The Mayans inhabited Central America in the centuries prior to the Conquest of America, developing a highly evolved civilization. In it, religious beliefs played an essential role that we will talk about in the next article. We’re going to tell you all about The Mayan Religion. You will see how interesting.
Mayan religion
the religion of the Mayan culture It was basically characterized by pass from life around infinite cycles of the universe. In this way, it can be seen that the Mayan religion finds its roots in time, this being diagrammed through various calendar systems based on different guidelines, dividing the life cycles of the Mayan culture.
The Mayans believed that the world had been created five times and destroyed four times.this being the basis of the Mesoamerican religious culture that spread from the year 900 onwards, later adopted by the Toltecs.
The Mayan gods were mostly reptiles.presenting two different aspects that symbolized his benevolence and evil.
As for life after death, this was a point of great importance within the religion, since the Mayans held that there was a complex post-mortum life, in which paradise was only reserved for those who had been sacrificed, killed or died during childhood. All the rest of the people were sent to xibal or hellwhich was ruled by the Gods of Death.
The Mayans built numerous temples around which cities were built. In the temples the priests gave doctrine, who were considered of the high social classes within the Mayan culture.
Mayan religion rites
Before explaining the Mayan creation myths, it is important to understand the difference between the two sources from which the Mayan creation accounts are drawn. These sources include Popol Vuh and Chilam Balam Books. Popol Vuh is associated with the Mayan highlands of present-day Guatemala. Contains text on human creation, prophecy, as well as traditional stories and myths. The Chilam Balam books are commonly associated with the Plains Maya of the Yucatan region of Mexico. There are several Chilam Balam books named after the area in which they were written. The most famous and influential books are Chumayel, Tizimin, Mani, Kaua, Ixil, Tusik and Code of Peres. The books are written by a jaguar priest, a literal translation of Chilam Balam. These books date back to the Spanish colonial era, around 1500 AD, and the Chilam Balam creation stories clearly show the influence of Spanish colonialism.
The Mayans say that the creation of the earth was the result of a storm, the god of the wind and the sky. Heaven and earth are linked together, leaving no room for living things or plants to grow. To make room, a ceiba tree was planted. The tree takes root at all levels of the underworld, and its branches grow in the world above. The trunk has evolved to accommodate animals, plants and humans. According to Mayan beliefs, animals and plants existed before humans. The gods were not satisfied with the animals themselves because they could not speak for them. From there they became humans to worship the gods.
- Phlebotomy: It seems that the person who bleeds is a victim. In the case of the Maya, the bloodshed was limited to the royal lineage. The gods called for blood because of the original creation when the gods shed their blood to give life to mankind. Also, although infrequently, blood transfusions are performed to communicate with ancestors. The bloody practice signifies significant days in the Mayan world. Members of the royal family participated in the practice many days have sometimes passed when purification ceremonies to prepare for bloodshed.
- sacrifices: Sacrifices were important to please the gods and ensure a military victory. When a king or queen ascended the throne and a political prisoner was captured, they celebrated this fateful event with human sacrifices. As a rule, these prisoners were members of the royal family or the elite of the opposing state. The oldest members of the royal family are spared for the sole purpose of reenacting the events of the Popol Vuh. These sacrifices are made in various ways, but the most common are three. The first method is beheading. The following method is a common method to remove the heart of a living person. The last most common method is to throw a living person into hay or a natural well, as a proposal from the gods.
- Marriage: Marriage is another religious ceremony and cause for celebration. Mayan marriages were often arranged marriages within the same social class. Age at marriage varies, but experts say age at marriage is related to population growth and decline. As the Mayan population dwindled, young people married at a younger age. Pairs mate at a very young age, sometimes even as babies. Marriages are performed by priests in the bride’s home. The priests would burn incense to create a random marriage, and then another party or celebration would take place. If neither spouse considers the marriage successful, the spouses can “divorce.” There is no known divorce ritual, but interestingly, divorce is more or less accepted.
