Stucco Architectural Mask in the form of a Witz or Mountain Monster
Temple of the Jaguar, Balamkú , Campeche , Mexico.
Early Classic Period A.D. 250-500
Photograph Courtesy of Jack Sulak

The Maya and other Mesoamerican peoples commonly built temple pyramids in the form of sacred mountains known as witzob' . The Witz Monster was a sacred image that represented the living mountain. The Witz Monster was commonly depicted in Maya art as a zoomorphic creature with tri-lobed eyelids and a stepped cleft in the center of its forehead. Maize foliation is often depicted in the cleft to symbolize the mountain location where maize is thought to have originated. Huge architectural masks featuring images of the Witz Monster were often placed on buildings and the mouths of these zoomorphic beings served as the physical entrance or doorway for Maya kings wishing to enter the sacred mountain. To the ancient Maya, these mouths or doorways represented sacred caves or portals through which one could enter into the heart of the earth and into the Maya Underworld where rulers communicated with their ancestors.

Rising out of both sides of this Witz Monster's mouth is an image of a double-headed serpent. These serpents (commonly known in the literature as the “Square-Nosed Beastie”) have open mouths and very often images of important Maya deities like Chaak or the Jaguar God of the Underworld are shown emerging out of the open maw, though no images are shown emerging in this particular image. Snakes were both feared and revered in Mesoamerican culture because of their unusual ability to swallow their prey whole and to shed their skin. Because of these abilities, snakes were often seen as a vehicle for rebirth and transformation and most likely represented the true meaning of this image at Balamkú.