Sun-Chaser: Marvin J. Vann, an American Life

Mayhem, Polygamy, Incest

In successive trips to sites in Guatemala and Mexico and in his reading about the Mayan survivors, Marvin learned much, not only about the Lacandon way of life but, particularly from his missionary friend Phil Baer, about their recent history as well. Phil was a formally trained and skillful anthropologist who was able to compile a history of the families of the southern Lacandons of Lacanja that covered both those living and several generations of their forebears. Like many preliterate (or, in the Mayan case, post-literate) peoples, the Lacandons convey an enormous trove of dependable information in stories that pass from one generation to another, preserving even purportedly verbatim conversations from prior generations. Far from confirming the romantic notion of a forest people at peace with the environment and with each other, Baer's interviews painted a grizzly picture of revenge-code killings and murders committed for the purpose Page  82of wife stealing. Death by mayhem exceeded all other causes of mortality, accounting for 28% of all the fatalities in the period Baer studied.[1]

Although he corrected the notion, widespread among his contemporaries, that the southern branch of the Lacandons were experiencing a steady population decline, Baer did document a population with an oversupply of men and a paucity of marriageable women. This imbalance, exaggerated by the practice of polygamy, produced the sorry result of a continual competition among the men for the available women. The ongoing struggle involved murdering husbands and, sometimes, male children, and then kidnapping women and their daughters. Whatever the women privately thought of this enforced and sometimes multiple change of husbands, they seemed to accept the situation as a fact to be dealt with in a short (thirty-four years on average) and difficult life. Although incest taboos theoretically precluded cohabitation among near relatives, marriages between close cousins, between grandfathers and granddaughters, or between uncles and nieces were not uncommon.

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Marvin himself discovered in conversation with Mateo of the northern Lacandons that Mateo's society believed the very existence of the world depended on the survival of his people. Based on historical evidence, they knew that despite occasional population expansions like the one Phil Baer had documented, over the longer term their numbers would decline. Extending the world's survival took precedence over incest taboos and strictures against the pre-menstrual marriage for women. As a result, men sometimes married girls as young as eight—though at least in theory sexual intercourse was precluded until puberty. In at least one case, Marvin met a brother and sister who were engaged to marry.

Marvin also observed that, whereas the southern Lacandons had become at least nominally Christianized and a number of them had assimilated to the broader Mexican culture, abandoning the native white cotton smock for blue jeans and exchanging long hair for stylish trims and sun glasses, the northerners quietly resisted both Euro religion and Western culture. Each village among the northern Lacandons had a god house where, in earthenware god pots, a priest venerated the old Mayan gods by burning copa— resinous incense whose perfume smelled sweet in their nostrils—and where he chanted his prayers for the people. This much evidence of the continued practice of at least the vestiges of the ancient religion was evident not only to Marvin but also to the many tourists who, in their dozens and even hundreds, frequented old Chan K'in's village at Naja. Unlike Marvin, however, most of those visitors flew in to the little airstrip, crossed the lake, looked around, bought souvenirs from the Lacandons, and flew out later the same day, having been there and done that.

In contrast, Marvin's repeated visits and his scientific approach to the study of Lacandon material culture uncovered the survival of theretofore-unsuspected details about the surviving Mayan religious observations. Particularly, he discovered, the Lacandons practiced old rituals in secret at some of the unvisited ancient sites deep in the jungles. Marvin discovered evidence of this on his first and second visits to the ruins at Canancax where the Tzeltal Indians of Sibal, living nearby, feared to approach the ruins except in the Gringos' company lest the Lacandons become hostile.

The Tzeltal had first guided Marvin and his colleague Tom Fisher to the ruins at Canancax in 1969 after Jack Teague, a missionary friend from the Page  84Wycliffe society, informed Marvin of their existence. Hardly known outside the rain forest, the ruins had not been explored or mapped, so Marvin told Tom Fisher about them, and along with Jack as translator, the Californian friends first looked them over, and were surprised to find modern Lacandon god pots in the vicinity of a building that seemed better preserved than some of the others. The team of adventurers decided to "bush out the site" with the help of a Tzeltal work party, partly to clear it of vegetation and to map and document the crumbling structures during their subsequent expedition in 1970.

This project required tripods for the transits and cameras, and on the theory that photographers with tripods were professionals who would profit, the authorities insisted that tripods coming into Mexico be licensed. Marvin and Tom took the trouble to do so while letting the authorities assume they were tourist photographers rather than amateur archeologists bent on unauthorized exploration. In fact, their verbal contract with the Tzeltal had sworn the Indians to secrecy concerning the true objective of their mission.

