Funeral rites in the pre -Hispanic era
Introduction.
The rites of the Apache civilization were based mainly on the healing of the sick and also gave great importance to bad luck above all at the time of puberty where children are preparing to be adults. In these healing rituals they were used to dancers who were carrying a kind of masks and these in turn presented themselves as the spirits of the mountain, which descended from the gahán.
In pre -Hispanic times there will be a disease that will stand out above all the others that will be the plague disease. The plague usually entered the Apaches camps and had to flee terrified at the fear that happened to them. Apaches believed that much of the diseases were not transmitted by humans, but were transmitted by animals such as owls or coyotes. Animal transmitted diseases could not be cured without the help of a shaman.
The shaman was the only one who could cure any type of disease through his magical medicines and since he was the only one who considered that supernatural powers could have to be able to cure the patient. Owls within this civilization were characterized as an animal that only brought evil and misfortunes for the entire population. When they saw an owl flying through their land they sensed that something bad was going to happen, because they had it as an animal of evil and as the animal that came from the underworld. The shaman did not have the powers itself, but were transmitted by the gahán, who was considered the spirit of the mountains.
Developing.
Apaches peoples, with reference to the concept of death, did not want to refer to it unless there was one inside the Apache town. The word itself, scared the Apaches, to the point that if I mentioned the word Apache while some kind of ritual dance was stopped dancing. When Apache came the time for death, the whole town was involved to bury it as soon as possible since they did not want to have a long contact between the world of the living and the world of the dead.
This hurry reflects the apache belief that the vision of a corpse or the mere fact of touching the deceased’s possessions could infect a dire disease . Once the dead man is buried, next to him, all kinds of utensils that had belonged to him were buried, because if there was any element he could return his soul to the world of the living.
There is an exception and only those materials belonging to the deceased but that were shared with another person could continue belonging to the earthly world. The Apaches believed that if everything that belonged to the deceased could not be destroyed, he could also return and kill his family, so that the family who lived in the deceased’s house moved to another home and the house turned on fire so that There will be no element that belonged to the deceased.
The people who went to the funeral of the deceased were the least possible and then made a ritual of bathing in smoke of sage that for them was like the medicine of the spirits. Apaches children when they died with an early age, they changed their name because they thought that could bring repercussions in the future.
The Apaches believed that there could be supernatural powers. In times of war it was thought that there was a power that made the warriors stronger and that it could destroy the enemies. They believed in both good and bad powers but with a supernatural character. Apart from the fear of death we have already mentioned, these peoples also had ceremonies in their daily lives. Thanks to these ceremonies, much of the people of the population were more united and they trusted each other in each other.
Other types of ceremonies that we found in this civilization were the rituals that were made when a girl became a woman. The Apaches also had as a fundamental element the 4 cardinal points (north, south, east and west).
The Maya:
The Maya were a great civilization that settled mainly in the Central America area. These Maya were one of the most important civilizations that have existed in America throughout all time. They built what were state cities, where there was all kinds of buildings and monuments that were dedicated to the great gods. They were polytheistic, they believed in several gods. Each of the cities was composed of a government that was responsible for organizing the entire population and also in charge of worrying because everything was in order.
Its economy and production were based mainly on agriculture and livestock. They were great collectors and it was a civilization that was very developed. The most characteristic products of the area beans, some tubers or corn that will not only have the function only as food but also will be for divination practices.
As for the social structure that the Maya had we can divide them into 3 social classes. On the one hand we have the leaders who were the ones who held all political power. A lower second social class were those in charge of serving the State (in this sector the priests were also included, which within the religion were the most important characters when making any type of ritual). And finally a third class were those who were engaged in the world of the countryside and livestock (they were much of the population).
Within this class division they also differentiated between men and women. Men dedicated themselves to the field and work outside the home, while women were going to be in a much more domestic area, aimed at kitchen and make garments with animals of animals.
Finally, regarding clothing there is also a very clear differentiation between the people who belonged to the lower classes and the people who belonged to the upper classes. The people who held a high position, whether male or female wore with majestic outfits that made the others who were the ones who had the power. On the other hand, those of the poorest classes wore with shirts, skirts and pants that were mainly used for work in the field and domestic.
Mayan religious and funeral rituals.
In the world of the Maya, everything around them was important but they gave great importance to religion. Religion was closely linked to the concept of political power and anyone who exercised that power. It was considered that the person who was in a high political position was more communicated with the gods.
We can highlight some of the most important characteristics of the Maya: the first fundamental idea was that they were polytheistic, they had several gods. These gods were related to two elements that they considered of great value such as celestial bodies and atmospheric phenomena. They had practically a God for each atmospheric phenomenon (the sun, the rain, the wind, etc.). And another fundamental characteristic is that the Maya believed both in good and in evil.
The Maya had great empathy with death. When a person dies, the Maya believe that the soul of the deceased descends to the underworld, where a boatman has to help that soul cross the river, so that the soul reaches the other side and can rest in peace eternally. There are in some cultures such as the Aztec culture that the soul does not go south but to the north, instead in the Mayan culture death goes south, towards the underworld and is associated with the yellow color.
Not only existed the underworld for them but there was also a kind of sky, where only the souls of the warriors who died fighting in the wars can rise, since it was considered a real blood and was the only one that had the right to be in the sky unlike other souls. When the death of a relative occurs, although he is dead they can continue to have contact with him. Thanks to some bone exhumation rituals.
The offering of drinks and clothing to the dead will be very important in this religion because it keeps the spirit alive with the dead. These rituals that were made to unite many more to families and so that the deceased do not fall into oblivion, since for the Maya the dead are not dead but are alive in another cosmic life superior to what they live.
Regarding rituals we find all kinds of rituals. We observe that in all the cities of this civilization were pyramids. In those pyramids many sacrifices were made. Many of these sacrifices were dedicated to the gods, and what was sought was to ask some kind of favor to the gods in exchange for them to give their blood. Blood is a highly valued symbol in the Mayan culture. Within these rituals not only highlighted the moment of sacrifice, but also dances with masks both men and women.
The parties that were dedicated to the gods, were already determined by the Mayan calendars, could not be modified at any time by anyone or anything. In these parties were the priests of the temples the people in charge of organizing and decorating the temples and the pyramids so that the party will reach its greatest boom.
As we have mentioned earlier, these human sacrifices were very important for the Maya. Keep in mind that this comes in fact very old. There is a book known as Popol Vuh. It tells the way in which the original gods agreed to create the world, which would serve as a man’s room. The mission of man was to venerate and feed the gods, because as the gods were supernatural beings, they must feed on a natural food: the cosmic energy that was in the blood and in the heart of the sacrificed.
Conclusions.
We could say that the sacrifice begins long before when the execution will occur. As we mentioned, the blood of the warriors was the only one that was destined to heaven for being real blood. Before going to fight wars and fighting they made a ritual that was divided into 3 parts: a first part where a fire turned on and nobody could fight until that fire went out completely. A second part where the soldiers had to be notified of where and when it was going to fight and it could never be at night and finally a third where whenever there was a rainy season and bad weather, the fighting ceased for everyone.
Human sacrifices were not only done through ceremonies held in the pyramids but also were done through games. The best known game is the ball game.The ball game was a game where the players were divided into two teams, and each team had to try to put the ball for the rings of the opposite team. One of the two teams at the end of the game was always sacrificed as an offering to the gods. You could never know what team was going to be the sacrificed, it doesn’t matter if you won or lost always had the option of being able to die in the game.
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