Brief Description of the Mayan Culture, Including the Map
The Mayan culture was among the dominant indigenous communities of Mesoamerica, which is present-day Mexico and Central America. They were located in the regions covering the Yucatan Peninsula, modern-day Guatemala, Belize, parts of the Mexican states of Tabasco and Chiapas, and the western parts of Honduras and El Salvador (History.com Editors). There were cultural differences among different groups of the Maya based on the geographical area in which they lived. During the pre-classical period, they mutated from a single to a multi-lingual ethnic group, speaking about 70 languages.
Background Information
The Maya civilization was concentrated in Central America and reached its peak during the first millennium A.D. They were ruled by a king, and each city had one of its own, while at times a weaker territory would be dominated and governed by stronger ones. The Maya were nomadic hunters and gatherers for many thousands of years; however, this changed around 1800 B.C. to A.D. 250 when they began cultivating open fields to grow crops (Leggett & Jarus). Farming took center stage as many people started building permanent villages that led to the creation of many cities.
Their changed way of life was seemingly influenced by the Olmec community, which lives to the west of the current Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco. Further, it is alleged that the famous Maya Calendar could have been borrowed from the Olmec tribe (Leggett & Jarus). Archaeological facts point to the fact that they excellently planned their cities, which had pyramids, temples, and other structures made using a grid system. Additionally, a collection of artifacts written on the walls of houses, books, and steles showed a mechanism of writing that uses symbols called glyphs to represent words.
Maya people had a sophisticated calendar system that mirrored those used today. For example, the proto-Cholan clan had an 18–20 day calendar for each month with an additional five extra days (Leggett & Jarus). Further, they equally had “long-count,” which kept record of time using variations of units, ranging from a day to many millions of years (Leggett & Jarus). Further, the “b’ak’tun” calendar system in the Maya tradition represented a full cycle of creation. The 13th edition of it ended on December 21, 2012, with many members believing that the world would have ended on that day (Leggett & Jarus). There is evidence that the Maya calendar system was similar to the modern-day ones in many instances.
The ancient Maya culture reached its climax during the classical period. Between A.D. 250 and 900 several Maya cities dominated Central America (Leggett & Jarus). Their civilization is believed to have been influenced by Teotihuacán in the Western Hemisphere before the 15th century (Leggett & Jarus). This town was located some 30 miles northwest of present-day Mexico City. Evidence of this sway is found in the inscriptions in the Maya city of Tikal, which is part of Guatemala. Each of the cities found throughout the Mayan culture had their own unique features; for example, Tikal was known for its many pyramids, while Copan was dominated by the Temple of the Hieroglyphic Stairway. On the other hand, Palenque is still known for its soft limestone sculpture and the incredible burial of Pakal, one of its kings, deep inside a pyramid.
In a more complicated creation story, the Maya had a myth about the origin that told how their forefather gods, Tepew and Q’uq’umatz, brought them to the world from a watery void. They equally believed that their journey on earth reached its peak when their father, “the maize god,” was resurrected (Leggett & Jarus). The interesting part of this narration is the belief that their creation was linked to maize fertility. Spiritually, they believed that things were inspired by the unseen powers of divinity or sacredness. Their universe is composed of earth (kab), the sky, and water (Xibalba). They had caves that were seen as the entrance to the underworld.
Additionally, they were sacred areas where the dead were buried and rituals to the ancestors were conducted. Its religion followed deities such as Itzamnaaj (the lord over opposing forces in the universe), the sun, rain, and storm gods (Leggett & Jarus). Members of this community believed that each person had a life force, which drained blood from an individual and gave it to God. Based on the background information, this research paper will review and analyze the literature on the Mayan culture in terms of its features, the rituals, human sacrifices, rulers, priests, the composition of pyramids, and how they practiced their religion.
Data Collection Method
This study used the literature review technique to survey many scholarly articles, books, journals, websites, and other online sources on the Mayan culture and religion. This method helped the researcher to enumerate, describe, summarize, and objectively evaluate previous research work (Snyder). It also helps to build the research and connect it to existing knowledge. It creates an efficient foundation for the development of theories about the topic of study. In particular, the study employed a systematic qualitative review to synthesize and summarize detailed evidence from different types of literature about the paper’s sub-topics (Snyder). This involved a strict strategy for the selection of the documents that were included in the review process. Further, it effectively synthesized the information all the materials had concerning the topic of study. The process explicitly scrutinizes available articles, minimizes bias, and gives reliable data from which results and conclusions are drawn.
