AD 680 – 698
Lady Six Sky at Naranjo
In AD 680 Naranjo defeats Caracol in a "star war", and the Caracol king K'ahk' Ujol K'inich II may flee to La Rejolla, 12 km away. Within two years the old dynasty of Naranjo disappears, probably at the hands of Calakmul.
A temple at Naranjo under restoration, 2014Wikimedia Commons, Rudy Canales, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Sitio el naranjo 2.jpg)
In August 682 Lady Six Sky, a daughter of B'alaj Chan K'awiil of Dos Pilas, arrives at Naranjo to found a new dynasty under Kaanul patronage. Three days later she performs a burning rite recorded on Stela 29. She keeps the title of holy lady of Dos Pilas all her life and acts as the ruler of Naranjo.
The name glyphs of Lady Six Sky on Naranjo Stela 24, drawing by Arqueogato after Ian GrahamWikimedia Commons, Arqueogato, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Lady Wak Chanil Ajaw's name glyphs.jpg)
Her son K'ak' Tiliw Chan Chaak is born in January 688 and becomes king on 31 May 693 at the age of five, as a vassal of the Kaanul king Yuknoom Yich'aak K'ahk'. Naranjo’s monuments record at least eight attacks between 693 and 698, probably directed by his mother, among them attacks on Tikal in 695 and Ucanal in 698. One of the defeated places, Tuubal, gives the young king his wife, Unen Bahlam.
Stela 24 shows Lady Six Sky in the net skirt of the maize god, standing on a captive from K'inichil Kab, a warrior’s pose seldom given to a woman. Stela 46, found in 2017, names K'ak' Tiliw Chan Chaak as her son and settles a long debate.
Naranjo Stela 24: Lady Six Sky stands on a captive from K'inichil KabWikimedia Commons, unknown author, Public domain (MA D367 Maya stela 24, Naranjo, Guatemala.jpg)
Sources
- Simon Martin and Nikolai Grube, Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens (2nd ed. 2008), pp. 74 to 77.
- Christophe Helmke, 'The heart and stomach of a king': A study of the regency of Lady Six Sky at Naranjo, Guatemala, Contributions in New World Archaeology 11 (2017), pp. 83 to 130.
- Robert Sharer and Loa Traxler, The Ancient Maya (6th ed. 2006), pp. 382 and 387 to 389.
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