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Temple of the Phalluses (Templo de los Falos)

965J+53 Ushmal, Yucatan, Mexico

Phalluses in jewelry are associated with an important figure in the Uxmal pantheon and simultaneously with the legend of the origin of its rulers and the city's structures. They are connected by the legend of an old woman who was the mother of a dwarf and at the same time the goddess Ix Chel, considered the Moon Goddess among the Maya.
Maya Cities of Mexico: Uxmal
photo
Jermaine

The Temple of the Phallus (Templo de los Falos) is located about 450 meters south of the Governor's Palace, accessible via a forest trail that begins at the "House of the Old Woman" (https://reveal.world/story/dom-staroj-zhenshchiny-casa-de-la-vieja). The path crosses several small groups of buildings that have fallen into disrepair. In general, Uxmal had many phallic decorations, but according to information from INAH (Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia), most of these decorations were removed from the structures, and those that could not be removed were destroyed before the visit of the ill-fated Mexican Empress Carlota (also Princess Charlotte of Belgium, wife of the executed Emperor Maximilian of Habsburg of Mexico) in 1865, so as not to upset her. Today, museum curators have gathered all that remains of the phalluses and keep them separately in a hidden garden, jokingly calling this place the "Temple of the Phallus."

The actual "Temple of the Phallus" is currently under restoration; it was named so because of the gargoyle-drains shaped like phalluses on the upper cornice. It is located on the southern edge of a large stepped platform.

The phalluses in the decorations are connected to an important figure in the Uxmal pantheon and simultaneously to the legend of the origin of its rulers and the city's structures. This is the legend of the old woman (https://reveal.world/story/piramida-volshebnika-piramide-del-adivino), who was the mother of a dwarf and at the same time the goddess Ix Chel, considered the Moon Goddess by the Maya. She was the patroness of fertility, midwives, and mothers and was regarded as the progenitor of all living things, being the wife of Itzamna (the Creator God).

The facade of the rear wall is smooth; the upper and middle cornices have a similar structure—a smooth central band, with beveled borders slanting outward above and below it. In the upper band of the upper cornice are the very images of the phallus. Water flowed from the roof of the building down a groove on the upper side of these sculptures. The building possibly originally consisted of five rooms facing north toward the center of Uxmal. Behind the middle room is another room, whose plan is characteristic of the Chenes region. Only part of the rear wall has survived, including the additional room.

It is interesting how much this resembles Hindu temples.

Sources:

https://xyuandbeyond.com/mayan-legend-templo-de-los-falos/

Dmitry Viktorovich Ivanov: Architecture, History, and Art of Uxmal

Miroslav Sting: Mysteries of Indian Pyramids

photo
Jermaine

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965J+XJ Ushmal, Yucatan, Mexico

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965H+7G Ushmal, Yucatan, Mexico

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