More about the Mayans:
Mayan calendars
Towards the center was the tzolkin (sacred calendar)that consisted of 260 days. It was based on two circles, one of which was made up of 16 numbered days, and the other of 20 named days. These two circles were repeated every 260 days.
On the other hand, they also had the tuna ceremonial calendar, made up of 360 days and 5 additional days of bad luck. Another of the most used calendars was the called catun, which was diagrammed by 20 tuns. They also used a 584 day venus calendara lunar half-calendar and cycles of the heavenly gods.
Together, all these calendar systems made the Mayans a meticulously calculating culture, reaching extremely complex results, thanks to the deep astronomical studies that were controlled under religious rituals.
Mayan ceremonies
Unlike many other cultures, religious ceremonies featured a wide variety of activities, all related to the offerings and devotion before their divinities. This is how you could see sports competitions, theatrical shows, dances and sacrifices.
The Mayans held that the gods needed food to be able to act in their favor and among the most precious offerings, were human sacrifices. These used to be blood offerings produced by cutting various parts of the human body, usually from the priests. Usually the tongue, lips or ears were sacrificed and the more blood spilled, the greater the will of the gods would be, the size of the offering being also directly proportional to the position of the hierarchy of the sacrificed. Some ceremonies even demanded the living heart of the sacrificed, being then burned to entertain the gods.
This is also very interesting:
Rituals of the Mayan ball game
Although it seems a priori that games or sports have nothing to do with spirituality and religion, the truth is that for the Mayans there was. Hence the so-called mayan ball game has acquired such relevance among the Aztecs.
It is a show that is much more than this, turned into a kind of ritual full of esoteric meaning and in which a series of activities or games with a ball were carried out. Everything from the pitch itself to the rules of the game are special here. As for the first of them, the field where the players carry out their competition, it had the shape of a capital L. It also highlights the fact that the walls were inclined.
Although there is no unanimity regarding the number of players, the most common is to think that there were six for each team. Similar to what happens in soccer, basketball or any other ball game, the session consisted of bounce the ball from side to side. But unlike current sports, the ball could not be touched with the hands, feet or legs, but they had to make their movements only with the hip, elbow or thighs.
These competitions took place on designated dates and were held in honor of the different gods. Being a sacred sport, there were even occasions where violence was applied, which is evidenced by the fact that the players wore protection systems. It was also part of the outfit to wear necklaces with stones or hairstyles that were imitations of the symbols of the gods.
Such was the relevance of the match, that after finishing it, the loser is said to have been sacrificed as an offering to the gods, although there is no consensus among scholars that this was always the case, since no reliable evidence has been found that prove it. Just as there is no certainty as to whether the person sacrificed was the loser or the winner.
But how important were these games and why wait for death after a game? According to the sources consulted, it was so because the ball game is a reflection of the duel between light and darkness, between night and day, or between life and death, just as for the Mayans it happens in the third creation and sheltering in the belief of the existence of two worlds: the human and another inferior.
In addition, these games could be of two kinds: organized to entertain the ruling class, or reserved for the players of the people.
Key books of the Mayan doctrine
Among the key books in the Mayan religion, two stand out, the Popol Vuh and the Chilam Balam books. Let’s see them in detail.
Popol Vuh
Also called Book of the Council of the Ancients of Quiché. It is a book of great historical value that contains many stories describing nature, norms, religion or relationships of the Guatemalan Mayan people of Quiché, one of the most numerous. It is believed that the book was written around 1550 by an indigenous person who would have learned to write in Latin characters and who would have transcribed the stories of an old man; however, its existence was not known in the West until the beginning of the 18th century.
The books of Chilam Balam
Similar to the Popol Vuh, it is a series of books that compile anecdotes and historical facts of the Mayan civilization. They were written after the Spanish colonization, by evangelized indigenous people, during the 16th and 17th centuries. Each town had its own Chilam Balam, so there are different documents. Among the most outstanding are the Chilam Balam of Chumayel, the Chilam Balam of Kaua, the Chilam Balam of Ixil or…