Making their way from Sibal through the forest's morning mists, they retraced their steps of the year before to the site of Canancax. Once there, they first carefully used a fine compass to establish the north-south axis of the main plaza, a feature of all Mayan ceremonial sites. Once they had done this and had carefully established the plaza's four corners, they and their three Tzeltal work crews laboriously proceeded to excavate and bush the site without disturbing the large trees. Slowly the salient features of a typical Mayan temple complex emerged. Despite the shade of the tall trees, the heat was exhausting, and everyone tried to be cautious lest they provoke a nauyuca. As no snakes had appeared, Marvin began excavating a set of steps on the eastern side of the Plaza using a machete and his bare hands. The Tzeltal workmen interrupted his progress to show him something on the southern staircase where they were working. There, a four-foot-long fer de lance stretched itself contentedly on a log near its home in the corner of the staircase. Marvin continued clearing the east staircase with his machete only. As it happened, he remembers, that was the only snake that anyone saw. Doubtless the noise and confusion had frightened any others in the vicinity into hiding.

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After a week's work, enough of the site was uncovered to allow Marvin, Tom, and Jack to employ tape measures and range finders to plot the buildings on a plan map. Though time and the elements had reduced most of the buildings to piles of stone, once the vegetation had been cleared, it was easy to visualize the site as it must have appeared to its builders. One of the buildings had been partly propped up by the roots of a sapodilla tree and had not collapsed. That entire edifice was covered in a smooth layer of plaster, and on the north side the team discovered beautiful frescos in a remarkable state of preservation. One pictured a bird-like, anthropomorphic figure holding a scepter and wearing a feathered headdress, and Marvin and Tom opined that perhaps that fresco had led the Lacandons to label the site "Canancax," which means something like "the keeper of the chicken."[2] The explorers also discovered numerous potsherds that showed evidence of having been used to burn incense. As we shall see, Marvin also noticed Page  86that since he had last seen it, something had changed about the north side of the building with the frescos.

Marvin describes the site as he approached it along the trail from the Rio Colebra. An area approximately 320 feet long and averaging 60 feet wide had been leveled in the shape of an elongated, inverted S on a hilltop overlooking the trail to the river. Roughly centered along this level space stood three plazas, marked A, B, and C on the site plan. Further along, a possible plaza D may also have existed. Additionally there were six platforms (P1-P6), and seven buildings (I-VII). Building IV displayed the plaster and the frescos.

As the plan suggests, the team ran out of time before they could explore the entire site, and their schedule constrained them to head back to Sibal. Hardly had the expedition arrived at the village, however, when it began raining so hard that their scheduled airplane, flown by a legendary bush pilot, Pepe Martinez, would not be able to pick them up. As they sat with the Tzeltal in the rat-infested hut the Gringos called "Hotel Sibal," chatting in Spanish about their experience at Canancax, Marvin quietly asked in English if his friends had noticed anything about the building with the murals that differed from their visit the year before. Jack and Tom answered almost simultaneously: "The god pots were missing!"

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Naturally, they wondered why and where the pots had gone. Jack put the question in Spanish to the Tzeltal. Tension visibly mounted in the hut. The Tzeltal reluctantly explained that the Lacandons had for a long time regularly been using the ceremonial site at Canancax and that they had put the Tzeltal on notice that they were unhappy about having their buildings disturbed. There had been, they continued, a "flying M" painted on the interior of Temple I. The Lacandons of Naja, led often by Chan K'in or Mateo, had made frequent pilgrimages to perform rituals before that painting, which they worshiped. They had early on warned the Tzeltal that no one was to touch or even to look at the painting. In 1966, however, someone had entered the site and removed the fresco. Accusing the Mexicans of having taken it, the Lacandons had threatened to kill anyone they found molesting the site.

The three Americans knew that they had removed nothing from the site. At the same time, they felt chagrined to think that they might be perceived as having in some way profaned the Lacandons' temple. "Had they done so?" they asked the Tzeltal men. Tension mounted further. The Tzeltal squirmed. They did not want to hurt the feelings of people who were at once their guests and their employers, but at the same time they took the warnings of the Lacandons seriously. In the view of the Lacandons, the Tzeltal themselves were johnny-come-lately interlopers in the rain forest, encroaching on Lacandon territory with large families and with cattle. The situation was touchy, and the Americans did not want to exacerbate hard feelings or trigger violence. They tactfully changed the subject.

That was on a Friday. The rains continued unabated into the weekend, and on Sunday the Tzeltal decided to answer the questions their guests had asked. They answered truthfully, but as obliquely as possible. The Lacandons had themselves taken away the god pots. The "why" was reasonably self-evident. They didn't want outsiders to know where or how the worshipers kept the old ways alive. But now Marvin had another question: "Where did they take the idols?" he asked.

"Far away!" the Tzeltal assured him. "You don't want to go there!"

