Colonial Latin America (1492-1825) And The Maya Indian Religion/Sacrifices
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Colonial Latin America (1492-1825) And The Maya Indian Religion/Sacrifices
The Maya civilization is considered as part of the Meso-American group of civilizations. The Mayan people had the most advanced written language at the time, prior to the rise of Columbian Americas. The Mayans were also known for their art, as well as their architectural prowess, as represented by their buildings.
The Maya people were believers of the idea of cycles in relation to time. For instance, rituals and sacrifices were performed according to specific cycles determined according to the celestial and/or terrestrial signs. In this regard, the Maya people maintained a calendar for celestial signs, and another entirely different calendar for terrestrial signs. In the performance of rituals and sacrifices, it was the Maya priest who was responsible for making interpretations of such cycles in order to provide prophetic guidance on what the rulers and the civilization should do (Hooker, 1999).
The Maya people are also known to have practiced human sacrificial rituals. In some sacrifices, a person’s heart would be removed while the person is alive, and the heart would be sacrificed to the Mayan gods. Such sacrificial procedures are indicated in ancient codices. Some historians indicate that children were more likely to have been sacrificed because the Mayan believed that children were considerably pure (Hooker, 1999).
There is plentiful evidence for k'atun (c. 20 years) period-ending rites. But there is no clear support for 13 k'atuns having had any significance in Maya life, though it became a means of tracking time by the Late Postclassic (Sharer, 1994, p. 572). Stating that key inscribed monuments might be missing, or yet un-deciphered, or that the pertinent information has eroded, is inadequate. K'atun period-ending rites are associated with the reigns of specific kings, and not vice versa. The Classic Maya used the Long Count, a linear rendering of rime, and, later on, period-ending dates that revolved around a 52-year cycle (Calendar Round) rather than...