Lady Xok

Lady Xok was quite an interesting character! She interested me because she seemed to be one of those people who made herself a figure of power and prominence in a society ruled by patriarchy. I had a hard time finding sources on Lady Xok other than information about the lintels she dedicated to one of the structures in Yaxchilan - part of ancient Maya in what is today Chiapas, Mexico. Most of the information I found came from books - all of the articles online were from newspapers (usually) that discussed the National Gallery of Art's exhibit on the lintels. I found several really great books that discussed Lady Xok and her role in Yaxchilan courts. Given that her husband placed her house near the court, many historians ascertain that he highly valued her opinions.

Lady Xok was the wife of one of the most famous kings in Yaxchilan, King Shield Jaguar. He became king because of Lady Xok's lineage. In order to pay homage to her family, Shield Jaguar had lintels made to adorn the doors of Lady Xok's house, Structure 23. Interestingly enough, Structure 23 was very close to the royal court - physically putting Lady Xok in the perfect position to assert her opinions! The lintels Shield Jaguar had made showed Lady Xok in a blood sacrifice, Lady Xok seeing the War God and the founder of Yaxchilan for war advice, and finally Lady Xok dressing her husband for battle.

Finding out that Lady Xok performed blood sacrifices to the war gods was a little perturbing at first, but everything I found out about her was so interesting! I wish we had more information on her! For more information on Lady Xok go to my Wikipedia page!