Indigenous Religion: The Mayan Religion

Mayan Religion

Bob Marthy
English 4
Period 6
The Mayan religion is a distinct type of religion and a very interesting one. Throughout this research I found many interesting facts. Mayans were an important part of the Mesoamerican culture and were in fact from Mesoamerican territory. “The Maya civilization was one of the most dominant indigenous societies of Mesoamerica (a term used to describe Mexico and Central America before the 16th century Spanish conquest). Unlike other scattered indigenous populations of Mesoamerica, the Maya were centered in one geographical block covering all of the Yucatan Peninsula and modern-day Guatemala; Belize and parts of the Mexican states of Tabasco and Chiapas; and
the western part of Honduras and El Salvador. This concentration showed that the Maya remained relatively secure from invasion by other Mesoamerican peoples.” (The Rise and fall of the Maya Empire) They were spread all throughout Mesoamerica and weren’t easily to be invaded by other Mesoamerican people.

“The earliest Maya settlements date to around 1800 B.C., or the beginning of what is called the Preclassic or Formative Period. The earliest Maya were agricultural, growing crops such as corn (maize), beans, squash and cassava (manioc). During the Middle Preclassic Period, this lasted until about 300 B.C.” (The Rise and fall of the Maya Empire) The Mayans began to spread their so called religion across the countries in a different way than other religions did. “Maya farmers began to expand their presence both in the highland and lowland regions. The Middle Preclassic Period also saw the rise of the first major Mesoamerican civilization, the Olmec’s.” Since the Mayans were natives of all these different countries the spread of it was not as difficult to do; most people had an idea of what the Mayans were and the role they played in the Mesoamerican culture.

“The Classic Period, which began around A.D.
250, was the golden age of the Maya Empire. Classic Maya civilization grew to some 40 cities, including Tikal, Uaxactún, Copán, Bonampak, Dos Pilas, Calakmul, Palenque and Río Bec; each city held a population of between 5,000 and 50,000 people. At its peak, the Maya population may have reached 2,000,000. “(The Rise and fall of the Mayan Empire) This was a high population number that was reached at that time period. Many people would think that it would have grown more and more as time went on but it did not, the number actually declined.” From the late eighth through the end of the ninth century, something unknown happened to shake the Maya civilization to its foundations. One by one, the Classic cities in the southern lowlands were abandoned, and by A.D. 900, Maya civilization in that region had collapsed. The reason for this mysterious decline is unknown, though scholars have developed several competing theories.” (The Rise and fall of the Mayan Empire) Al though the reason of the declination is unknown the amount it dropped was drastic. There are many different theories of why the Mayan population diminished such as; “Some believe that by the ninth century the Maya had exhausted the environment around them to the point that it could no longer sustain a very large population. Other Maya scholars argue that constant warfare among competing city-states led the complicated military, family (by marriage) and trade alliances between
them to break down, along with the traditional system of dynastic power.” (The Rise and fall of The Mayan Empire) Also now in day, several million Mayans practice a Roman Catholicism that retains many elements of traditional Mayan religion.

As mentioned previously the Mayans were a nature worshipping religion. They worshipped many Gods and they were all linked to nature and its beauty. Even though they had a pantheon of Gods the most important deity was the supreme god Itzamná, the creator god, the god of the fire and god of the hearth. “The Maya were deeply religious, and worshiped various gods related to nature, including the gods of the sun, the moon, rain and corn. At the top of Maya society were the kings, or "kuhul ajaw" (holy lords), who claimed to be related to gods and followed a hereditary succession. They were thought to serve as mediators between the gods and people on earth, and performed the elaborate religious ceremonies and rituals so important to the Maya culture.” (The Rise and fall of the Mayan Empire) The Mayans also believed that Both Quetzalcoatl and the Maya Maize God are responsible for bringing maize to humankind, maize being the most important natural food in Mesoamerica. Also, Quetzalcoatl transformed himself into an ant in order to retrieve seeds from the Mountain of Sustenance, where maize is kept. They were firm in this belief and they strongly believed that is how it all began. Another belief they had was that the “World Tree” is a motif of resurrection and life and has been for over 2,000 years. This deity descended to the Underworld to shed his blood onto the bones of the deceased so that they would live again.

The Maya had a highly sophisticated culture, and this included a written hieroglyphic language.
Mayan hieroglyphics were carved into stone monuments or pieces of bone, painted on pottery, and written on books (codices) of bark paper. Mayan texts describe religious rituals, astronomy, and divination, and are the most valuable source of information on the ancient civilization. The most famous of these texts is the Popol Vuh (1554-1558), which was written in Quiché, a highland Maya language, and translated into Spanish by a priest. It tells the mythology and cosmology of the Post classic Guatemalan Maya, and shows central Mexican influences. That’s why it is the most famous text. Also the Mayan calendar is very important because it consists of a solar year of 365 days. It was divided into 18 months of 20 days each, followed by a five-day time period. There was also a 260-day sacred year (tzolkin), divided into days named by the combination of 13 numbers and 20
names.

The Mayan religion can be connected to other religions such as Christianity, there were texts written 1,500 years after Christ. Also, “Characteristics of this ruler are that he was born of a virgin, that he promised to return, that he had an association with the planet Venus (the Morning and Evening Star), and that his emblem was the Feathered Serpent (presumably connected to the non-feathered, brazen serpent raised by Moses to heal the Israelites”. (Wirth)

During the research I found many interesting facts that described the Mayan religion well and made it much more interesting than other religions I had heard about before. The most interesting facts for me were that Apocalypto the movie was based on ancient Mayan life and all the actors were local indigenous Mayan actors. As well as other interesting facts such as; “One of the many intriguing things about the Maya was their ability to build a great civilization in a tropical rainforest climate. Traditionally, ancient peoples had flourished in drier climates, where the centralized management of water resources (through irrigation and other techniques) formed the basis of society.” (The Rise and fall of The Mayan Empire) As I researched further into the religion I found more things that made this religion stand out to me.” Excavations of Maya sites have unearthed plazas, palaces, temples and pyramids, as well as courts for playing the ball games that were ritually and politically significant to Maya culture. Maya cities were surrounded and supported by a large population of farmers. Though the Maya practiced a primitive type of "slash-and-burn" agriculture, they also displayed evidence of more advanced farming methods, such as irrigation and terracing.” (The Rise and fall of the Mayan Empire)
“By the late 20th century, researchers had concluded that the climate of the lowlands was in fact quite environmentally diverse. Though foreign invaders were disappointed by the region's relative lack of silver and gold, the Maya took advantage of the area’s many natural resources, including limestone (for construction), the volcanic rock obsidian (for tools and weapons) and salt. The environment also held other treasures for the Maya, including jade, quetzal feathers (used to decorate the elaborate costumes of Maya nobility) and marine shells, which were used as trumpets in ceremonies and warfare.” (The Rise and fall of the Mayan Empire) Overall I found this religion to be interesting and there was a lot of good material on how the religion came about as well as how it came to its end.