Mayan Tribe Research Paper
The Navajo or as they are know by their own culture as Diyin Diné, which means the holy people, is the largest Native American tribe in the United States. A nation established more than 600+ years ago, in a time before Christopher Columbus landed in the “New World”; the Navajo Indians is one of the oldest tribes located in our country. Located 2,313 miles to the south, another famous tribe existed. The Mayan Indians called the beautiful, tropical lowlands of present day Guatemala home. A culture that began around early 1800 B.C. as primarily an agriculture society until the cities were abandoned around 900 A.D. These two tribes were very similar to each other given that both tribes believed in similar gods and had similar traditions.
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In present day, it seems as if these amazingly historic cultures have lost so much of their traditional, sacred ways their present day ancestors seem to have lost touch with their heritage.
The Mayan community made their home “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” (history.com).
The Mayans lived in three different sectors with different “environmental and cultural differences”(history.com). These sectors were broken down with communities living in the northern lowlands near the Yucatan Peninsula. Another community to the south in the “lowlands in the Peten district of northern Guatemala and adjacent portions of Mexico, Belize and western Honduras. Then southern Maya highlands, in the mountainous region of southern Guatemala”(history.com). These lowland areas “had a tropical climate with warm temperatures year round. The rain forests in the lowlands provided a good source of food, although farming was difficult” (Hyde 6). The Mayans in the southern lowland sector reached their highest point around 250 to 900 A.D. This society built amazing stone cities and shrines that have left explorers, scholars and travelers spellbound for centuries. The Mayans were farmers; they began to expand their attendance in the fields of the highland and lowland areas. They cultivated many crops such as crops such as corn, beans, squash and cassava-a starch from a root, which is also the source of Tapioca. A large population of farmers surrounded Mayan cities, and although 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”(history.com).
During its prime, they Mayan culture is thought to have had a “population that may have reached 2,000,000”(history.com). Mayan Indians “derived a number of religious and cultural traits–as well as their number system and their famous calendar–from the Olmec”(history.com). There is evidence that the Mayan culture was evolved for its time. There have been excavations of Mayan sites have revealed plazas, palaces, temples and pyramids, courts for playing the ball games “that were ritually and politically significant to Maya culture”(history.com). The Mayan were extremely religious, and had a wide spectrum of gods that they worshiped. They believed in gods that were associated with nature. This “included the gods of the sun, the moon, rain and corn”(history.com). Holding a high power in Mayan society were the “kuhul ajaw” or holy lords. They declared themselves to be related to gods. The Mayan society believed they were to serve as facilitator between the gods and people on earth. They held and preformed ornate religious ceremonies and rituals that were so important to this culture. The Mayan people guided by their religious beliefs “also made significant advances in mathematics and astronomy, including the use of the zero and the development of a complex calendar system based on 365 days”(history.com). Many scholars established that the Mayan culture was a peaceful society, made up of priests, scribes and labors, some “later evidence–including a thorough examination of the artwork and inscriptions on their temple walls–showed the less peaceful side of Maya culture, including the war between rival Mayan city-states and the importance of torture and human sacrifice to their religious ritual”(history.com). Mythology was an important tool to the Mayan culture. They used myths to tell why the world appeared and functioned the way it did. Fabrication of these myths allowed the Mayans to comprehend how Earth and all existing objects on it come into being. Often times the volcanoes and mountains of this area were used in myths about the land. Stories of devastating earthquakes, floods, droughts, and fierce storms were considered triggered by an angry god, and often times used in stories illustrating many of this cultures nature myths. These myths also described the morals that the Mayan society considered to be important. The treat of aggressor was always looming, and the Maya respected anyone that could outwit a rival. This culture “believed that trickery was not a bad trait when it was used against a foe. Sacrifice was a common theme in Mesoamerican myths. It was considered noble to give up your crops, animals, or even human life if it would help others live and prosper by keeping the gods happy”(Hyde 8).
The Mayans believed in polytheism. This term means that the culture believed in more than one god, and that each god or goddess played a particular role in taking care for or had power over different areas of the world. Similar to many of the other Mesoamerican tribes, the “Maya also adopted some of these earlier gods and myths, and folded them into their own pantheon, or group of gods”(Hyde 10). The Mayans did not view “their gods as only good or bad. Most gods could have a dual nature, helping humankind when they were happy or causing destruction and misery when they were angry”(Hyde 10). In the Mayans culture “Earth and its creatures had been made and destroyed three times. Each attempt was called a Sun. Each version of humankind failed until the time the Maya lived. Water and sky joined forces to create the first Sun. From the oceans they raised land, which was the back of a crocodile. Then they created all the animals. When the animals could not praise the gods and thank them for their work, they were banished to the forests. Next, water and sky created humans out of clay. They were too delicate, and a rain shower would wash them away. This Sun was destroyed with a mighty hurricane. In the third Sun, they made humankind from wood. These humans had no hearts and did not feel grateful to the gods, so the gods sent fire to burn the third Sun to ashes. The next humans were made of a paste of water and maize, or corn. These humans thanked their gods and made sacrifices to them. They are the ancestors of all the people on Earth” (Hyde 13). The Mayan culture has lead to many of the stories of mythology that are known today, and could have very well been the beginning for other cultures stories and sacred traditions. Although, in present day, it seems as if these amazingly historic cultures have lost so much of their traditional, sacred ways their present day ancestors seem to have lost touch with their heritage.
