The Rite of Sol by Sor. H.P., 1999
Officers
Quetzalcoatl. White/gold robe, feather headdress. Robe should be easily opened at front.
Deer Warrior. White loincloth and cloak, feather headdress, arm-rings, round shield and spear. Later, academic outfit a piacere; think 1930's professorial.
Jaguar Warrior. Red loincloth and cloak, feather headdress, arm-rings, round shield and jade warclub. Later, academic gear ditto.
Tezcatlipoca. Purple robe & feather headdress.
Xochiquetzal. Skimpy green robe. Later, Indiana Jones-ish archaeologist outfit; think Gabrielle in that Indy-parody episode of Xena.
Iztli. Black loincloth, obisidian knife. Later, morion and breastplate, as Cortez.
Four Probationers. Two as conquistadors, two in cowled black robes and white cinctures as Dominican friars (one of whom bears a large, elaborate crucifix-on-a-pole).
Quetzalcoatl is enthroned in the East.
Behind him rises a large representation of an Aztec step-pyramid, set in which are curtains.
Behind the curtains is an altar, which should be constructed so that its top is removable,
its front side is hinged pretty far up, and its back side is hinged fairly low.
A good ways downstage of Quetzalcoatl and to his right and left, respectively,
stand the Deer Warrior and the Jaguar Warrior.
The other officers wait offstage.
The Rite of Sol
Deer Warrior
My brother of the Jaguar, what is the place?
Jaguar Warrior
My brother of the Deer, it is the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan.
Deer Warrior
Jaguar brother, what is the hour?
Jaguar Warrior
It is sunset.
Deer Warrior
It is the hour of sacrifice.
Jaguar Warrior
Deer brother, what is the sacrifice?
Deer Warrior
It is hidden from me.
Silence
Quetzalcoatl
[1-22-22-1]
Jaguar Warrior
Hark! It is the summons of the King!
Deer Warrior
It is the Lord of Heaven that awakens the People of the Sun.
They turn, step closer to Quetzalcoatl, and kneel.
Deer
Let us adore the exalted one!
Jaguar
I have come, come before your lofty tree, my Beautiful Lord, to ask happiness, because you bestow no evil, only good is in your hand, I ask your blessing, your redeeming words. I see good and evil in this land, so shine your light on me, true Father, plant understanding into my thoughts and into my intelligence, so I can honor you every day. If what I declare is not true, hurl harmful spells of the demon witch at me, let my mother die, let my father die, my wife, my animals, let them all die, if what I say, my Father, is not true. I implore you, Beautiful Sky Father, great in your seat above, I revere you, Beautiful and Only Lord, you who dispense good and bad here on earth, Great Father, I call on you, I come to see you in your place, to bring you my entire will and consciousness here on earth. Only in you do I confide entirely in this world, because you, Oh Great Sun, grant goodness to all things alive, because you are the Giver and Sustainer of this earth, where all people live, you are the true redeemer who gives only good.
note 1
Deer
Hail unto thee, Lord of Hope and Lord of the Morning Star, who holdest the heavens in thy hands, bringer of life and of gifts!
Enter Xochiquetzal, looking somewhat the worse for wear.
Deer and Jaguar rise and bow.
Deer
Hail, woman! Whence comest thou?
Xochiquetzal
From the great city of Texcoco, on the shores of the beautiful lake.
Deer
What bringest thou as an offering to our Lord?
Xochiquetzal
Texcoco is fallen, at the hands of strange men who came to us in boats with wings, and all despoiled is it. Therefore I bring only myself.
Jaguar
Let us kindle a fire upon her, cut open her breast, and cast her still-beating heart into the flames!
Deer
Let us flay her, and drape Tlaloc the rain god in her skin, and give him her blood to drink!
Jaguar
Let us split open her skull with the axe of jade and gold, and throw her brains from the top of the Pyramid!
Deer
Let us drug her with pulque and bury her alive in the foundations of the Pyramid!
