Welcome to our blog, this is a small introduction to know a little more about the culture and traditions of the Mayans. In this web -blog you can explore different aspects of their traditions, their language and mainly their gods, which were object of veneration, and all the rituals and ceremonies realized by the Mayans were offered to them. Some of those rituals and gods are known worldwide, such as Chac, the god of the rain, but our purpose is not only to provide some names and dates using organized information, but to provide valuable information and a site in which people can learn more about this fascinating culture and be wondered by their imagination which is still present in many areas within the states of Yucatan Peninsula. In order to do this we have organized branches that will guide you throughout this site. These branches are divided into categories to make it more easily for you to understand the content of our web-blog. Finally we hope you like it and we hope that this blog will be useful for all users.
The Mayan calendar was very advanced, and consisted of a solar year of 365 days. It was divided into 18 months of 20 days each, followed by a five-day period that was highly unlucky. There was also a 260-day sacred year (tzolkin), divided into days named by the combination of 13 numbers and 20 names. For longer periods, the Maya identified an elaborated system of periods and cycles of various lengths. In ascending order, these were: kin (day); uinal (20 days); tun (18 uinals/360 days); katun (20 tuns/7,200 days); baktunbaktun (20 katuns/144,000 days), and so on, with the highest cycle being the alautun (23,040,000,000 days).
The oldest myths date from the 16th century and are found in historical sources from the Guatemalan Highlands. The most important of these documents is the Popol Vuh or 'Book of the Council', which contains Quichean creation stories and the adventures of The Hero Twins, Hunahpu and Xbalanque.
The legend of The Hero Twins geve birth to the Mayan culture. They are the reason why all started. The Mayan legends contain narrations loaded with endless imagination and creativity. The Mayas explain in their narrations how the world and the gods took part in the creation of things, even the world itself, but they not only give an explanation, they give such explanation that the people who are either listening or reading their legens get captured by the magnificense of their literature.
The jaguar was the most feared and respected beast in the Mesoamerican world. The jaguar gods of the Maya were associated with the night, the caves and the underworld, like the jaguar itself, and were sometimes associated with shamanic transformations. The skin of the jaguar was used in many costumes, to denote high rank, power, authority and an association with the gods, especially in times of war. In the beautiful murals of the Maya, it is usually the rulers who wore those fashionable exotic jaguar outfits!
In Mayan art on wall and cave murals, and on vases, the jaguar is sometimes shown in its naturally occurring color phases of black (The Jaguar God of the Underworld) or light (The Jaguar God of the Upper World). Both jaguar gods were regarded as necessary beings, without as much value judgment or labeling as to their aspects of good or evil. Both were associated with the Creator as his helpers in forming the world, and they helped promote the changes necessary for continuation of the world.
The Mayan people had many jaguar deities, and associated the jaguar with power, probably because the jaguar occupies the top level of the food chain, as humans do. Often, the rulers of the Maya are depicted seated on a jaguar throne. Together, the Maya and the jaguar shared dominion over the tropical rain forest. (This data was taken from http://www.angelfire.com/folk/sunflowerfarm/ajaguar.html to gain more information click on the web browse above.)
The mayas used to praise natural gods, Most and each one of them had a good and a bad side. Like such cultures there were different levels of importance among the mayan gods. The supreme one of them all was the god, Kukulcan the Creator, who is known as the feathered serpent, it appears in many temples in the mayan buildings. Kukulcan had been adopted by the Toltecs and the Aztecs and they renamed it as "Quetzalcoatl".
Another important god is the god "Bolom Tzacab" who appears in the mayan art, oftenlty the image appears in the form of a sceptre which is carried out by the mayan rulers, it is thought to have functioned as a royal decent god.
Mayas thought that the only way of comunicating with the gods was throughout the human sacrifice, they thought that the human blood nourished the gods. It was also seen as a ritual for fertility, and demostrated piety and it propitiate the gods.
The Ceremony was held at the top of a pyramid and was directed by a priest that made an incition on the low part of the rib-cage to rip open the flesh and releasing a bath of blood. You can later investigate more about it. Other Mayan religious rituals included dancing, competition, ball games, dramatic performances, and prayer to the gods.
