Mayan Culture in a Modern World - Group 1 : October 2015

Geographical Location & Background Information

Geographic Location:

Both ancient Mayan and today’s modern Mayan culture occupy central America: the Yucatan Peninsula in southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. The Mayan civilization was split up into three general areas, Central Maya Lowlands, Northern Yucatan Peninsula, and the Guatemalan Highlands. Central Maya Lowlands is where the core values of Mayan culture originated. Central Maya Lowlands flourished during the classical period of Mayan society before the decline around 900 CE. The cities of Tikal, and Palenque were located in this area, which is located in what is now known as Guatemala. The Northern Yucatan Peninsula had their best times in the post-classical period, after the collapse. Like the name sounds, this region is located on the Yucatan Peninsula in modern day México. The largest cities in this area are Chichen-Itza and Uxmal. The third region, the Guatemalan Highlands, is located in the mountainous region and expands to the western coast of Guatemala. This area flourished during the pre-classical period of Mayan society.

Background Information:

Throughout schooling most students are taught that the Mayans of Central America went extinct. That is not entirely true. The Mayan culture which started in around 2000 BCE still exists today, but not to the same strength that they had in their peak. Around 900 CE there was a great collapse where we began to see a noticeable decline in the population and the fall of several of their most prominent cities. But this fall was not noticed in all Mayan cities. Several cities on the Yucatan Peninsula and in modern day Guatemala actually flourished in the decline of their countrymen. When the Spanish arrived in the Americas in the 1500’s, with disease and superior technology, is when we see the next large decline in Mayan culture. After the Spanish conquest the Mayans and the other indigenous groups of Latin America were oppressed by the their conquerors and non-natives. Mayan history is split into three distict periods, Pre-classical period(2000BCE-300CE), the Classical period(300CE-900CE) and the Post Classical period(900CE-1200CE). As mentioned earlier, each specific region had more prominant periods in history. The Guatemalen Highlands had the Pre-classical period, the Central Maya Lowlands had the Classical period, and the Northern Yucatan Peninsula had the Post-classic period. The last big cites of the Mayan civilization were conquered at the end of the Post-classical period. After that what remained of the Mayan civilization was independently runned villages.

References:

Leventhal, Richard M., Carlos Chan Espinosa, Cristina Coc. (2012). “The Modern Maya and Recent History.” Expedition 54 (1): 46-51.

uidaho.edu. “Mayan Geography.” Retrieved September 22, 2015 (http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/arch499/nonwest/mayan/geography.htm)

Monday, October 26, 2015

Sport in Ancient Maya

The most popular sport of the day, in ancient Mayan civilization was a ball game, said to be the oldest team sport in the world, Pok-ta-Pok. The game, or similar versions of the game were also played by the Aztecs and the Olmec civilizations in what is now Central America. You can see a modern illustration of the game in the cartoon movie The Road to El Dorado. (2000)

Pok-ta-Pok is a similar game to modern day basketball. The teams attempt to knock a ball through a stone ring on the wall, about 20 feet up. When the ball goes through the ring, that team wins. The catch of the game is that the players cannot use their hands or feet. The players would use hips, arms and legs to try to put the ball through the ring. Another big difference is the ball. In Pok-ta-Pok the ball could weigh as much as 10 pounds, where as a modern day football weighs about 1 pound. That being said, the ball could do a lot of damage to the players, leaving bruises or even breaking bones. Almost every Mayan city a court for this sport is evident. Some of these courts were the sizes of a volleyball court, others would vary in size reaching to the size of a football field. The balls size would vary as well, some the size of softballs and others the size of basketballs. As the sport developed, the balls began to be made out of rubber, but later on a skull was sometimes used on the inside and covered in rubber to reduce the weight.

The game was played both in leisure amongst friends, as well as in ritual. The later ending in the sacrifice of the losing team. The Mayans sacrificed people to their Gods for things like reaping a good harvest, or for rain. Pok-ta-Pok was often used in these sacrificial rituals. The sport represented the sun rising and setting with the ball being the sun. When the game was played for religious reasons the players would play for their lives. Most often when teams would play for sacrifice the teams would be made up of prisoners captured in war.

