Mayan civilization;View from its culture and religion
Introduction
Mayan daily life was close to religion. The latter consists of a large number of various gods, which are usually related to nature. In this chapter I will try to explain some basic principles about this religion, so that the Maya could be understood.
The Maya have a great pantheon. In this are a high number of gods, and many of them have completely opposite attributes. The main characteristic of these divinities was that these were in the elements of the environment and in natural events. These are intangible and invisible, even, they have great power, since the creation of the Earth is explained through a myth, in which some of these divinities are involved.
In addition, there are a lot of practices and rituals in which dances stand out. The dances were shows, which, through these, people related to the gods: "Through dance the human beings became gods and the gods into human beings … so it was for a moment". There are numerous examples of these shows that have been investigated and studied, for example: the dance of the "Wayob", the dance of the Sufis, the dance with sacred objects, the dance of the snake.
With this it can be seen that the gods do not seem omnipotent and distant to this people, but quite the opposite, they were close and reliable divinities. In addition, these were energy source, which helped the population. The latter indicates a fundamental element to understand human sacrifices (main theme of this work). These divinities had a life cycle, and when it ended, they lost their energy. For this last reason, the Maya made these sacrifices, in other terms, the spilled blood was offered to the gods to recover that energy they were losing over time.
Developing.
In order to talk about human sacrifices, it is necessary to briefly develop an indispensable term in the Mayan world. That term Itz refers: “to secretions of the human body such as sweat, tears, milk and semen. People extracted blood from the body as a sustenance offering for the gods. On numerous occasions, this term has been translated as "witch", which acquires a pejorative sense. The Mayan priestly caste was composed of several kinds of priests. Regarding this work, the one who has great relevance was the Ah Nakom. Although also in ceremonies, Chacs (elderly) could be found, which played a lesser importance to the specialized priest.
An aspect that is necessary to highlight is the difference between Mayan religion and magic. In the latter, an individual, through a ritual, can determine the fact he most wants, without mistake. On the other hand, in the Maya they had to perform rituals and prayers, to ask their gods to grant and do what they asked for. The basic difference between magic and religion is that, in the firstWhat the believer has asked for. With respect to prayer, there are great differences between those of the Mayan and Christian people, since the former were based on material purposes.
Any ceremony, including human sacrifices, two basic requirements should be respected: abstinence and fasting. A really significant fact is that, if the first obligation is not fulfilled, the ceremony could be endangered, since in this ritual the union between the divine world and the earthly world occurs, that is, the gods are joined with the gods with thehumans. To avoid the latter, men and women separated for a week of thirteen days or included a Mayan month (twenty days). Even Zutuhiles respected fasting and abstinence for thirteen Mayan months, which, according to our calendar would be approximately 260 days.
Human sacrifices were a moment of great relevance in the Mayan world, since the energy of human blood was offered, so that the gods, after overcoming their cycle of birth, growth and, finally, loss of energy, can recover itand be able to continue living. Mayan sacrifices were not only human, but that various ceremonies can be documented and studying in which the offering were animal victims. Sometimes, also, inanimate objects, although this was more strange.
The ceremony was held at the top of a great pyramid similar to the Egyptians, although the Maya had a staircase until they reached the small temple located at the top of the same. “The sacrifices among the Maya, in general, shared certain characteristics, such as the reduced number of victims (especially compared to Nahuas), a set of preparatory rituals, the direct intervention of prepared priests and its realization in a time andSacred space.
In those ceremonies of human sacrifice, the objects and materials used had a certain relevance. For example, knives, pastinaca thorns, small glyphs, obsidian leaves … with respect to the knife, it possessed a great symbolic force, called the "weapon of God".
The blood used to extract from soft areas, that is, from parts of the body in which a large amount of blood was spilled. For example, from the tongue (this extraction can be documented in the murals of Bonampak), the ears, arm, penis … after the incision, the blood was collected and stored in containers, such as dishes, vessels (also with a great symbolism)…, That later, the priest specialized in this type of ceremonies (Ah Nakom) could give it to the gods at that relevant moment.
D There are numerous human sacrifices that were made in this Mayan civilization: ausacrifices, sacrifices of the priests, arrowing of the heart, cenotes of cenotes, extraction of the heart … [Footnoteref: 7] [7: The 5 most bloody Mayan sacrifices. (Reference book Relationship of Yucatan things), https: // www.Youtube.com/watch?V = QRTKD2RDLM4 (seen on October 18, 2019). ]
The last one is the most relevant and the one that most attracts attention, since there are numerous reliefs that show this rite. Before them we must not forget “the idea of the calendaric cycle, in which the strength of a God was born, grew, decreased and ended. In this way, the deity had to die to be reborn with new energy. Thus, those who died were not men, but gods with a body wrap ”[Footnoteref: 8]. [8: Itlia, Martha, The human sacrifice: food of the gods, magazine of the University of Mexico, Pag. 26.]
Before the ceremony and the extraction of the heart, the sacrificed enjoyed certain "privileges" days prior to the ceremony. This individual, escorted by several guards, could be asking for food in various houses and families were forced to offer them food and drink, how much does the subject want. There are even data that tell us that the latter used to be intoxicated (meaning that a sign of divine possession).