Telling Marvin and his cohorts that they didn't want to do something was tantamount to a challenge to do it. At that moment, they all resolved that they would go there—wherever "there" proved to be. Nevertheless, Page  88the three perceived that their hosts were genuinely fearful, not so much for themselves as for the safety of the Americans.

Marvin therefore began explaining that he and his companions were on the best of terms with the Lacandons. They had traveled with them, and they knew all of them as friends. Indeed, the Lacandons had guided them to Mayan sites. They then began reeling off the names of the headmen—Jose Pepe Chan Bor of the southern Lacandons at Lacanja, Chan K'in of the northerners at Naja and others. After several hours in this vein, the Tzeltal visibly relaxed. They filled in details omitted earlier.

The Lacandons, they explained, had moved their god pots to a lake far away (two hours on foot by trail). The place was called Lake Guineo. Marv and the others promised the Tzeltal they would return the following year.

"I had the feeling," Marv says, "that they didn't really expect us. But that, of course, is where they were wrong!"

Exploring the Sacred Lake: Hide and Seek the Cayuco: "To Rest, to Fish, and to Pray"

True to their word, Marvin and his associates returned to Sibal not only the following year, but for several years thereafter. As he continued thinking in the intervening months about Lake Guineo or, in Mayan nomenclature, Lake Itzanocu, and about the many small, mostly ruined ceremonial sites scattered throughout the rain forest, Marvin wondered at the energy that the northern Lacandons expended in preserving the vestiges of their ancestral culture. He marveled too at their determined if passive resistance against the best efforts of the missionaries to Christianize them. Marvin's friends, Phil and Mary Baer, had for years maintained a home among the northern Lacandons beside Lake Naja, but the ill success of their missionary work had eventually driven them to move to Lacanja among the southern branch of the people, who proved more receptive to their message.

Marvin's reflections convinced him that Lake Guineo and its environs constituted a particularly important link between the modern Lacandons and their Mayan forebears. Accordingly, he laid plans to learn all he could about the site, which he had already begun to think of as "sacred." After arriving again in the rain forest and spending the night in the hut they called Hotel Sibal, Marvin, Tom, Jack and their Tzeltal guides followed a Page  89good trail north-westward along the right-hand side of the River Colebra. At Sibal the river was about 40 feet wide and shallow enough to ford almost anywhere. As they continued, they crossed a number of tributary streams on log bridges. Fed by these, the Colebra grew wider, deeper, and swifter, developing a number of rapids until, about 200 yards from Lake Guineo the stream dropped in a lovely waterfall and flowed into the Lake.

Marvin remembers that first sight of the beautiful blue, roughly circular lake Page  90with a number of islands appearing to float on its surface. One of these in particular was almost perfectly rectangular in shape and, even from a distance, gave evidence of being man-made. As the party had arrived on foot, however, and with no canoe in sight, it was evident that a look was all the adventurers had in store on this first reconnaissance.

The Tzeltal led their visitors back toward Sibal, and Marvin soon noticed that they were returning by a different trail. The Tzeltal seemed pleased that their charges recognized the difference, and complimented them on their jungle lore. This, in turn, pleased and flattered the Americans. Marvin reflected on the way in which many such small occurrences contributed to his growing bond with the Tzeltal. Soon the Indians pointed out the reason for the detour. A narrow opening just wide enough for a person to squeeze through appeared among the forked roots of an enormous tree. Shining his flashlight inside, Marvin could see that a vertical shaft led down some twenty feet and then opened into a cave. He also noticed that the Tzeltal hung back and would not approach the opening. They explained that they were afraid because it was "the cave of the dead."

The Americans discussed this and agreed on the spot to bring ropes and pulleys back the following year so they could safely investigate the cave. After another night in Hotel Sibal, the Tzeltal led Marvin and his companions back to Lake Guineo by still another route. This time, accompanied by Page  91the village burro, Diablo, who was laden with their camping equipment, they followed an old logging road that made the journey more picturesque. Many of the tall trees had been cleared, and as a result, enough light had penetrated the canopy to encourage the growth of luxuriant foliage. Some of the leaves were five feet across, and bulbs and blooms reached a diameter of twelve inches. They passed a small lake with a gator snoozing at its edge. Also, they encountered many snakes in the ruts of the road. The Tzeltal would have dispatched all the snakes, but Marvin talked them out of killing any except one that they insisted was venomous. He explained to them the role of snakes in the environment and articulated his views on the sanctity of all life. He had the impression that the Indians listened politely without becoming convinced.

Looking back on that conversation, Marvin perceives an irony. The Indians hardly needed a lesson on living in the rain forest from a North American. At the same time, there really was much about their environment that they did not know, and much that it would have profited them to know because that knowledge might have averted some of the environmental damage that has occurred in the intervening decades.