From the review process the following articles and online materials were selected to form the basis upon which the research findings were deduced and conclusions drawn. Firstly, “Distinctive Features of the Mayan Culture ” available on History on the Net site. Secondly, “Maya Religion.” by Gomez, Maria, C. (2015). Thirdly, “Human Sacrifice in Maya Culture” by Cheng, Cindy (2017). “Mayan Architecture & Pyramids’ ‘ (2022) found on Study.com, and “Cultures and Tradition‘ ‘ 2017, available at the Dallas Museum of Art were included too. Lastly, “What’s hidden inside the ancient Maya pyramids?” by Jarus, Owen (2022), and “The Dynastic Rulers Who Took the Throne of Palenque ” by Hirst, Kris. K (2019) was added to the list.
Document Analysis
Document analysis was used to synthesize and interpret the articles that were selected by the researcher to give voice and meaning to the topic that was under investigation. It involved analyzing the content in all seven documents and coding them into themes (Morgan). The technique allowed for the triangulation of information from multiple sources to ensure the accuracy and credibility of the results. The researcher chose this method because it is more cost-effective in terms of resources used and time spent. Further, the sources from which to gather data are stable, and they can be reviewed many times unchanged.
Research Findings
The results from this study, after a systematic review and analysis of the seven articles, revealed the same information as what was already known from the background information and the introductory description. The Maya culture is the same and has not changed, except that some aspects of it have been destroyed by the realities of the modern world. Some of its traditional practices and beliefs were just myths, while others were typical knowledge advancements during that stone period, as discussed in the sections below.
Distinctive Features
The Mayan culture had many traits similar to those of Mesoamerica, such as the Olmec, Zapotec, and Aztec. However, they retained other distinct features that were only unique and pure to them (Distinctive Features of the Mayan Culture). For example, they had a writing system that constituted the spoken language of the community, whereas other cultures in Mesoamerica had a form of pictographic style. Further, many of their traditions were refined in artwork and architecture, including their calendar, which was adopted by other cultures in Mesoamerica. They live in southern Mexico and northern Central America, and the expansive region covers lowlands and highlands with rainforests, savannas, and semi-arid plateaus, semi-alpine and swampy low areas. The terrain transformed them, and they finally adapted the creativity that was needed to live in this diverse natural part of the world.
Architecture
A Maya city was recognized by the sheer beauty of their pyramids, huge plazas, and expansive palaces built for kings and nobles that were dotted everywhere. They were practicing a religious ritual called ball games, and every temple had a ball court built close to it (Distinctive Features of the Mayan Culture). Additionally, they had carved stone monuments known as stelae that were found in almost all the areas. Stelae were used to celebrate the lives and deeds of their rulers and nobles. Their builders constructed light and airy rooms that made their temples elegant.
Composition of Maya Pyramids
The Maya pyramids incorporated both temples and palaces because they were designed to represent a mountain, one of the most sacred places in the Mayan culture. They were built with large stone blocks, and painted with limestone, then smoothed brightly with a shiny color (Mayan Architecture & Pyramids). Within the bigger ones, there were smaller pyramids, for instance, “El Castillo,” at the site of “Chichén Itzá” in the Yucatán Peninsula, had three pyramids in one, which resembled the Russian nesting doll. Some pyramids served as ritual sites, while others were used as tombs for burying kings (Jarus). Further, they contained artifacts such as jade masks (for the deceased), jade beads, obsidian blades, and stingray spines.
Mayan Rulers
Maya civilization was primarily urban, with capitals of kingdoms ruled by kings who were thought to communicate directly with gods and ancestors. On occasions such as the birth, death, or accession to the throne by a new king, there were frequent celebrations in the cities (Cultures & Traditions). The most remarkable civilization in Maya is at the Palenque site in Chiapas, Mexico, which was controlled by the most powerful king of Central America, Pakal (Hirst). Its rulers were known as the “Holy Lord of Toktahn” or “Holy Lord of Baakal.” GI was the first emperor of Palenque, born around 3122 BCE, and his ancestral goddess was born a year earlier.