They advance upon her.
Quetzalcoatl
[22-1-1-22]
Xochi
Has not your Lord told you that there is to be no more human sacrifice? He has said that only butterflies are to be sacrificed to him; only flowers are to be offered!
They hover, glancing at each other uncertainly.
Jaguar
Aye, he has so told us. And he has also told us that we are to be pure, and refrain from congress with women!
Deer
Begone, unclean thing, lest thou soil our Lord's purity!
They hustle her from the temple and return.
Deer
[333-333]
Jaguar
[333-333]
Deer
Jaguar brother, this is of evil omen.
Jaguar
Deer brother, it is indeed of evil omen.
Deer
There will be no more sacrifice today.
Jaguar
There will be no more sacrifice today.
Deer
The sun is already setting.
Jaguar
The night birds are already abroad.
Deer
It grows very dark.
Jaguar
The temple steps are too steep and dangerous for any pilgrims to come hither.
Deer
There is no moon to-night.
Jaguar
I think there will be rain.
Deer
Let us close the temple.
Jaguar
The disk of the sun is not yet quite obscured.
Deer
But no pilgrims can come now.
Jaguar
No pilgrims can come now. But it is the rule of the temple that it be open unto the last spark of sunlight.
Deer
Jaguar brother, I beg that you will close the shrine with me.
Jaguar
It cannot be.
Deer
Jaguar brother, I know the rule. But evil will assuredly come to us from this.
Jaguar
Deer brother, the Law may not be broken.
Deer
Jaguar brother, the Law is made so that the wise may break it at their need.
Jaguar
Deer brother, in my heart is fidelity -- fidelity -- fidelity.
Deer
Jaguar brother, a god has whispered in mine ear: it is folly -- folly -- folly.
Jaguar
The sun will be obscured in a moment: and no pilgrims can come tonight.
Deer
No pilgrims can come tonight.
Jaguar
There will be no more sacrifice.
Deer
There will be no more sacrifice.
Tezcatlipoca, Xochiquetzal, and Iztli enter silently in procession.
Deer
Hail, brethren! Ye are come to adore the splendour of the sun?
Tezcatlipoca
We are come to sacrifice.
Deer
What are the offerings?
Iztli
Dancing.
Xochiquetzal
Music.
Tezcaltipoca
Silence and Stillness.
He prostrates himself and remains motionless.
Xochiquetzal bows to Quetzalcoatl and arranges the flowers around him.
Xochiquetzal
We have brought plumeria flowers, chucum blossoms, dog jasmines; we have the copal, the low cane vine, the land tortoise shell, new quartz, chalk and cotton thread; the new chocolate cup, the new needlework, new leather, all new, even our hair bands, they touch us with nectar of the roaring conch shell of the ancients. Already, already we are in the heart of the wood, at the edge of the pool in the stone, to await the rising of the beautiful smoking star over the forest. Take off your clothes, unbind your hair, become as you were when you arrived here on earth, virgins, maidens.
note 2
Iztli dances as Xochi speaks, with drum music, more to his knife than to Quetzal. Tezcaltipoca rises and bows.
Deer
Whence come ye, brethren?
Tezcaltipoca
From the dwelling-place of the sun.
Deer
Who are ye, brethren?
Tezcaltipoca
I am Tezcatlipoca, Lord of the Smoking Mirror, the twin brother of the sun.
Xochiquetzal
I am Xochiquetzal, the Lady of the Flower Serpent, the beloved of the sun.
Deer
[To Iztli]
But who art thou, brother?
Iztli fondles his knife and chuckles nastily.
Jaguar
I know thee! Thou art Iztli, Lord of the Obsidian Knife! Thou hast no place here, our Lord has forbidden human sacrifice! Begone!
They threaten Iztli with their weapons, and he withdraws, still chuckling, but not before he's slipped the knife to Tezcatlipoca on the sly.
Tezcatlipoca
I would have speech with my brother the Sun.