The extraction of the heart was performed at the top of the pyramid (as I have already indicated previously). The individual lay down a stone in the one was inserted, in addition, he was tied and grabbed by his four limbs. Subsequently, the specialized priest made an incision in the part of the trunk under the ribs. The priest introduced his hand and extracted his heart. A really amount and significant fact is that, if the sacrifice was properly executed, the heart of the sacrificed continued to beating for a few moments outside the body.
There are numerous examples of these rites and ceremonies. One of them, the individual who was going to sacrifice was a young woman, who was subject to a stick, this was whipped in the chest with a branch of the spiny ceiba, until he died. Once again the importance of the blood is observed, since the Mayan civilization possessed its elements of the environment, and with the Pochote (Ceiba Espinosa) a rapid death could be caused, but the relevant, that the blood ran out of the body inlarge amounts, necessary to feed the gods.
Another of the sacrifices that were made was through cenotes. These were very usual in the Mayan culture. The sacrificed used to be young virgins, even, sometimes, you could try children. These individuals were pushed into a large water well. On numerous occasions, these were subject to sticks, great stones … These clearing were very violent, since, those children and virgins not only drowned, but also through hard blows against the stones of that well.
We must not lose the perspective that these sacrificed were done to offer energy and ask the gods for help. This last sacrifice was made to ask the god of rain (chaac or chaak) rainfall. And for that deity to help them they had to pay him with the energy of a sacrificed. The next Mayan sacrifice that I will highlight is the sacrifice with venablos or arrows. At first, the individual who was going to be sacrificed was chosen, he was undressed and tied to a stick. Subsequently, the body was painted blue, except, the chest where the arrows were going to be thrown, so this part was represented white.
The specialized priest approached the individual and crossed his genitals with an arrow (once again observing the importance of the importance of blood in the Mayan civilization). Finally, the Mayan group that was around the sacrificed, nailed, each one, an arrow in the chest. All this while the dance of death was performed, because as I said in the first chapter, these dances were loaded with a strong divine symbolism.
The next Mayan sacrifice would be the self-active, which was done by the population in their own homes to ask the gods help. Puncture objects are introduced in the soft parts of the body, especially in the ears, to form holes. In a second moment, various objects are introduced in those holes formed previously to emerge blood and cause pain. All this, to ask the gods for something.
Another sacrifice of great relevance in the Mayan civilization was that of the priests. These men were placed in a row in the temple and in front of them were sculptures of various gods. This sacrifice consisted of piercing the virile member with sharp objects, to later cross the holes formed with thread. The emerged blood was collected and with it the small statues of the divinities were bathed. All this, the priests did it by ingesting a plant (guarumo), which allowed them to be in trance and thus reduced part of the pain.
The sacrifice called Pech’ni ("crush the nose") is known thanks to a single reference that has been found in the Mayan civilization. This sacrifice consists, as the name implies, in crushing the individual’s nose and, subsequently, kill him. The last human sacrifice that I am going to deal with in this work will be about decapitation. The latter has had great relevance in Mesoamerica, as very well in some sculptures, murals … for example, the trail 21 has been found in which the blood is represented as if they were feathers, the Bonapak mural … "The head was probably that of a representative of the God, because the victims often represented the divinities to whom they were sacrificed.".
On numerous occasions, beheaded heads were arranged in rows (a stick crossed the head of the head). These decapitations were followed by heart extraction. Prior to this rite, dances were performed. One of the most characteristic was the one that simulated a fight between individuals dressed in animal skin, such as the jaguar. An act that was performed in these rites was that the priest specialized in the extraction of the heart was dressed in the skin of the sacrificed and subsequently threw himself on the staircase of the temple, so that the blood emerged and was dedicated to the gods. This decapitation ceremony used to be aimed at the divinity of vegetation and nature, which is called Xipe.
In Mayan sacrifices we can also find some non -human sacrifices. A very characteristic example was, when the Spaniards arrived in the discovery of America, the Maya replaced humans, for animal sacrification. Some examples of these animals were the jaguars, tosigüeyas, partridges, turtles, spin pork fish. Although recent studies from modern sources have concluded that sacrifices with dogs, deer and guajolotes were also carried out.Even various testimonies have shown offerings to the gods with vegetables or herbs. For example, a very characteristic offering of this civilization was the Balché, which was a drink made from fermented honey and the Balché tree bark. Also, there are offerings with wax, vessels, pigments, fabrics, jade plates, carved wood, elements made by gold, copper.
CONCLUSION.
Mayan civilization is greatly linked to religion. The life of this people revolves around the gods, which have unique characteristics: they do not usually have anthropomorphic forms (they are mixtures of animals and people), there is a hierarchy between the minor and the elderly gods, there are inanimate objects that can contain spirits, that many of them managed to divinize.
The most relevant is that the gods were related to the elements of nature and atmospheric changes and that they followed a life cycle (they are born, grow and finally die). This is related to your calendars, which are not based on days, but by periods. The Mayan people had to offer energy to these deities to continue living, so that the latter would help them in their daily lives, for example: in the fertilization of corn seeds, in rainfall.
Finally, we should not think with the West mentality, since it can cause us violent and meaningless. For this reason, a historian must be impartial, objective and understand the perspective of that moment. Therefore, sacrifices is logical and normalized in the Mayan world, which is chaired by religion.
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