while others had specialized knowledge of the kingly katun cycle. Aside from calendrical learning, however, priests had multiple tasks, running from performing life crisis rituals to managing the monthly feast cycle, and held special offices, such as that of oracle (chilan), astrologer, and sacrificer of human beings (nacom). In the K'iche' Kingdom of Q'umarkaj, the most important deities (Tohil, Awilix, Jacawitz and Gukumatz) had their own high priests. At all levels, access to late Postclassic priesthood seems to have been restricted to the nobility. Little is known with certainty concerning the Classic Maya priesthood. Iconographically, there can be no serious doubt but that the aged, ascetic figures depicted as writing and reading books, aspersing and inaugurating dignitaries and kings, and overseeing human sacrifice, represent professional priests and high priests at court. Certain hieroglyphic titles of noblemen have been interpreted as priestly ones (e.g., ajk'uhuun, possibly 'worshipper', yajaw k'ahk 'master of fire'). The king (k'uhul ajaw or 'holy lord'), too, acted ex officio as a priest. Dramatic performance and impersonation Feasts would include dramatic performances and the impersonation of deities, especially by the king. Feasting and dramatic performance In recent times, feasts are usually organized by religious brotherhoods, with the greatest expenses being for the higher charges. Similarly, in the pre-Hispanic kingdom of Maní, some religious feasts seem to have been sponsored by wealthy and preeminent men, perhaps reflecting a general practice in Postclassic and earlier kingdoms. Through the feasts, capital could be redistributed in food and drink. The continual and obligatory drinking, negatively commented on by early as well as contemporary outsiders, establishes community, not only among the human participants, but also between these and the deities. Both in recent times and in the Classic period, more complex rituals would include music and dance, processions, and theatrical play. Nowadays, the performance of important dances and dance dramas (not always religious ones) often takes place on the feast of the patron saint of the village and on certain set occasions dictated by the Catholic calendar (such as Corpus Christi and the 'May Cross'). For the late Postclassic period, Landa mentions specific dances executed during either the New Year rituals (e.g., the Xibalba okot 'dance of Xibalba') or the monthly feasts (e.g., the holkan okot 'dance of the war chiefs'). The god most often shown dancing during the Classic period is the Tonsured Maize God, a patron of feasting. Impersonation The theatrical