The Pyramid of the Niches still has almost all of its original 365 small alcoves used to mark the rebirth of each day of the year, and to store various meaningful reminders like a giant advent calendar. The passage of time was participatory in native civilizations, as the people toiled on the ground to keep the heavens turning and the sun rising to overcome the darkness. Calendaring was useful for organizing labor, managing produce and tracking seasonal trade goods.
El Tajin was a city of commerce in the highland jungle of the Veracruz river valley where large scale agriculture developed thousands of years ago. Some guides wrongly imagine that the central structures were home to bureaucrats toiling away in offices—as in modern governments. But, like the Forum of Rome, the first-built main square was a marketplace built to organize and accommodate large scale trade. The multicultural community grew in wealth and importance especially from around the 7th century, trading vanilla and cacao with cities like Teotihuacán. Great structures were built around the 8th and 9th centuries, and even as other cities succumbed to fire, El Tajin thrived through the 12th century. Then it too collapsed and was reclaimed by the jungle until rediscovered in 1785.
The surrounding ball courts must have attracted visitors and entertained crowds, but the games were brutal and sometimes involved human sacrifice, similar to the Colosseum of Rome, where the gladiators entered the ring saying, “we who are about to die, salute you”. While you can’t climb on any of the thousand year old buildings, the grassy grounds are uncrowded and very pleasant to explore.
The fliers from the neighboring city of Papantla frequently perform outside the ticket booth for a small donation, acknowledging the four directions, and attracting rain with music and rainbow hats. One on top also drums and stamps his feet, recalling ‘the thunder’, the meaning of El Tajin.
Both El Tajin and the Papantla Flyers are recognized by UNESCO as part of our world heritage.
