Sacred Space, Structure and Spiritual Portals of the Ancient Maya: The Sak Nuk Nah ? White Skin House in Palenque

The cosmology of the ancient Maya envisioned a fluid universe, in which patterns in the cosmos above were replicated in the earth below. Destinies of individuals, cities and entire peoples were determined by stellar configurations - cycles of abundance and scarcity, creation and destruction were linked to celestial cycles. The world and its surroundings were multi-layered with three major dimensions: the Underworld of watery depths and Death Lords, the Middleworld of humans and creatures of earth, and the Upperworld of deities and ancestors. These three dimensions inter-penetrated each other, and denizens of each level could take actions and interact with inhabitants in the others. While encounters with other-worldly beings were possible for any Maya, special abilities must be developed to deliberately interact between dimensions and exert influence. Such shamanic skills were part of the training of all rulers and the priesthood.

The Mayas did not think of sacred space in the abstract. To them, the naming, ordering, measuring and locating of places brought about their proper functions. The relationship between their cosmology and the built environment was expressed through use of language; analogies strongly drawn between places and the human body, the house, and the natural world.