Deer
It is well.
Jaguar
It is not well. There is danger herein to my Lord.
He bars the way.
Deer
Speech was the gift of our Lord; how can it harm him?
Jaguar
Brother, if thou be indeed our brother, what wilt thou say?
Tezcaltipoca
O Quetzalcoatl, my brother, is it thy will that I have speech with thee? For I lay with thee nine moons in the womb of our mother; for we have loved as none have loved; for I am closer knit with thee than light and darkness, or than life and death!
Quetzalcoatl
[22-1-1-22].
Jaguar gives way and returns to his throne, very sad.
Tezcaltipoca advances to Quetzalcoatl, who rises;
they enter the temple together and let the curtain fall behind them.
Jaguar
The days of crying, the days of evil. The devil is free, the infernos open, there is no goodness, only evil, laments and cries. An entire year has passed, the year numbered here. Come is a month of days without name, painful days, days of evil, black days. The beautiful light of the eyes of Hunabku for his earthly sons has not yet come, because during these days the transgressions of all people on earth are measured: men and women, children and adults poor & rich, wise and ignorant... All people's transgressions are measured in these days; because the time will come when these days will mark the end of the world. For this there will be a count of all the transgressions of people here on earth. Into a great glass made from the clay of tree termites, Hunkabu puts the tears from those who cry over the evils done on earth. When the great glass is filled to the brim it will be the end.
note 3
Iztli now enters, as Cortez, with Spanish Probationers.
Deer
What is this offering?
Cortez
I claim all this in the name of Spain, for the glory of God and His Holy Catholic Church!
Deer
Oh, our Lord, our Lord! Arise in thy might, and let thine enemies be scattered!
Jaguar and Deer draw the curtains.
Quetzalcoatl is seen to be stretched over the altar with his chest gashed open,
Tezcatlipoca standing behind and above him, with the obsidian knife in one hand, and raising a dripping heart in the other.
Gasps of horror all round! The Spanish react as you'd expect; byplay here ad libitum, along the lines of "What is this horrible human sacrifice?! You barbarians! We must wipe out your evil death-cult in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ!"
There's a fight; Jaguar is slain by a Spaniard with a gun;
Deer is hauled off in chains (they drag Jaguar with them).
In the middle of this, Xochi and TEZCATL entomb Quetzal and exit;
after the initial reaction to the tableau, however, it should be as if they're no longer there to the other actors. They should be offstage well before the fight ends.
Cortez re-enters alone, and breaks into the tomb, which is shown no longer to contain Quetzal, but rather a heap of gold and jewels.
Cortez does a gleeful, greedy dance, scoops all the treasure into a bag, and exits.
Xochi re-enters, as archaeologist, pokes around in the tomb a bit, and comes up with a golden phallus.
She is obviously moved; she begins by examining it academically,
then gradually more sensually, and ends by caressing it outright erotically.
She wraps it carefully in a cloth and exits.
Probationers return in plain black, and throw a cover over the temple set. They exit.
Xochi, Jaguar, and Deer all re-enter,
Jaguar and Deer now dressed as academics,
Xochi in an overcoat with her same hat. They've clearly been arguing.
Xochi
I maintain that this is the most important find of the decade! The evidence of a solar-phallic fertility cult has never before been proven here.
Jaguar
And I maintain that it still hasn't been proven! One golden phallus does not a cult make! Especially in the context in which you found it. Everyone agrees that the great pyramid --
Deer
My dear Dr. Leo! Just because "everyone agrees" doesn't mean they're correct. Could it be possible that there is more to this pyramid than we know?
Xochi
At least let me show you the artifact!
Deer and Jaguar assent.
Xochi unwraps the artifact from its cloth.
Deer and Jaguar boggle.
Xochi whips off her hat and coat to reveal herself in her former dress.
