We have now established that many Maya women ruled as queens in their own right and even held important social, religious, and political positions along side their husbands. When women ruled they were revered and honored by their people and unlike other examples of women in power in other areas of the world they didn't have to pretend to be a man to encourage the respect and honor of their people. For the most part women's roles in warfare were to perform certain rituals to assure their husbands success on the battlefield (Falcon 2002). However, there are several cases documented on stelae during the Late Classic in which women are portrayed as figures of warfare and battle. At Waka', also known as El Peru, on Stela 34, queen Ix K'ab'el is named as the kaloomte' after solidifying a political alliance through marriage (Reece-Taylor 2009). She was considered one of the greatest rulers of Waka'. It is amazing that she, after marrying into the royal lineage, held the title of kaloomte' meaning "supreme warrior" above her husband for approximately 20 years during their joint rule. K'ab'el also served as military governor for her family's Wak kingdom (ScienceDaily 2012). Recently an untouched tomb was discovered at this site belonging to the warrior queen and further proves through the artifacts found there her importance politically at Waka' (ScienceDaily 2009). Waka' is not the only example we find of warrior queens; at Calakmul, Coba, Naachtun, and Naranjo we see stelae depicting queens dressed for war standing atop captives (Reece-Taylor 2009). These examples help shed light on the notion that not only did women help rule a kingdom alone or along side their husbands but they were also looked upon in some instances as warriors or representations of victory in battle. The Maya respected women as political and military leaders.
We have now established that many Maya women ruled as queens in their own right and even held important social, religious, and political positions along side their husbands. When women ruled they were revered and honored by their people and unlike other examples of women in power in other areas of the world they didn't have to pretend to be a man to encourage the respect and honor of their people. For the most part women's roles in warfare were to perform certain rituals to assure their husbands success on the battlefield (Falcon 2002). However, there are several cases documented on stelae during the Late Classic in which women are portrayed as figures of warfare and battle.
At Waka', also known as El Peru, on Stela 34, queen Ix K'ab'el is named as the kaloomte' after solidifying a political alliance through marriage (Reece-Taylor 2009). She was considered one of the greatest rulers of Waka'. It is amazing that she, after marrying into the royal lineage, held the title of kaloomte' meaning "supreme warrior" above her husband for approximately 20 years during their joint rule. K'ab'el also served as military governor for her family's Wak kingdom (ScienceDaily 2012). Recently an untouched tomb was discovered at this site belonging to the warrior queen and further proves through the artifacts found there her importance politically at Waka' (ScienceDaily 2009). Waka' is not the only example we find of warrior queens; at Calakmul, Coba, Naachtun, and Naranjo we see stelae depicting queens dressed for war standing atop captives (Reece-Taylor 2009). These examples help shed light on the notion that not only did women help rule a kingdom alone or along side their husbands but they were also looked upon in some instances as warriors or representations of victory in battle. The Maya respected women as political and military leaders.
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