wall paintings, which dated back to the colonial period. According to scientists, the frescoes were made from 1524 to 1821 ad.
the First of these was accidentally discovered in 2003 by a local resident who started the renovation of their home. However, prior to 2008 due to the unstable political situation in the country, scientists could not obtain access to these findings. For the same reasons in Cahul more than 40 years, I did not let the researchers.
Only now was able to document the mural. Their iconography is unique because it combines elements of the pre-Columbian era brought by the Europeans motives. First, such images are not found in a religious building and a residential building.
the researchers conducted an iconographic, chemical and radiocarbon analysis of paintings. Most of them dates back to the XVII-XVIII centuries. Perhaps their appearance was connected with the revival of indigenous religious traditions, the weakening of the Spanish colonial rule.
Murals are painted bright colors, they have survived fairly well. They depict scenes connected by a plot. The main characters are musicians and dancers. Scientists pay attention to the alloy of Indian and Spanish traditions, which are reflected in the iconography.
So, the frescoes depict people entirely dressed in European costumes. But they meet and people whose clothing is a mixed Indian-Spanish outfits. The same can be said about instruments.
Some of the musicians playing the instruments of the people of Isil. But in the hands of other visible tools that were brought by the Spaniards. For example, one of them plays chirimia is made from a reed wind instrument resembling the oboe, which was imported from Europe.
Perhaps, the murals represent a long tradition, which tells a very important text called “Huehuetenango ACI”. In Mayan language it means “dance of the trumpets”. This document describes the events of the beginning of the XV century. It mentioned the Prince Kavak who calls himself a “man of Lord Chachula alien, alien Kunena”. The town of cunén is located South of Kahula.
Described in the legend dances still performed among the indigenous population, and it is believed that they reflect the conflict between the peoples of the quiché and Isil. Perhaps the dance was an element of political negotiations. The legend of the centuries�� orally passed down from generation to generation, until in the nineteenth century it was not recorded by the French priest Brasseur de Bourbourg.
the Largest city of the people of Isil of Cahul, Nebaj and Cotzal was captured by the Spaniards in the XVI century, but remained still. The local population largely preserved their traditions and cultural identity. Scientists estimate that the total number of descendants of the Maya today approximately eight million people. Order 6.2 million of them live in Guatemala.