Xochi
I am the Mother of the Gods and the Sister of Time and the Daughter of Space. I am Nature that holdeth sway when the effort of man is exhausted. ... ... Professor Leo, I am the goddess that cometh forth riding upon the Lion. Behold! I strike thee with my wand (she strokes him with the phallus), and inspire thee. I command thee to declare me unto the multitude.
Jaguar
Good afternoon, ladies & gentlemen. Turn to page 156. Our subject today is "Personfication of Love Throughout Time." As old as man's senses of love and religion is his drive to fix that love in a female persona -- a Goddess of Love, if you will. Though Venus is best known of these, and indeed from her name we derive "venereal", meaning "of love", she is far from the sole of her kind. In Sumer's Inanna, observe a strange-seeming and yet common mix of both love and war for her functions -- a paradox we suffer still.
In truth, every passion belongs to her, peaceful or not, as may be, and in her we see how inseparably love and rage live within us. In Isis of Egypt, we see both the passion of mother for child, and that of a widow, for vengeance on her husband's killer, also. All things that excite human passion come under her rule, as we see in medieval paintings of arts and activities ruled by Venus, as well as embodied in Laxsmi, whose functions the Hindus have styled as music and sensuous feasting, the verses of rapture and woe.
For yes, she is cruel, we are told, or else fickle, capricious, and vain; Oshun was well-known for her amorous exploits and many affairs, and Aphrodite favored Aries far over Hephaestos, her spouse. Yet, with what we know of her nature, how could it be some other way? Belonging to no one, and careless therefore that she might induce pain, she can be benevolent -- yet like the sea and the attending airs that brought her to birth, she is mutable, easy and swift to arouse, indifferent, amoral as weather. And yet, we continue to pray:
Lady of love and sweet longing, whose altar's a fountain of tears, thou whom all mankind adores and whom all mankind equally fears, thou who wast with us and in us before the beginning of years, smile upon us as the hour of our death irresistably nears.
During this speech,
Probationers should return in street clothes, as students, with books and notepads and stuff, and start taking notes. As the speech ends,
Xochi draws Jaguar up to her;
the others kneel in adoration, except
Deer, who applauds, then steps up to shake Jaguar's hand.
Deer
Brilliant lecture, my dear fellow, absolutely brilliant! Say, old chap, what time is it?
Jaguar
The evening star is arisen.
Deer
The sacrifice is accomplished.
Jaguar
What is the sacrifice?
Deer
Man.
Jaguar
Who is the priestess?
Deer
Woman.
Jaguar
Unto what God?
Deer
It is hidden from me.
Jaguar
Very well; class dismissed!
Deer
[1-333-1-1].
Jaguar
[1-333-1-1].
Xochi
[1-1-333-1].
Notes
- Segments taken from two old Mayan poems from Dtzitbalché, in the collection called X-Kolom-ché, and conflated: "Dedicated to the Great Lord Ah Kulel of the Town of Dtzitbalché, Lord of Campeche", and "Speech to the Lord, Sustainer of the Tun-Years".
- Yet another bit of a poem, "Kay Nicte - Flower Song", from Dzitbalché...
- "The Dark Days of the Last Month of the Year", from Dzitbalché.
Production Notes
Regarding the altar: once Q's been put in it, he should slip out the hinged back wall and slide the treasure, which should've been laid on something slideable beforehand, into the space he left. He then remains hidden behind the altar for the balance of the production.
Regarding clothing changes
- Xochi has two: she starts in the green robe, then changes to the Indy suit during the battle between the Aztecs and Spaniards, then the green robe again hidden under a coat while the Probationers are doing the set change; the green robe might be wearable under the Indy suit, for ease of changing.
- Deer and Jaguar both have one change, which should occur during Cortez' dance: from Aztec gear to professorial gear.
- Iztli has one: from Aztec to Cortez, which should occur during Jaguar's despairing speech.
- The Probationers have two: from Spaniards to stagehands (which should occur as soon as they get offstage after the battle) and then to students (which should occur as soon as they get offstage after hanging the cover).