The list of mayan gods is quite large so we have created a short list of those whom we consider that are the most popular ones of the Mayan religion. Such as: Itzamná, Kukulcán (Quetzalcóatl), Chak, etc. The list include all the relevant information needed to understand the function of the gods and also contains a brief description of their images according to the leyend. (If you wish to gain more data or want to go through all the list of the Mayan gods click Here)
The following interviews took place in Chunhuhub, a town near Felipe Carrillo Puerto in Quintana Roo. For the purpose of having a richier blog we asked our informants to answerr in Maya and then to repeat their answers in Spanish. We asked people about how they felt about growing in a Maya-speaking family and have to deal with a Spanish-speaking society. We asked them about their experiences, about their religion and if they knew the cultural background that is behind the Mayan language. we asked them if they knew the role of the mayan gods in the ancient mayan religion. Some of them answerd us honestly, some of them were a little bit shy and these afected their answers and some of them prefered to talk about the way they lived as children and how the way of living has changed
This man relates the history of when he was a child and he had to go with his father to the fields to sow. He mentions that society has changed a lot since those times when roads weren't paved. He also mentioned that people from those days used to the able to say when it was going to rain just by knowing the month of the year or the day of each month.
(Here are three videos of this man, he starts speaking maya and then he translates)
It is sad to know that children who parents speak Maya, aren't able to talk in that language. The mayan language is getting lost in the community. Every time there is fewer people speaking the language. The only vestige of the Mayan language can be heard in the old houses were the elder live, or in the parks where thye elder use to get togheter to spent to some time sharing old stories. it is important to mention that they don't express themselves in Spanish when they talk, they only Speak in Maya among them.
This man arrived to Chunhuhub when the town was just a few houses made out of wood. He mentions that it was sad to see all the trees that he had seen grow be cut, and the place that those threes had became paved road. when you talk to elder people being a teenager you get the idea of how ancient cultures or people are transformed by the traditions and trend that the city or new civilizations bring along with them. That is the case with these people, they lived their childhood very differently as how they live now. little by little the knowledge provided by those before them has been lost in time, remaining just traditions and beliefs from other cultures.
It is know the impact that the Spanish had when they conquered this part of the world, they brought good things, but also bad ones. For for better or worse they also brought the language and their religion, which is one of the most importants in the world. As a consecuense the Mayan people suffered a drastic change in their beliefs, most of the time this change was made by force. The mayan people at the present have only one god. It is obvious that everyone is raised as a catholic and nothing about the old days is thought to them.
Personally we feel that is a little bit unfair that the Mayas who once had an amazing repertoire of beliefs and traditions kept nothing. I used to have the feeling that Mayas as apeakers of Maya should know about the gods related to their mother tongue but I realized that the reality was very different.
Even that most of the people don't know any name of the Ancient Mayan Gods there is some people that as children heard prayers to Chak, the god of rain. This makes a big difference in the community for the ancient beliefs are almost totally gone. This woman related the history of how her grandmother and her relatives used to pray to Chak for rain so the fields could grow strong and tall. She also mentions how her grandmother used to teach to children how to speak Maya, she says that as those boys grew they got more involves in the Spanish speakin community.
She was asked if what she thought about the mayan people who have to learn Spanish in order to go to school or to get a job. She said that she was ok with that because if they learn Spanish they could have access to an education, and maybe they could become a profesionist, what is what all mothers want for their children, to succed in live, then the children could be thankfull to their mothers and family. It is admirable that she thinks this way, she as a mothers wants the best for her kids and she beliefs that they deserve the best no matter what language they speak. She as other people in the town did't know much else about the Mayan gods, she expressed that she was a catholic, and that she has never prayed to any other god besides Jesuscristh.
This woman mentions that she has always been a catholic and she doesn't believe in any other god, but she has heard a conversation about the Ancient Mayan Gods. She on the contrary to the first woman thinks that Mayan people shouldn't have the necessity to learn to speak Spanish to go to school or to get a job. She has been object of racism agaist people who speak maya.
Her father has been subject of mockery as well, since he can't speak Spanish. He only knows a few words in Spanish, so when he faces a situation when he needs to speak spanish people have criticised him, that is why her daugher, this woman, explains that she is aware that there is some kind of racism agaist Mayan people, but it shouldn't be this way. She feels that those people should be more consious about the other people's feelings. The majority of the inhabitants of the community feel the pressure 0f the critics and the racisim of those who speak Spanish, thus they avoid learning the language.
We believe that it is a shame that the very few people that speak Maya in this community aren't aware of their language's past and how it is directly conected with the Mayan gods. Those in charge to continue the history of the community are simple not aware of the importance of learning the language, but they express that they would like to learn it. It can be observed that the the enviroment, the circumstances and the social factors are not apropiate. Some of them learn how to speak the language, but they are not able to write the words.
Please post a comment about what do you think and how you feel about Mayan people who no longer know their ancestor's gods or any other opinion you have about this.
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