Ceiba: Sacred Mayan Tree

The Ceiba or Yaxché, is a mythical tree of the Mayan culture that can reach up to 180 feet in hight and 6 feet wide. It's fruit is called "Kapok" (cotton that surrounds the seed). Based in archaeological evidence from the Mayan area, in the Superior Pre-Classic (500 B.C.) an important tree iconographic sample was found, called “Art from Izapa”.

Part of that sample has been reproduced in our Hotel logo, interpreted by authors as “The Tree of Life” and this represents, based on the old Mayan myths the “Vertical Dimension of the Universe”.

This theory implies that the Universe is divided in three parts: the roots, which represent the dead and ancestors; the trunk which represents life, the earth and the present; and its verdant foliage, which represents heaven, the moon and the stars.

For the Mayan culture, a “Ceiba” is the entrance to the house of “Chané”, God of the earth and master of wild animals. Members of various tribes would bring their offerings to the Great “Ceiba” and would implore to the “chamanes” to intercede on their behalf before “Chané” to be worthy of his generosity.