An easy walk of two hours brought them once again to the sacred lake's eastern shore, and there, advised by the Tzeltal about which trees and branches would best support their weight in hammocks, they pitched camp. Given environmentalists' current views on hammocks, the Americans also had lessons to learn.

Admiring the prospect before them, the Americans were once again struck by the islands, appearing to float like ships in the lake. From the new vantage point of their campsite, they were struck once again by the evident care with which people had in at least one case constructed an island and had clearly built up others. As they stood admiring the view, they heard the "chunk" of paddles striking the sides of a cayuco. Soon, the canoe came into sight. Some of the Tzeltal had left during the night to retrieve the canoe from its hiding place. The Lacandons, they said, would steal it if they found it.

Marvin and Jack laughed privately as they recognized the cayuco, a large mahogany one, to be of Lacandon manufacture. Apparently the Tzeltal and the Lacandons stole the canoe repeatedly and hid it from each other until one or the other of them discovered its most recent hiding place. It Page  92was a game. For the moment, the cayuco belonged to the Americans and the Tzeltal.

By the time their boat arrived, Marvin and company were ready to go. Equipped with cameras, first aid kit, machetes, and some food, a party of eight struck out for the western shore. At the Tzeltal's suggestion they left two men armed with rifles to guard their belongings in the camp. It didn't occur to the Americans to wonder who might rob them until they were on their way. After it did occur to them, they decided they might be better off not knowing, but the Tzeltal explained that any camera equipment was at risk since it was easily disposed of for cash in San Cristobal Las Casas, and the cash would buy narcotics.

Over the course of the next several years, Marvin made repeated trips to continue his survey of the Sacred Lake, and the exact sequence of events has over time conflated for him. On one early occasion, with the aid of his compass he laid out on the shore a large, white plastic directional arrow, twelve inches wide and twenty-five feet long to provide a reference point for an aerial survey of the lake and to determine its actual size. He had Pepe Martinez make ten passes over the lake as Marvin, with a successive series of photos, built an aerial reference map of Guineo and its surrounding terrain. The resultant map provided a guide that Marvin and his associates used to plan their further explorations. Choosing only those features that, from the ground, gave clear evidence of human intervention, they started with a small island to the left of their camp and numbered counter-clockwise the island and a series of platforms around the lake's periphery.

Water marks on these structures made clear that the lake's level rose and fell considerably, and Pepe Martinez told Marvin that the lake drained dry Page  93

and refilled to a depth of more than 50 feet in places over a 17 year cycle. Martinez reported as well that, when the lake is dry, man-made stone paths connect some of the islands. Marvin regrets that he was never able to observe these paths when the lake was dry or walk on them. In an effort to verify the paths' existence, Marvin one year built an underwater telescope Page  94that would permit a person in a cayuco to make under-water observations, and he also constructed a waterproof enclosure for his 16-milimeter, movie camera. That same year he brought scuba tanks.

As a result of this effort, Marvin was able to establish the existence of the paths where they led away from the islands. He also ascertained that about 10 feet above and 10 below the then current water line, the ancient Mayans had constructed some of the islands. His water telescope extended his view to a depth of about 15 feet, but thereafter, the water grew too murky for the telescope. He did risk direct observation, diving to a depth of about 25 feet while tethered to a Cayuco, but again he could not see much. In places, he verified that the water was indeed over 50 feet deep, but as his line was just over 50 feet long, he couldn't verify how much deeper. Both bad visibility and the presence of alligators made further research under water just too risky.

Attempting to verify the 17-year cycle above the water line also proved frustrating. Although the lime rings on the lakeshore substantiated the lake's regular rising and falling, the cycle's periodicity proved elusive. Marvin tried taking core samples with a core drill of his own manufacture, and these confirmed the evidence of the lime rings but added nothing new. He racked his brains: did the lake's cycle correspond with any natural astronomical cycles? Was Pepe right about the seventeen years? The only natural cycle that occurred to him that seemed close was the sun spot cycle of twenty-two years. That, he thought, the ancient Mayan astronomers probably knew about. Now Marvin is regretfully recon- Page  95ciled to never knowing for sure and to never tracing those inter-island paths dry-shod.

Ashore, however, discoveries came apace. The aerial map revealed that subsidiary ponds, almost obscured by overhanging trees, were connected to the main lake by exceedingly narrow but just navigable channels. Pushing up one of these with their paddles, Marvin recalls the awe he felt as the channel suddenly opened into a secluded pool at the foot of a considerable bluff. On the right side of that bluff and ordinarily concealed from prying eyes, Marvin discovered a black painting of a ceremonial headdress, an eagle. About 10 feet above the then current water line, the picture had clearly been painted from a cayuco at a time when the water level was higher. The representation seemed intended as a kind of signpost, for just to its left and concealed by brush, Marv and his associates found the entrance to a cave. Some 20 feet long, 15 wide, and 10 high at its dome, the cave proved to be a Lacandon shrine. Its floor was covered with leaves, and along its back wall a number of ceremonial god pots were aligned. Touching nothing, the Yankees photographed the scene and savored the moment of discovery.