The Navajo Nation or Diyin Diné is the largest Native American tribe in the United States. The Navajo Nation covers “over 27,000 square miles of unparalleled beauty”(navajo-nsn.gov). The Diné Bikéyah, or Navajoland, “is larger than 10 of the 50 states in America”(navajo-nsn.gov). The Navajo reside on the lands of the four corners area in Southwest United States, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. Many, many years before Christopher Columbus landed in the “New World”, the Navajos had already inhabited the Colorado Plateau. Scientist have made discoveries that the Navajo were not the first to live in this area. Evidence of “Ice-Age Paleo-Indian hunters roamed the Monument Valley area thousands of years earlier, followed by archaic hunter gatherers. Evidence of Anasazi in Monument Valley is still visible through their sites and ruins dating before 1300 A.D”(discovernavajo.com). It wasn’t until around 1581 that Spaniards made contact with the Navajo in this area. Similar to the Maya culture, the Navajo has acquired a population of over 280K. This Native America tribe is rich in mythology holds a strong meaning and examples to society. Storytelling is an important tool to the Navajo Indian culture. Since this tribe is located near the four corners of the United States this allows for the stories and figures they used to take on a tangible meaning. Many of the natural forms found in the four-corner area added to the idea and meaning of the myths. This also gave the stories an added bonus of sounding and feeling factual, since many of them are based on beautiful rock and natural structures. Diné Bahané or stories of the people “Navajo creation story, describes the prehistoric emergence of the Navajos, and centers on the area known as the Dinetah, the traditional homeland of the Navajo people. This story forms the basis for the traditional Navajo way of life” (crystalinks.com). Natvie Americans, especially the Navajo viewed nature and natural forms as sacred, but also necessary for life. Navajos are very thankful for what nature provides for the community, “If myths are part of the structure upon which traditional Navajo morality has been built, ethics has been the work of Navajo individuals”(Vecsey 1). “The importance of the four (or six) sacred mountains is beyond esthetics—although it includes that dimension, since hózhó stands both for beauty and goodness—because Holy People embody those mountains. To harm mountains is to endanger the Navajo gods, the world itself, a sacred cosmos” (Vecsey 14).
In present day, it seems as if these amazingly historic cultures have lost so much of their traditional, sacred ways their present day ancestors seem to have lost touch with their heritage.
The Mayan community made their home “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” (history.com).
The Mayans lived in three different sectors with different “environmental and cultural differences”(history.com). These sectors were broken down with communities living in the northern lowlands near the Yucatan Peninsula. Another community to the south in the “lowlands in the Peten district of northern Guatemala and adjacent portions of Mexico, Belize and western Honduras. Then southern Maya highlands, in the mountainous region of southern Guatemala”(history.com). These lowland areas “had a tropical climate with warm temperatures year round. The rain forests in the lowlands provided a good source of food, although farming was difficult” (Hyde 6). The Mayans in the southern lowland sector reached their highest point around 250 to 900 A.D. This society built amazing stone cities and shrines that have left explorers, scholars and travelers spellbound for centuries. The Mayans were farmers; they began to expand their attendance in the fields of the highland and lowland areas. They cultivated many crops such as crops such as corn, beans, squash and cassava-a starch from a root, which is also the source of Tapioca. A large population of farmers surrounded Mayan cities, and although 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”(history.com).
