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THE MAYA PEOPLE OF SOUTH AMERICA

RELIGIONS OF ANCIENT ORIGIN. THE MAYA PEOPLE OF SOUTH AMERICA. Comprising of more than forty cities the Mayan Civilization arose in Mesoamerica, between 250-900CE. The Mayans.

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THE MAYA PEOPLE OF SOUTH AMERICA

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  1. RELIGIONS OF ANCIENT ORIGIN THE MAYA PEOPLE OF SOUTH AMERICA

  2. Comprising of more than forty cities the Mayan Civilization arose in Mesoamerica, between 250-900CE .

  3. The Mayans... The Maya people were some of the most advance of all ancient Mesoamerican cultures. They were a very knowledgeable civilization who developed their own astronomy, calendar systems and writing. They built great pyramidal structures and observatories and were great potters and weavers.

  4. Mayan Religion... The Mayan religion was characterized by the worship of … • Gods of Nature: The worship of Gods was a major part of everyday Mayan lifestyle. The Gods were responsible for creating a good harvest for society and without their help everyone would perish. • The afterlife: The Mayans had a strong belief in the afterlife. The idea of one being compensated for their life on earth was also a major factor of the afterlife.

  5. ... • The Underworld: The Mayan world was composed of 3 layers- the Heavens, the Earth and the Underworld. The underworld was a place where demons and evil gods and creatures lived and the Mayans conducted many ceremonies to ensure that is where they stayed. • Ritual sacrifice: This was an essential practice in Mayan civilization. The Mayans believed that the Gods were kept satisfied through human sacrifice.

  6. MAYAN BELIEFS REGARDING THE ORIGINS OF THE UNIVERSE… Just like most ancient societies, the Maya had their own ideas about how the world came into being. They did not have one myth but rather they had many with a great deal of interrelationship between them.

  7. The basic Mayan myth regarding the creation of the universe was called Popol Vuh. Their creator God was Itzamna; the Sun God was Kinich Ahau; the God of destruction and death was the Old Woman Goddess, she held the bowl from which the floods occurred. The Mayans had a strong belief in several cycles of birth then a destruction that would take the form of a flood.

  8. PRINCIPLE BELIEFS… • The Mayans believed that the Hero Twins, Hunahpu and Xblanque, defeated the Lords of the underworld in a ballgame, and this became a metaphor of the life force of the sun which emerged from the underworld every morning. • The only way that rebirth could occur was after a human sacrifice. This would keep the world in balance. • There is an eternal struggle between good and evil. • If a person died as a sacrifice, a warrior in battle, a woman in childbirth, a priest or ruler, then a person would go directly to paradise.

  9. Gods and Deities… • The Mayans had numerous deities whom they worshipped and offered human sacrifices to. • The Sun God = Kinich Ahau • The Maize God = Yumil Kaxob • The Death God = Yum Cimil • The Hero Twins = Ixbalanque and Hunahpu • The God of fire, water, wind and air = Gukumatz

  10. RITUALS AND PRACTICES Mayan rituals were performed in order to satisfy their Gods. These rituals guaranteed order in the world. Different rituals and ceremonies correspondd to different practices such as divination, baptism, rights related to the cycles of the year, cycles of time and ceremonies of sacrifice for the Gods.

  11. Rituals… Rituals and ceremonies were a large part of Mayan culture. Divination ceremony : This was a ritual centered on their elaborate calendar system and knowledge of astronomy. It was the job of the priests to discern lucky days from unlucky ones and to advise the rulers the best days to do things. Human sacrifice This was done in order to please the Gods. In a sacrificial ceremony the human sacrifice would be placed at the top of a pyramid or a raised platform and a priest would make an incision just below the rib cage and rib out the individuals heart with his bare hands. The heart would then be burnt in order to nourish the Gods.

  12. Mayan Ball Game This ritual was a re-enactment of the Mayan myth of the Hero Twins. In this story the Hero Twins had to battle the Gods of death from the underworld by playing a ball game. In the story the Twins win and they rise into the heavens to be the sun and the moon. The ball is believed to represent the moon and the sun and the court the game is played on represents the earth. Two teams would verse each other and try to pass a ball through one of two hoops located at opposite ends of a court. The winners of the game were usually treated as heroes whereas the losers were usually given death as a penalty.

  13. Influence in the society… The Mayan Religion formed the basis of everyday life in Mayan Civilization. Since religion was such a vital aspect of life the way in which the Mayans conducted all areas of their lifestyles were believed to be influenced and dedicated to the Gods. For example the homes where the Mayans lived were believed to be a representation of the universe. Political, economic and military decisions were all justified by the Gods.

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