294 drama and theater: The Americas and courtly gestures of the Mayan rulers found on stone carvings have been interpreted as dance costumes and poses meant to enhance the role of the kings as intermediaries between cosmic forces and their divine right to wage war and kill enemies Battle and presentation scenes on murals also have been interpreted as ritual reenactments of war episodes, carried out within the city borders of the winning party after the actual battle Sacrifice, a central element of Amerindian religion, also played an important part in the dramatic arts It might take the form of simple offerings of food and objects or involve self-inflicted wounds and even human sacrifice In any case, it was perceived as a necessary act to ensure the continuity of agricultural cycles, royal lineages, and all human activities within the larger realm of nature Practiced widely in the Americas, the sacrifice of war captives, children, or young women was perceived as the highest form of worship and was the culminating act of public rituals that lasted several days The victims were sometimes honored like gods for months before the celebrations in which they were killed Native North Americans are well known for their rich artistic heritage of dances, music, and public spectacles Most of the information was recorded by travelers, explorers, and merchants in the 19th century; little archaeological evidence exists to prove that these documented customs were observed in earlier centuries Given the widely scattered locations of indigenous settlements among both sedentary and nomadic tribes, communal performances were the primary vehicle of social interaction, economic exchange, and family formation Agricultural or seasonal cycles played a major role An early British visitor to the southeastern region of North America named John White depicted a dance performed by a group of 15 people circling around carved poles The performers are adorned with little more than bird feathers Music is produced by rattles Scholars have speculated that this dance might have been a harvest ceremony, given the time of year depicted According to early sources, animal dances dedicated to family ancestors or to ensure good luck in hunting also were common Through the dance, which enabled the performers to become animals briefly, family members could communicate with their dead and honor their past Other forms of drama involved blood sacrifice, such as the Sun Dance among the northern Plains Indians During this ceremony, boys were introduced to adult society by having their chests cut open and then sewn up by a medicine man The rite was closely related to warfare and meant to instill courage in the young warriors Similarly, the native people along the northwestern coast of North America performed highly dramatic rituals during which the actors transformed themselves into frightening and powerful creatures, either mythical or real, and ritually “ate” the initiates before reintroducing them to the real world as adults Between 600 and 800 the Mayan civilization, located in the southern lowlands of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Belize, underwent a period of expansion The elites in the major population centers monopolized ritual and drama to sustain a powerful political ideology Dances enabled the rulers to transform themselves into animals and supernatural beings, thus publicly demonstrating their divine qualities Depictions of Mayan rulers standing in a frontal position with one heel lifted have been recognized as indicating that the ruler was dancing Hands raised above shoulder level and wrists held in a twisted position are also indications of dance The movements and gestures were highly codified; they had specific meanings related to Mayan sacred beliefs The notion that the ruler’s performance of a public dance had a special power can be traced to a mythological dance executed by two primordial Mayan heroes According to the Popol Vuh, the Mayan account of creation, the twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque performed a dance in front of the lords of the underworld in order to rescue their father from death In this way Hunahpu and Xbalanque gave humankind the power of defeating death through ritual dancing A similar concept of dance as renewal associates Mayan depictions of dancing rulers and gods with the young maize plant The agricultural cycle of the plant is replicated by the human figure The position of the legs and outstretched arms indicates dancing, while the elongated head and foliated headdress and back rack signal the dancer’s association with the sprouting plant War and sacrifice are other common themes associated with ritual dancing among the ancient Maya The murals at Bonampak in the southern lowlands and Cacaxtla in central Mexico depict reenacted scenes of battle and the ritual torture and killing of captives The Bonampak murals date to 790; they are found in a three-chambered windowless edifice They record a public drama that had taken place not long before the painting was executed In the first room royal dignitaries are getting ready for the dance, while musicians and attendants holding large fans are rehearsing the performance The main dancers, including the ruler, wear jaguar pelt costumes and headdresses with quetzal feathers The second room contains a depiction of a theatrical recreation of warfare Music is playing during the furor of the battle, and more dramatic effects are achieved by the elaborate costumes of the fighting warriors In the third room the ruler’s accession ceremony culminates in a sacrificial dance with bloodletting rituals On the stairs of a giant pyramid numerous figures balance themselves by spreading their arms, waving fans, and wearing oversized plumed headdresses