Writing System and Mathematics
Another distinctive feature of this culture was their writing system, which acted as their spoken language. It was the only fully developed writing during the stone age period and was based on the glyphs, or symbols, which were used to represent either a syllable or a word. Through this, they wrote books known as “codices,” which were made of bark paper and coiled like an accordion (Distinctive Features of the Mayan Culture). Due to their sophisticated astronomical work and their art of making calendars, they were excellent in mathematics. Their assessment of the planets, the sun, and the moon depicted their movements accurately. In addition, they made a good calendar that had both the sacred, ritual 260-day calendar and the 365-day solar calendar.
Human Sacrifices
Since the pre-Columbian era, human sacrifices have always been part of Maya tradition. This was done purely because of the belief that it was a way of pleasing their gods. The sacrifice of a living man or woman was taken as a powerful offering that made gods happy (Cheng). However, those who were offered as part of this ritual were only prisoners of war with heavy penalties. These sacrifices were done for different purposes and were conducted in a variety of ways. For instance, dedication to a new house or king needed a human sacrifice (Cheng). Whenever a ritual entailed the removal of the heart, it was performed in the temple courtyard or at the summit of the pyramid-temple.
All the victims who were being sacrificed wore headdresses as they were being held down by four attendants, symbolizing the cardinal directions. Further, the knife was used to cut the chests of the casualties to extract their hearts. After the process was over, the heart was then passed to the priest called the “chilan,” who used the blood to smear onto the image of their god (Cheng). At the end of it, the remains were skinned by an assistant priest to remove the skin that was put on by the priest as they conducted a ritual dance of rebirth.
Maya Religion
The community believed in the establishment, creation, and sanctity of human beings, the earth, and all things sacred. Their stories about creation are found in the “Popol Vuh” and the Books of “Chilam Balam”. Firstly, the Popol Vuh was and is linked with those who lived in the highlands, in present-day Guatemala, and has information on how people were created, as well as prophecies, myths, and historical artifacts. On the other hand, Chilam Balam was synonymous with the lowland areas of Mexico.
For the Maya people, it is believed that creation of the earth happened because of the actions of Huracán, the wind and sky god. This, therefore, forced the sky and earth to connect, leaving no space for anything to grow. In order to make space, a “Ceiba” tree was planted, and grew roots in all the levels of the underground world. Its branches developed into the upper world, and the stem changed to leave space on earth for animals, other plants, and humans. This myth stresses that animals and plants were the first to appear on earth. After that the gods were not satisfied because they could not speak, so they made humans later. According to the Maya scripture, the community has had three creations and currently two of them have been destroyed or influenced by the existence of Christianity.
Built from Mud
The first creation was believed to have seen people being made from the mud. They were not thought of as productive because a number of them lacked the brain capacity to think and reason like modern-day humans. Further, they were static, could not move due to the fact that they were not mortal. For this reason, it is explained in the Mayan sacred texts that the gods were not happy with them and destroyed them with water.
Built from Wood
In the second creation, their texts explain that gods called “deities” made males from wood and females from reeds. Interestingly, they could function as humans do, however, they did not have souls, did not respect the gods, and were equally immortal. When they died, they would only be dead for three days before rising from the dead. There is destruction believed to have been caused by the overflow of hot water. Consequently, the few who may have survived this catastrophe are said to have changed into the monkeys of today.
Built from Maize
Maya sacred texts believe that the third creation saw the birth of modern-day humans. These people are thought of in the scriptures as those who were made of white and yellow, a thick, malleable mixture of maize flour and the blood of the gods. Firstly, the gods created four men and four women who were seen as wise by the gods. Maya’s traditional “deities” believed these people were intelligent to the extent of threatening their authority, and the gods even thought of destroying them as well. However, “Huracán,” believed to be the heart of heaven according to their norms, was sent by the gods and managed to cloud their minds, and they became less wise.
Gods & Goddesses
Maya gods were believed to be fluid and have diverse personalities. Despite there being many, the most important gods and the less notable ones shared some common characteristics. Further, some of their “deities” had conflicting personality characteristics. Furthermore, it is stated in their sacred texts that many gods were a hybrid of humans and specific animals. They were equally associated with different directions, and each god’s importance was seen to vary based on its historical context.