Having found the eastern shore of the lake richer in interest than the western, Marv and his crew moved their camp. As they did so, they noticed Page  96a small, open structure some twenty by thirty feet in size. Tactfully asking about it, Jack led the Tzeltal to tell him that the structure was Lacandon and that the northerners from Lake Naja used it when they came "to rest and fish."

"The resting part was certainly credible," Marvin says. Naja was a long way off and over a formidable mountain. "So," he continues, "is the fishing part—except, there are plenty of fish in Lake Naja. Why come here?"

Not long thereafter, while crossing the lake from the eastern shore, Marvin observed a cayuco ahead bearing four Lacandons. They were heading from south to north along the western shore. As the canoes came within easy hailing distance, Marvin waved, and the Lacandons waved back. They headed for the resting and fishing shelter. Once they were ashore and appeared to be settled, Marvin, Tom, and Jack approached and greeted them. The four Lacandons were old Chan K'in, his wife, and two of his sons.

Marvin recalls with pleasure that Chan K'in, then the oldest living male Lacandon person, was a repository of an oral tradition that ran all the way back to classical Mayan times and included stories about those who fled the Spanish and found safety in the rain forest. Chan K'in, of course, knew the Americans well. Not only had the three often visited him at Naja, the old Presidente of the village had himself actually guided them to see a site that he claimed had otherwise remained unvisited since its discovery. The place was called Ojos de Agua de Azul. The Tzeltal accompanying Marvin were visibly relieved to discover that all the Americans had told them about their cordial relations with the Lacandons was really true.

Chan K'in invited Marvin to move his camp closer to the Lacandons, and Marv accepted. He imagines that the Lacandons wished to keep an eye on the Americans, and the Americans felt similarly motivated.

"There is no point," Marvin says, "in being evasive with the Lacandon. They will not lie to you, and they don't expect you to spoof them. They seem to have a way of reading your mind. If you ask a question they prefer not to answer, they reply, `No say.' Thereafter, it is best to drop that subject."

After moving camp and following an evening bath in the lake, Marvin and his friends invited Chan K'in and family to dine with them. This pleased the Lacandons very much, for during prior contact with Marvin, they had come to relish the dehydrated food he always brought along. So Page  97everyone had a good time, and much information was exchanged that satisfied everyone's curiosity.

Marvin explained to Chan K'in about his party's survey of the islands and platforms, and he demonstrated the underwater telescope, which the Lacandons found especially intriguing.

Then Marvin casually asked why Chan Kin's group had made such a difficult journey over the mountain.

"We are here to rest, and to fish, and to pray," the old leader answered.

Everyone fell silent for a few moments. Then Marvin asked if Chan K'in would take his group to the Lacandon's sacred place or shrine. Unhesitatingly, Chan K'in agreed to do so. In fact, he said he would do it the next day, for he would return to Naja two days after. After "good nights" all around, the party dissolved, and Marvin rolled into his hammock much elated, speculating about what the next day would bring.

In the Caves of the Dead

The next day dawned beautiful, and Chan K'in invited Tom, Jack, and Marvin over to the Lacandon shelter for breakfast in anticipation of the day's outing. The Tzeltals, of course, were not invited, so Marvin discussed with them plans for the rest of his stay. He told some of the Tzeltal to return to Sibal with old Diablo, who would carry back the lights for the 16mm. camera, and the ropes and pulleys. The others he instructed to rest up in camp, and told them that in two days they would head back to Sibal after a stop to inspect the cave of the dead.

Moreover, Marvin explained to the Tzeltal, the Americans would like to cross the mountain to Naja as the Lacandons would do. Marv hoped some of the Tzeltal might like to join them on the mountain trek The Tzeltal half-heartedly tried to discourage this project, explaining that the crossing was a difficult one even for them, and that there was no turning back once on the mountain.

Marv stuck by his guns, however, and the Tzeltal, who had come to understand that he meant what he said, agreed to do it. In the meantime they suggested that, after visiting the Lacandon shrine, Marvin and company leave from the old camp site on the eastern shore and meet those who went back to Sibal for equipment and the patient Diablo at the cave. Doing so Page  98would save the Indians almost a day of walking. This plan Marv agreed to, and he and his companions went to join Chan K'in and family for a leisurely breakfast of tortillas, beans, and fish.

