I was made aware of a cool story today regarding the background of crystal skulls that are the subject of the upcoming Indiana Jones film. I have pilfered an excerpt of the article for you from the mystical caves of Yahoo:
There is a legend that the ancient Maya possessed 13 crystal skulls which, when united, hold the power of saving the Earth — a tale so strange and fantastic that it inspired the latest Indiana Jones movie. Experts dismiss the hundreds of existing crystal skulls as fakes that were probably made by colorful antiquities traders in the 19th century. But Mayan priests worship the skulls, even today, and real-life skull hunters still search for them.
Some believe the skulls can emit and focus light, project visions and even influence terrestrial forces. Today, these beliefs persist in the jungles of southern Mexico among the Lacandon, the last unassimilated Mayas, some of whom still worship the skulls. In the shadow of the Palenque ruins, Lacandon priest K’in Garcia fans copal incense and holds a heavy crystal skull above his head during ceremonies for Hacha’kyum, the Mayan god of creation.
If I lived in the shadow of the Palenque ruins, I would go to this temple. An incense filled building, with a priest holding aloft a crystal skull, is a place of mighty worship as far as I am concerned. When it comes to rituals, the Mayans sure know how to glam it up!
The full article is worth a read, and is a cool background piece on the motivation for the film. The fact that crystal skulls are still used in ritual today only adds to the mystique of the artifacts. With the advent of film merchandise tie ins, we may see a generation of youngsters buying crystal skulls, turning their backs on the religion of their parents and worshipping the mighty Hacha’kyum.
I am hoping Hacha’kyum is talked about in the film and strange magic is employed ala Temple Of Doom. The occult rituals in Temple were the highlight of the film and with luck we will have more of that, this time around.
