Maya rulers erected stone monuments to commemorate significant events and to substantiate royal lineages. This monument, or stela, depicts a woman wearing a beaded jade skirt and plumed headdress, evoking the Maize God. As she opens a portal to the spirit world, she is encircled by a vision serpent, which represents the supernatural conduit between the human and divine realms. K’awiil, the god of lightning and royal power, emerges from the serpent’s mouth. According to the glyphic text on the stela, the woman is an ahaw (ruler) named Ix Mutal (lady of Mutal, a ruling dynasty associated with the great city of Tikal) and she performed this rite as part of the monument’s dedication ceremonies on March 13, 761.