This unique type of ceremonial grinding stone
was the most important ritual object of its time
in Costa Rica, serving as a very special burial
piece for high status members of society. The
metate, as a utilitarian grinding stone in
everyday life, had the power to transform seeds
and kernels into flour. When placed in the tomb,
this spirited metate assured for the deceased
another type of transformational rebirth, the
beginning of a new life. This striking metate,
carved in the stylized shape of a jaguar, displays
yet another symbol of extreme importance to the
members of Costa Rican society. The jaguar was
regarded as the most powerful animal in the
world, to be honored and revered it even had
certain divine characteristics. In ancient
mythology, the most important God, Maira, was
the sun during the day, making the journey from
east to west across the land. At night, however,
Maira assumed the form of a jaguar and
stealthily made his way from the west back to
the east, where in the morning he would rise
once again in the form of the sun. These
commanding attributes of transformation and
power are portrayed dynamically in this stunning
metate. A snarling outstretched feline head at
once commands our attention, while bent,
crouching legs assume a feral stalking pose. At
the jaguars rear, his thick tail artistically splits in
two, with each end curving to join the cat’s hind
legs. Clearly, the reverence with which this
ceremonial metate was afforded in antiquity
extends into the present, the felines power and
magnetism continuing to affect all who behold it.
- (PF.2416)
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