Today, the game is rarely played, partially because we do not know the exact rules of the sport. A lot of the time it is put on as a reenactment put on for tourists. Recently, in September, there was a Pok-ta-Pok World Cup put on in México. The game will be a bit modified from what we can tell from the wall carvings, the teams will played with only 4 players instead of 6. Another name which the sport most oftenly called nowadays is Ulama and is the Aztec way of play. Close to the Mexican city of Mazatlán, there is a small village where the sport is still played. But even there the sport is dying due to the lack of rubber for the balls, because the rubber trees are all gone from urban development.

References:

Eboch, C. (2011). Play to the Death. Appleseeds, 13(9), 26.

"Ancient Pok Ta Pok Game Goes Modern." Http://yucatanexpatlife.com/. N.p., (22 July 2015). Web. 23 Oct. 2015. <http://yucatanexpatlife.com/ancient-pok-ta-pok-game-goes-modern/>.

Fox, John. "Students Of The Game." Smithsonian 37.1 (2006): 110. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Religion and Rituals

The religion and rituals of the Mayans are not unlike any other aspect of culture; they have changed over time. The Mayans have gone from being a culture which believes in many gods to one with the influence of Christianity coming in the 1500s. Although the Mayans still carry an influence from Christianity and Catholicism, they have come to develop a type blended religion all their own by still practicing the rituals of their ancient culture. They have adopted the Catholic saints in their religion as well as the use of the cross; however the reason they use the cross differs from Christianity. The Mayans do not have a desire to include Jesus Christ in their religion or the crucifixion story. Men are more involved with the pagan gods (such as the rain gods and the soil god) as they are involved more with agriculture and call upon pagan gods in times of war. Women more involved with the Catholic saints as they are at home in the village. Even with intermingling religions a Mayan still “regards himself as a true and orthodox Catholic” (Thompson 1970:165)

Tobacco has always been a big part of rituals in Mayan culture. While they used tobacco for the same reasons we United States (they even made the first form of chewing tobacco!); they also believe tobacco holds a medicinal quality, used to initiate new rulers, and as an offering to the rain gods. The rain gods, called Chacs were often depicted as heavy smokers. It is believed when the Chacs’s cigars are the reason we have rain. The smoke from their cigars goes into the clouds turning them black and then inducing rain. Lightning and thunder are said to be the result of them lighting their cigars. After the influence of Christianity, the Chacs became merged with the idea of the four horsemen and are not depicted on horseback with each of them in a different color.

The Mayans, like our own Native Americans, also believe in animism which is the belief that everything is alive and has a soul not unlike our own. Mayans would apologize to the trees they needed to cut down. Some even believed those trees go to heaven and then complain about needing to be used and being “killed.” The Mayans believed their maize was afraid of the earthquakes they experienced and attempted to reassure it when the earth began to shake. They also forbid testing the ripeness of their maize with their fingernails as it would hurt the maize the same way it would hurt a human being. Additionally, they would make excuses for needing to kill animals for food. Even though they knew the use of trees and animals is necessary they continue to feel guilty for having to take their life in order to do it.

Seemingly contrary to the animism belief Mayans hold, they also participated in ritual sacrifice. Sacrifices did not always have to be in blood, they could involve inanimate objects as well. Blood sacrifices were more common since taking blood from one’s own body was a form of penance. They would use obsidian knives or thorns, and sometimes the tail of a stingray to cut themselves. Blood was taken from all different parts of the body; ears, tongue, arms, and even the penis. They then let the blood collect on paper or in bowls then it was offered to the gods.

In more ancient times the removal or a sacrificial victim’s heart was more prevalent. Human offerings were often painted blue which was a color associated with sacrifice. Then they were laid on a sacrificial slab and held down by two to four chacs (unrelated to the rain gods of the same name) or tied to a stake then their heart was cut out of their body. Then they sometimes would engage in p’a chi, which translates to “to open the mouth,” this was the practice of wiping blood or the sacrificed heart on the idol’s mouth. These practices were still happening after the Christian influences reached the Mayans. There is a recorded instance in which two girls are crucified as Christ was. The priest was even noted as saying “Let these girls die upon the cross, as Jesus Christ died, He who they say was out lord, although we do not know that He was.” (Thompson 1970:177) The girls were then taken off the cross, had their hearts cut out and thrown into a pit.

In short, the Mayans have many rituals and traditions they from their ancient times which they still practice today. The influence of Christianity and Catholicism has only enhanced their preexisting religion and given them a more blended eclectic set of beliefs to follow.

References:

Thompson, James Eric Sidney. (1970). MAYA HISTORY AND RELIGION. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.