Although it is still an impressive building today, more than 500 years ago it was even more beautiful, as the temple was decorated inside and out with numerous images of gods on frescoes. The temple has one special feature: the walls and door are not quite vertical but tilted. This tilt was not caused by the passage of time; it was built that way. The temple is named after the sculpture crowning the entrance door, which depicts a winged deity with a lowered head, hanging arms, and legs bent upward in a lowered position, as if descending from the heavens.

Inside the temple is a room with an exit to the west; inside there are two side benches and a ventilation window.

The true identity of this deity is unknown. Some authors associate it with the setting sun, others with Venus, rain and lightning, the swallow god worshiped in Cozumel, and even with the bee god named Ah Musen Kab. For example, the French archaeologist Albert Ruz Lhuillier (1905–1979) stated: “The idea of a god descending from the heavens is very common among Mesoamerican peoples, so it is quite possible that the descending God of Tulum is not necessarily the sun, but perhaps rain, lightning, or a bee.” However, let us look a little into the dark heart of the Maya, into the mysteries of their gods. In Tulum, there are four reliefs of the descending God, each with clenched fists and legs spread above him like a parachutist. A real cult for such a small city. They are found in the Temple of the Frescoes, the Descending God, the Governor’s House, and the El Castillo pyramid. Who is this god and why is he everywhere?

This god is sometimes called Ah Muzen Kab, the Bee God, because bees are depicted in this diving pose in the Madrid Codex, one of the few Maya books that survived Diego de Landa’s destruction during the Spanish conquest. Maya bees are small and do not sting. Priests collected honey from their hives in trees twice a year and used it as a sweetener, antibiotic, wax, and in balché, a honey-based drink similar to mead. Good bees. However, a completely different explanation can be drawn from the Dresden Codex, another of the few books that survived burning. Here the god’s name is Az-Cul Ahau, and his image is marked with the symbol of the planet Venus. Venus had enormous significance throughout Central America, but we do not quite know why. The Maya observed Venus with religious intensity, and for them, it represented more than Az-Cul Ahau. It was the avatar of their formidable and vengeful god Kukulkan.

Venus appears in the night sky for 263 days as the Morning Star (after dawn). Then it disappears for 50 days. After that, it reappears as the Evening Star (after sunset) for another 263 days. Then it disappears for eight days before repeating the cycle. This may mean little to us, modern city dwellers with our hazy view of the night sky and electric lighting that outshines the stars and scares away the darkness, but for the Maya, these eight days were terrifying. When Venus as the Evening Star disappeared, their god Kukulkan went to the Underworld for eight days. What was he doing there? Sharpening arrows to shoot at people he disliked. There, below, in the darkness, Kukulkan’s heart turned into the Morning Star, which the Maya called Xux Ek (pronounced Shoosh Ek). And this is not a kind bee. Xux Ek means “Wasp Star.” The Maya hid in their homes when the Wasp Star first appeared, locked their doors, hid from flying arrows, and waited, doing nothing, until the initial vengeance of the Morning Star passed. Imagine a civilization so sophisticated that its astronomers could predict Venus’s passage, and at the same time so primitive that its people made ritual sacrifices to keep Venus on its path. Not only Venus. They prayed for rain. They prayed for the Sun to rise tomorrow!

Think about the people who built these temples and understand their fears. Look with respect at the vengeful Wasp Star. Today that is enough; there is no need to make sacrifices or hide. Now we know better; Venus does no harm to us. But who knows, who knows—you can never be too careful!

Sources:

https://www.magazinemayaluxe.com/articles/secrets-of-the-gods-in-tulum-riviera-mayas-only-clifftop-ruin

https://pueblosoriginarios.com/meso/maya/sitios/tulum.html