“Pakal’s Way to Eternity”
With Georges Fery
IMS fellow member Georges Fery will present an inquiry about the depiction of Lord Pakal on his
tombstone in Palenque’s Temple of the Inscriptions. After his death, Pakal’s chu'lel' or “divine life force that never dies,” moved from the Maya mythic underworld to the otherworld on the wakah chan te, or world tree.
Over the years, Pakal’s tombstone was described by serious scholars (and not-so-serious ones), raising prospects and eyebrows in serious or fanciful attempts to “explain” this ancient view of a complex spiritual universe. Georges will attempt to bring another point of view that may (or may not) add another perspective to this allegorical scenery portraying life’s eternal return.
George Fery
George Fery (https://www.georgefery.com) Freelance writer, researcher, and photographer Georges Fery addresses topics related
to history, culture, beliefs, and daily living of ancient and today’s traditional communities of
Mesoamerica and South America. His articles are published online in the United States and
the U.K., as well as in the quarterly magazine Ancient American. Georges is a fellow of the
Institute of Maya Studies (Miami, FL) and The Royal Geographical Society (London, U.K.). He
is a member in good standing of the Maya Exploration Center (Austin, TX), the Archaeological
Institute of America (Boston, MA), the National Museum of the American Indian
(Washington, D.C.), and the NFAA-Non-Fiction Authors Association.
He is a Fellow of the Institute of Maya Studies in Miami, FL., as well as the Royal Geographical Society with the Institute of British Geographers, London, U.K., and member in good standing of the Maya Exploration Center, Austin, TX.