Heaven, Hell, & the Cardinal Directions
The Mayan culture believed in different levels of realms, and according to them, the supernatural levels were not heaven and hell, but the upper world, middle world, and underworld. It is explained in their sacred books that the upper, middle, and lower worlds had 13, 1, and 9 levels, respectively. The Ceiba tree that is responsible for understanding the cardinal directions was imagined to be growing through all the domains. Maya people believe that there are five elements to the cardinal directions, four on each side and one in the center. East was considered the most important direction because it is where the sun rises and was associated with birth due to their belief that the sun was born each day. They attached significance to the directions, and they even constructed their houses to reflect the cardinal directions.
Other Rituals
Another way by which the Maya community communicated with gods was by lowering children into “cenotes.” Young ones were placed in the wells so as to speak to the gods (Gomez). After staying there for some hours, they were brought up to the surface of the earth so that the message from the “deities” could be heard. Additionally, the community equally offered gods precious items such as jade, gold, masks, shells, carved human bone, and sacred regalia.
Marriages were another significant religious ritual and a cause for celebration. Maya weddings were organized according to people’s social class. Age was a factor considered, especially when it was deemed that the population of the people was declining, and in case of such an occurrence, the youth would be encouraged to marry at tender ages. This ritual was sacred because any marriage events were presided over by the priest at the bride’s house (Gomez). It was ordained first by the religious leader, who would burn incense to bring blessings to the couple, followed shortly by celebrations. Divorce was allowed in the event that the union was not successful; however, there were no rituals performed for the same.
Conclusion
The Maya community were located in the regions covering the Yucatan Peninsula, modern-day Guatemala, Belize, parts of the Mexican states of Tabasco and Chiapas, and the western parts of Honduras and El Salvador. Their cultural activities and civilization were concentrated in Central America. They were ruled by a king, and each city had one of its own, while at times a weaker territory would be dominated and governed by a stronger one. The community had distinct and unique features, such as a writing system that constituted spoken language and refined artwork and architecture, which included a calendar that was adopted by many societies later.
A typical Maya city was recognized by the sheer beauty of their pyramids, huge plazas, and expansive palaces built for kings and nobles. Further, their pyramids incorporated both temples and palaces because they were designed to represent a mountain-one of the most sacred places in the community’s norm.
Maya civilization was primarily urban, with capitals of kingdoms ruled by kings who were thought to communicate directly with gods and ancestors. They believed in the establishment, creation, and sanctity of human beings, the earth, and all things sacred. Additionally, from their scriptures, the community has had three creations, and currently two of them have been destroyed or influenced by the existence of Christianity. Their god and goddess were thought to have fluid and diverse personalities, but shared some characteristics. Further, according to them, the supernatural levels were not heaven and hell but the upper, middle, and under worlds, which had 13, 1, and 9 levels, respectively.
Since the pre-Columbian era, human sacrifices have always been part of Maya tradition. This was done purely because of the belief that it was a way of pleasing their gods. The sacrifice of a living man or woman was taken as a powerful offering that made the gods happy. In addition, Maya people equally communicated with gods by lowering children into cenotes, where they were placed in the wells so as to speak to the gods. Lastly, marriage rituals were presided over by the priests during wedding ceremonies.
Works Cited
Cheng, Cindy. “Human Sacrifice in Maya Culture.” 2017. Web.
Cultures and Tradition. Dallas Museum of Art. 2017. Web.
Distinctive Features of the Mayan Culture. History on the Net. 2022. Web.
Gomez, Maria, C. “Maya Religion.” World History Encyclopedia. 2015. Web.
Hirst, Kris. K. “The Dynastic Rulers Who Took the Throne of Palenque.” ThoughtCo. 2019. Web.
History.com Editors. “Maya: Where did the Maya Live?” History. 2022. Web.
Jarus, Owen. “What’s hidden inside the ancient Maya pyramids?” Live Science. 2022. Web.
Leggett, Jessica, and Jarus, Owen. “The Maya: History, civilization and gods.” Live Science. 2022. Web.
Mayan Architecture & Pyramids. Study. 2022. Web.
Morgan, Hani. “Conducting a Qualitative Document Analysis.” The Qualitative Report, 2022, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 64-77. Web.
Snyder, Hannah. “Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines.” Journal of Business Research, 2019, vol. 104, pp. 333-339. Web.