After breakfast, the Americans joined Chan K'in and his two sons in a large cayuco that the Lacandons had apparently successfully hidden from the Tzeltal. The sons paddled while the others chatted and enjoyed the scenery. Marvin observed that the Lacandons were now taking them in the direction opposite to the one he had seen them following the day before. Eventually they ended up at the same shrine of the black eagle that Marvin had already visited. Marvin and his chums had the good sense to act pleased and surprised and grateful, but privately Marvin felt convinced that the Lacandons had another, perhaps more holy, shrine somewhere in the opposite direction. He tried to think about something else lest Chan K'in discern his thoughts.

Once back at the camp, Marvin once more brought out the underwater telescope, and his Indian friends were so charmed with it that, in parting, he made them a present of it. Then the Lacandons departed after Marvin promised to see them at Naja in a few days.

Once the Lacandon were gone, Marv, Tom, and Jack prepared for their evening skinny dip and tried to persuade the Tzeltal to join them. The Indians, however, refused. Jack asked if they were bashful.

"No, no, señor," they replied, "lagarto, lagarto!"

And to illustrate their point, they coaxed a three-foot-long baby alligator ashore so the Gringos could have a photo session. Marvin reasoned that where there was a baby lagarto, its mama would not be far away. Mama lagartos have a richly deserved reputation for ferocity in defense of their young. Much to Jack's amusement, Marvin and Tom instantly lost their enthusiasm for swimming.

By the time Marvin and friends arose the next morning, the Lacandons had long since broken camp and slipped away. Taking only their camera equipment, the Americans moved off along the trail that led to the great tree with the opening among its roots. On their arrival they found the Tzeltal awaiting them, the pulley already attached to a stout overhead branch, and the rope rigged for descent. Marv, Tom, Jack, and one of the Tzeltals Page  99were gingerly lowered into the crevice, and then the camera equipment followed them.

Despite the fact that the cave proved remarkably free of dust, Marvin and his companions took special pains not to stir up any more than they could help. They also tried to breathe as shallowly as possible, for they found themselves in an ancient burial site containing many skulls and bones arranged in piles. They had all read about the curse of King Tut and about how many associated with its discovery had died, as later medicos opined, because they had inhaled exotic fungus that killed them. Among colorfully spectacular stalactites and stalagmites, they walked silently, took their pictures, and continued deeper and deeper until the passage became so small only an experienced spelunker might have risked proceeding and until the batteries of the camera lights lost power. The Tzeltal above hauled up the hardy four. Marvin recalls the relief he felt at the sight of the lovely lake and the ability to breathe deeply without concern.

Driven now by his suspicion about further potential discoveries about survivals of Mayan religious practice, Marvin suggested delaying the planned departure. The friends agreed to spend one more day exploring likely venues for other caves and shrines. They had earlier noticed a picturesque rock at the water's edge not far from their current position. Marvin had even Page  100remarked that, if he were seeking a spot for a shrine, that rock would make a good candidate. It bore a mantle of trees, and its white limestone made it stand out from the surrounding terrain. Moreover, it was in the direction from which they had seen the Lacandons coming two days before. Clearly, the rock was a logical place to start looking.

Bingo! As they approached they saw a red painting of a baby tigre, a jaguar. Was this another signpost like the black eagle? Twenty-five feet further along the lakeshore, they knew it was, for around the side of the cliff and hidden from view by brush and small trees was a sizeable opening to a large cave. The floor of the cave was about twenty feet above the lake level, and athwart the way up from the shore lay a very recently felled tree. Marvin thinks that Chan K'in's party had felled it as a not too subtle hint to the Americans to stay Page  101away. They got the hint, but they were far too excited by their discoveries to even think about taking it. Moreover, as they approached they had already spotted a smaller recess within the cave. Before it lay three god pots and a pom board. A pom board, Marvin explains, looks like a 12x14 inch cookie sheet with a handle. Pom is the sacred incense the Lacandons use in ceremonial sessions, and several nodules of it were on the board. At the rear of this recessed shrine, just below the level of the floor, the three Americans discovered a grave. In the grave lay a skeleton, wrapped in and covered with leaves, and at its head stood another god pot. Marvin found the burial reminiscent of that of the god-king discovered at Palenque and wonders if the leaf-wrapped skeleton might have belonged to Chan K'in's father or grandfather—a former great leader among his people.

Moved to view the scene as it must have appeared to the Lacandons a few days before, Marvin used lighter fluid to set the god pots ablaze and provide lights for photography. In the pots, the residue of another incense, copal, sizzled. Its odor, the eerie light of the pots, and the shadows they cast all contributed to the sense of mystery (not to mention the sense of misgiving) that the Americans shared. They all felt like schoolboys up to something vaguely dangerous that they knew they shouldn't be doing, especially since the Tzeltal who had accompanied them refused flatly to go into the shrine.

