Topic Research: Lara Croft and the Cave of the Jaguar God

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    So, in response to my last post about this class's final project, Laura made a really great suggestion. She suggested that I could do a Storybook about some (or all) of the gods I had discussed in my post (for reference: Pele, Quetzalcoatl, Xolotl, and Ixchel) in which Lara Croft of the Tomb Raider series of comics and video games encounters these gods. That honestly sounds like a really fun project, so I think that's the trajectory we're going on for now.

    I decided that Lara Croft, in this Storybook, should be looking for some artifact, because, at least in the games I've seen, that's always her goal. In the newest game, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Lara is looking first for the "Dagger of Chak Chel," which she recovers in Mexico. Chak Chel (also spelled as Chac Chel) is the Mayan goddess of "creation, destruction, childbirth, and water." Lara discovers her dagger and ultimately sets of the countdown to the apocalypse, and finds out that she must recover the "Silver Box of Ixchel" in order to stop it. I'm not going to spoil the ending for anyone who wants to play the game, but it does involve a reunion of the spirits of Chak Chel and Ixchel. My point is that recovering some powerful artifact. In the game that came out before Shadow of the Tomb Raider, called Rise of the Tomb Raider, Lara finds herself in Siberia looking for an artifact called "the Divine Source," which is said to be capable of granting immortality. So I did some research into Mexican indigenous artifacts, and discovered that just last year a cave under the ancient Maya city of Chichén Itzá that had been mysteriously walled off in the 60s was reopened,  and archaeologists discovered hundreds of items dating back at least one thousand years inside. This cave is called "the Cave of the Jaguar God," named for Balamkú, one of various jaguar deities of the Mayan tradition. 

    The very name of this cave seemed perfect for a Lara Croft story. Lara Croft and the Cave of the Jaguar God. It sounds perfect. And, coincidentally, Chichén Itzá is the home of the Temple of Kukulcan. Kukulcan is also known as Quetzalcoatl, who I discussed in my last project post. I think, then, that I see a path forming for Lara here. She might start out in some part of Mexico, looking to encounter Quetzalcoatl for some reason (that I can't figure out yet) and meet Xolotl, who I discussed in my last post, and after navigating through his tricks, will learn that she has to go to Chichén Itzá to recover an artifact that will allow her to communicate with the god. On the way, she is sent on a detour to Cozumel, which is said to be Ixchel's sacred island (there's a temple there that people still make pilgrimages to, though it's more ruins now than anything). In Cozumel, Lara could encounter Ixchel, who might give her some advice or a gift after Lara listens to her story that will help Lara on her quest, and sends her off. From there, Lara goes to Chichén Itzá, and must swim through the cenotes under the city (cenotes being underwater caves) and tunnels to get to the Cave of the Jaguar God, where she recovers the artifact she needs and goes on to have her encounter with Quetzalcoatl. What will happen at that point, I'm still thinking about, but I think this is all a good base to work with for my project.

A map of some archaeological sites in Central America. You can see the island of Cozumel to the right of the peninsula, and Chichen Itza is located towards the northern shore of the peninsula. (Source: Mrs. O Around the World)

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