Mayan politics were arranged in a unique fashion, in which “Men in a great many societies occupy the principal positions of dominance and power….”1 The government was set up in “city state” formations, with the king as the absolute ruler of a dynasty. This ruler called Ahaw, meaning “Supreme Lord,” maintained control over the larger areas, “capitals,” of the Mayan world while lesser lords, Cahals, took power over smaller divisions. 2 So who were these powerful rulers?  The Ahaw received power through inheritance, passed down from father to son. 3 According to one historian; “Because of their sex, women were excluded from office, and therefore they were illiterate, since only the offices of escribano and maestro required literacy and gave certain access to books.”4 While it is true females were quite often left out of the line of succession, women did in fact hold political power, it just was not recognized to its fullest extent.  For the most part, females in the Mayan culture played insignificant roles in politics where they rarely, if ever, maintained complete power and were seldom taken seriously as authoritative powers.  Although few sources mention that women held titles in the male led society, “There is no evidence that women ever bore the title of mah k’ina (great sun), given only to a king….”5

So what roles did women play in politics?  Overall women had few and insignificant responsibilities, never really requiring of them to make important political decisions.  Women were often used to build political alliances among dynasties and strengthen relationships between significant families.  These bonds not only created political relationships, they also helped to ensure pure bloodlines, in which it was not uncommon for cousins to wed.6 Although women had minor duties within politics, they were never actually expected to perform governmental tasks, merely marry other prominent men; “In the foregoing description of political marriages, women may sound like mere pawns in games of power chess.  At times, this may well have been the case….”7

A depiction of Ahaw.

Although a great portion of female political responsibilities consisted of being obedient to their fathers and governments by marrying whomever they chose, there are also clear instances of women who held substantial power in Maya society.8 There are exceptions in which women served as rulers, holding all the titles and symbols of office; even more commonly, women were viewed as powers behind the throne, getting more notice in inscriptions than their royal husbands, and seeming to be the real decision-makers.9

One account of a female with authority was the wife of a known ruler, Shield Jaguar.  According to their son, Bird Jaguar, “She performed important rites with Shield Jaguar…she was an important and honorable woman, worthy of being the mother of a king.”10 This power, however, was not mentioned in any of Shield Jaguar’s scribes nor was his wife separated in anyway from his other wives as far as significance.  In another instance, a five year old boy, the successor to the throne, was declared ruler, in which his mother, the queen, took primary control over the dynasty.  The queen was never fully accepted as the chief authority by the Mayan people however; even as the boy grew to adulthood, a great number of important decisions were either made with the help of or by the queen.11 The small amount of power women held in royalty rested mostly with common society and tradition; however women who entered political marriages with independence and force made larger impressions on their roles in history.12 Furthermore, women received a substantial amount of recognition from the images and symbols left on pottery and tombs recovered from Mayan artifacts.13 This acknowledgment of women was not necessarily in praise of those women or what they had done, a common reason their names were printed on artifacts was to enhance the male ruler’s power by showing off his noble bloodlines, hence including mothers and queens.

1. Restall, Matthew. The Maya World. (California: The Stanford University Press, 1997), 124. 2. Willey, Gordon. “Ancient Maya Politics.” In Proceedings of American Philosophical Society, 1-9. (American Philosophical Society, 1990), 3. 3. Willey, ibid. 4. Restall, ibid., 130. 5. Knapp, Bettina. Women, Myth, and the Feminine Principle. (New York: State: University of New York, 1998), 124. 6. Restall, ibid., 120. 7. Culbert, T. Patrick. Maya Civilization. (Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Books, 1993), 82. 8. Culbert, ibid., 82. 9. Ibid., 82. 10. Ibid., 79. 11. Ibid., 83. 12. Ibid., 82. 13. Knapp, ibid., 124.