That reluctance notwithstanding, the Tzeltal seemed to have caught the spirit of adventure at least to a degree. Their reluctance to tell the Americans about Lacandon sacred locations evaporated. There was a cave, they said, with an underwater opening about 20 feet down, and there was pottery down there. But given mama lagarto and the risks of underwater spelunking, Marvin wisely decided to forego exploring that one. Not much further along, however, they discovered a much larger cave than the ones they had already seen. And this one posed a problem of another order. Marvin explains that he has never heard of the Lacandons cremating their dead. If their friends or family members die, they bury them. If they kill their enemies, they leave them to rot where they drop. But here indisputably, as the charred bones attested, Marvin and his companions had stumbled upon a crematorium. It too contained god pots and other pottery, presumably incensoria, but here the pots were all shattered. Marvin suspects that this cave was where Page  102the Lacandons, or perhaps their Mayan ancestors, had brought those who had died of contagious disease. Because he did not want to risk offending Chan K'in and the others at Naja, Marvin never asked.

The adventurers discovered one more cave of the dead that day. This time, the bones and skulls had merely been laid to rest on the ground. Many of the remains had been scattered by a beast or beasts that, as Marvin thought, might have taken over the cave as a lair. At any rate, the afternoon was waning, and it was time to go back to camp.

A Mountain Trek; Teen Federales; the Arana's Revenge; a Room with a View

After a peaceful night's rest, the trio awoke to a beautiful morning and to discover that the Tzeltal had already arrived from Sibal leading the faithful Diablo for the laborious trek over the mountain. Diablo carried most of the gear, and one of the Tzeltal toted the camera so that all Marv and his friends had to do was walk.

Soon the Sacred Lake with its islands floating in the mists disappeared as the party entered the tall trees of the forest. The trail quickly began to rise and, though always visible, became increasingly difficult owing to Page  103loose rock and stones. The grade grew steeper, and switchbacks in the trail became more and more frequent. "There was little sense of time," Marvin says, "just a sense of going up and up. Since we had no idea how long it would take us, we measured our progress by our rest stops."

As the party reached a reasonably level, flat area, they were suddenly confronted by a group of about ten young men—teenagers really— who wore the uniforms of Mexican Federal troops, Federales, and who carried carbines. Humorless and arrogant in their behavior, the young men closely cross-questioned the North Americanos.

As the best Spanish linguist, Jack Teague did the talking for Marvin's group.

Did the Americans have any pistols or cartridges?

"No."

Did they have any tequila?

"No."

What were they doing on the mountain?

Jack politely explained their purposes.

At that point Marvin suggested to Jack that he tell the Federales about their official authorizations from the government of Mexico. In support of that explanation, with great ceremony and courtesy, Tom produced some old photographic permissions laden with official stamps in blue ink and with scribbled signatures. Tom handed these to the young Federales upside down, and they closely examined and "read" them in the same position. Marvin thinks that all the official stamps did the trick. Seemingly satisfied, the young men dismissively waved the party on its way.

Marvin asked if he could photograph the group, but the Federales very firmly refused. Their demeanor made abundantly clear that they were not to be trifled with. The entire encounter had lasted about 15 minutes, and the soldiers followed Marvin's party for some distance until they seemed satisfied that the Gringos were really headed for Naja. Marvin's Tzeltal companions had remained silent throughout the discussion and had done their best to remain invisible in the background. These same Federales, they later explained, had recently rifled their village and made off with some of their property. Eventually the young troopers turned back downhill, and Marvin's party continued to the crest of the mountain.

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There the grade leveled out, and a stream flowing in approximately the direction of Naja blocked their progress. Though the stream was clear and rapid it wasn't deep, and with the heat and exertion of their climb the party felt relieved to have to ford it. Old Diablo was first across, followed closely by the men, clothes and all.

The opposite bank was high, about eight feet, steep, and covered with loose soil and rocks. Everyone, including Diablo, had to scramble up. The trouble was, they all scrambled into a vast congregation of biting ants that attacked with a vengeance. Everyone hustled back into the stream and ducked under water. Diablo was covered with what Marvin calls "the vicious devils," so they led him back in the stream and splashed the insects off to the animal's evident relief.

This time the party checked for ants before scrambling out of the stream, and after an hour's easy descent arrived at another Tzeltal village named "Lacandon." There the party stopped for a rest and, to their delight and amazement, Cokes that had been purchased at a store near the landing strip at Naja. Pilot Pepe Martinez regularly brought in the supplies obtainable there. Following that break, the party continued downhill and could soon see Lake Naja appear in the distance.