During its prime, they Mayan culture is thought to have had a “population that may have reached 2,000,000”(history.com). Mayan Indians “derived a number of religious and cultural traits–as well as their number system and their famous calendar–from the Olmec”(history.com). There is evidence that the Mayan culture was evolved for its time. There have been excavations of Mayan sites have revealed plazas, palaces, temples and pyramids, courts for playing the ball games “that were ritually and politically significant to Maya culture”(history.com). The Mayan were extremely religious, and had a wide spectrum of gods that they worshiped. They believed in gods that were associated with nature. This “included the gods of the sun, the moon, rain and corn”(history.com). Holding a high power in Mayan society were the “kuhul ajaw” or holy lords. They declared themselves to be related to gods. The Mayan society believed they were to serve as facilitator between the gods and people on earth. They held and preformed ornate religious ceremonies and rituals that were so important to this culture. The Mayan people guided by their religious beliefs “also made significant advances in mathematics and astronomy, including the use of the zero and the development of a complex calendar system based on 365 days”(history.com). Many scholars established that the Mayan culture was a peaceful society, made up of priests, scribes and labors, some “later evidence–including a thorough examination of the artwork and inscriptions on their temple walls–showed the less peaceful side of Maya culture, including the war between rival Mayan city-states and the importance of torture and human sacrifice to their religious ritual”(history.com). Mythology was an important tool to the Mayan culture. They used myths to tell why the world appeared and functioned the way it did. Fabrication of these myths allowed the Mayans to comprehend how Earth and all existing objects on it come into being. Often times the volcanoes and mountains of this area were used in myths about the land. Stories of devastating earthquakes, floods, droughts, and fierce storms were considered triggered by an angry god, and often times used in stories illustrating many of this cultures nature myths. These myths also described the morals that the Mayan society considered to be important. The treat of aggressor was always looming, and the Maya respected anyone that could outwit a rival. This culture “believed that trickery was not a bad trait when it was used against a foe. Sacrifice was a common theme in Mesoamerican myths. It was considered noble to give up your crops, animals, or even human life if it would help others live and prosper by keeping the gods happy”(Hyde 8).
The Mayans believed in polytheism. This term means that the culture believed in more than one god, and that each god or goddess played a particular role in taking care for or had power over different areas of the world. Similar to many of the other Mesoamerican tribes, the “Maya also adopted some of these earlier gods and myths, and folded them into their own pantheon, or group of gods”(Hyde 10). The Mayans did not view “their gods as only good or bad. Most gods could have a dual nature, helping humankind when they were happy or causing destruction and misery when they were angry”(Hyde 10). In the Mayans culture “Earth and its creatures had been made and destroyed three times. Each attempt was called a Sun. Each version of humankind failed until the time the Maya lived. Water and sky joined forces to create the first Sun. From the oceans they raised land, which was the back of a crocodile. Then they created all the animals. When the animals could not praise the gods and thank them for their work, they were banished to the forests. Next, water and sky created humans out of clay. They were too delicate, and a rain shower would wash them away. This Sun was destroyed with a mighty hurricane. In the third Sun, they made humankind from wood. These humans had no hearts and did not feel grateful to the gods, so the gods sent fire to burn the third Sun to ashes. The next humans were made of a paste of water and maize, or corn. These humans thanked their gods and made sacrifices to them. They are the ancestors of all the people on Earth” (Hyde 13). The Mayan culture has lead to many of the stories of mythology that are known today, and could have very well been the beginning for other cultures stories and sacred traditions. Although, in present day, it seems as if these amazingly historic cultures have lost so much of their traditional, sacred ways their present day ancestors seem to have lost touch with their heritage.
The Navajo Nation or Diyin Diné is the largest Native American tribe in the United States. The Navajo Nation covers “over 27,000 square miles of unparalleled beauty”(navajo-nsn.gov). The Diné Bikéyah, or Navajoland, “is larger than 10 of the 50 states in America”(navajo-nsn.gov). The Navajo reside on the lands of the four corners area in Southwest United States, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. Many, many years before Christopher Columbus landed in the “New World”, the Navajos had already inhabited the Colorado Plateau. Scientist have made discoveries that the Navajo were not the first to live in this area. Evidence of “Ice-Age Paleo-Indian hunters roamed the Monument Valley area thousands of years earlier, followed by archaic hunter gatherers. Evidence of Anasazi in Monument Valley is still visible through their sites and ruins dating before 1300 A.D”(discovernavajo.com). It wasn’t until around 1581 that Spaniards made contact with the Navajo in this area. Similar to the Maya culture, the Navajo has acquired a population of over 280K. This Native America tribe is rich in mythology holds a strong meaning and examples to society. Storytelling is an important tool to the Navajo Indian culture. Since this tribe is located near the four corners of the United States this allows for the stories and figures they used to take on a tangible meaning. Many of the natural forms found in the four-corner area added to the idea and meaning of the myths. This also gave the stories an added bonus of sounding and feeling factual, since many of them are based on beautiful rock and natural structures. Diné Bahané or stories of the people “Navajo creation story, describes the prehistoric emergence of the Navajos, and centers on the area known as the Dinetah, the traditional homeland of the Navajo people. This story forms the basis for the traditional Navajo way of life” (crystalinks.com). Natvie Americans, especially the Navajo viewed nature and natural forms as sacred, but also necessary for life. Navajos are very thankful for what nature provides for the community, “If myths are part of the structure upon which traditional Navajo morality has been built, ethics has been the work of Navajo individuals”(Vecsey 1). “The importance of the four (or six) sacred mountains is beyond esthetics—although it includes that dimension, since hózhó stands both for beauty and goodness—because Holy People embody those mountains. To harm mountains is to endanger the Navajo gods, the world itself, a sacred cosmos” (Vecsey 14).