Mayan_Meanings_within_dancesOne particular dance that has been discovered is called the Snake Dance. It was depicted on a panel that was looted from an unknown site. It depicted King Bird-Jaguar of Yaxchilan dancing with a snake. It also depicted the ruler of the town participating in important rituals with his king. Both men are wearing elaborate headdresses, personified wings, long feathers that arched behind them and they danced with snakes. The Snake Dance was also celebrated by the lords of Palenque. This time the dance was done with a male who has an ax in one hand and a serpent in the other, and a women who is grasping the lower body of the snake. These dancers wore costumes of First Father and First Mother, the deities whose actions enabled the final Creation and the birth of all the gods. This depiction is thought to point toward the role of dance in the story of Creation. |