When they at last arrived, old Chan K'in greeted them. All smiles, he complimented the travelers on the success of their difficult journey. Also, he explained, he had prayed for them, for he had expected them a day earlier, as originally planned. The trip, in fact, had proved more difficult than Marvin and his friends had expected. Though Marvin and Jack suffered no ill effects, Tom, who for some reason refused the salt tablets the others took in the heat, felt ill and exhausted. Jack, in contrast, bid his companions farewell and accompanied the Tzeltal back to Sibal by a less arduous route. Chan K'in turned Marvin and Tom over to Jorge Bor, the keeper of the airstrip, and Jorge helped them set up camp near the missionary house that had once been occupied by Phil and Mary Baer before they had given up on converting the northern Lacandons.

A meal of dehydrated food prepared over the campfire somewhat restored Tom, and he and Marvin were chatting and resting when two Mexicans, "tough looking but clean" as Marvin recalls them, carrying dangerous looking machetes arrived on horseback. A Lacandon woman came out of the Page  105missionary house and greeted the men, who accompanied her back inside. Shortly the men reappeared, and spotting the cruise box that contained Marvin's equipment, began asking the same sorts of questions the Federales had earlier put: did the Gringos have any pistolas, anything alcoholic to drink, what were they doing here, and so forth.

In halting Spanish and with much hand waving, Marvin and Tom explained that they had come over the mountain from Lake Guineo. The Mexicans seemed dubious, so the Americans began reeling off the names of the Lacandons they knew in the village. Eyeing the cruise box suspiciously, the Mexicans asked insistently if the two had been hunting alligators and if they had any pistols. Marvin moved to the box, lifted the top, and invited the men to look for themselves.

Doing so was a calculated risk, for concealed near the bottom was indeed Marvin's trusty but contraband forty-five. Luckily Marv's seemingly candid gesture disarmed the Mexicans, who laughed and explained, in perfect English, that they were just checking. They were, they said, just government agents doing their duty.

With that everyone laughed, and Marvin invited the men to dine. He cooked up another batch of dehydrated food, and the guests told their hosts Page  106about some of the atrocities they encountered in the course of their work. Marvin and Tom reported their encounter with the Federales.

"You did well not to insult them, Señor," one of the agents explained. "They are really just ignorant kids with not enough to do. Giving them uniforms and official status is an effort to keep them out of trouble, though they abuse their status and steal. You are fortunate they didn't decide to rob you. Your documents protected you. You can be sure that there were more than you saw covering you from the trees. Frankly I'd like to shoot the lot, but of course, that we cannot do."

"I guess," says Marvin about the junior Federales, "that we had a closer call than I thought."

"Look there," one of the Mexicans exclaimed, pointing near the edge of the area illuminated by light of the campfire.

Everyone looked at a large and beautiful spider, an araña, scuttling toward a log. The other Mexican moved to kill it, but it disappeared beneath the log before he could reach it. The party broke up, and Marv and Tom retired to their jungle hammocks and sleeping bags. Toward dawn, Marvin was awakened by a sharp pain in his left shoulder. Instinctively, Marvin slapped at the spot and squashed what he thought to be the same spider that had somehow gotten past his netting and into his bag.

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Later that morning, Marvin heard Pepe Martinez' plane overhead heading for Sibal. He felt certain that Pepe would get the message they had left for him, collect their gear, and stop for them at Naja. As expected, Pepe landed in the afternoon, collected his passengers, and flew them to San Cristobal las Casas via Lake Guineo where Marvin took pictures for his composite map.

At San Cristobal, Marvin and Tom stopped at a new hotel that was still under construction at the corner of the zocalo across from the cathedral. The concept of a reservation was foreign to hotels in the region in those days. It was always a question of first come, first served.

"We looked pretty raunchy," Marvin remembers, "and the clerk eyed us with some distaste until we explained that we were just in from the jungle, needed to clean up, and were going directly to the barber shop."

The clerk then reported that, though the hotel was full, a newly constructed room would be ready for occupancy by the end of the day. (Marvin and Tom thought that the day was already pretty well ended.) The clerk led them to a corner room still very much a work in progress, no door, no windows, no toilet stool, no beds. But, the clerk assured them, they could confidently leave their gear there safely while they went out. They registered for the room and left the gear except for cameras in it.

A shave, a haircut, and a couple of cold beers later, the two returned to their room with a stunning, if unglazed, view of the zocalo. The room now contained two beds and a working toilet. The next day they "lollygagged"—Marvin's word—in Las Casas and bought air tickets from Tuxtla, where Pepe would drop them, to Oaxaca, knowing that, once in Oaxaca, Marvin's travel agent friend Jorge Gonzales would take care of getting them to San Francisco.

In Oaxaca, Marvin took his spider bite to a doctor and ended up with a dime-size hole in his shoulder, one that took months to heal. Not, he thinks, an exorbitant price to pay for one of his many wonderful adventures at the Sacred Lake. At the same time, Marvin confesses, he is awfully glad that Page  108it was only the spider that bit him and not the infinitely more dangerous nauyuca—the fer-de-lance.