Ppt mayan religion powerpoint presentation free to. The ball court itself was a focal point of maya cities and symbolized the citys wealth and power. Maya religion and catholicism had many similarities. They believed the gods required sacrifices to be happy. The chilam balam are sacred texts of the yucatan maya that record history, myth, religion, prophecies, medicine, and calendars. The maya civilization stretched throughout central america and reached its peak during the first millennium a. Mar 17, 2015 some aspects of mayan religion survive today among the mayan indians of mexico and central america, who practice a combination of traditional religion and roman catholicism. To get help from the gods, the maya fasted, prayed, and offered sacrifices. It seems apparent, however, that the maya believed earth to be flat and four cornered. The popol vuh is the story of creation according to the quiche maya of the region known today as guatemala.
In mayan religion it mostly consisted of the worship of nature gods. The aryans practiced a religion known as brahmanism. A new study points to deforestation and climate change a severe drought, exacerbated by widespread logging, appears to have triggered the mysterious mayan. The rise and the mayan empire was a very mysterious civilization of people who, even today, puzzle the minds of the greatest researchers. They range from worksheets, powerpoints and teaching packs which focus on mayan facts, the history of mayan, the mayan number system and the mayan gods. Free templates for presentations in powerpoint format. From the great public stone works to the tiny molded figurines depicting humans, animals or mythic creatures, the mayan classical. The bright turquoise maya blue color was unique to the maya, who invented the technique of making the color.
Maya surname 1 ancient maya religion name course title date. Famsi for the purpose of excavating structure 1 at nakbe to determine the architectural evolution of a building that was. Mayan religion was characterized by the worship of nature gods especially the gods of sun, rain and corn, a priestly class, the importance of astronomy and astrology, rituals of human sacrifice, and the building of elaborate pyramidical temples. A priestly class was responsible for an elaborate cycle of rituals and ceremonies. Each corner was located at a cardinal point and had a colour value.
This does not mean that the religion was completely sacrificial in nature, but sacrifices seem to have been made in large numbers, in order to please the gods and to get a good harvest. Eric thompson maya history and religion grant jones the conquest of the last maya kingdom simon martin nikolai grube chronicle of the maya kings and queens. Relevance and relatedness in the animic cosmos chapter pdf available august 2015 with 1,286 reads how we measure reads. Other sons of the ruler might expect to join the priesthood. Ancient mayan religion and religious beliefs discovery. I have acted upon this personal conviction in revising this book, writing into the psychology presented herein, the belief that it is an aspect of a much broader world view afll of a comprehensive lifephilosophy, which is already partly worked out. The decline came around 900 ce and various sites were abandoned. The ball game goes back 3,500 years, making it the first organized game in the history of sports. Closely related to mayan religionindeed, inextricable from itwas the impressive development read more. Mayan religion was the subject of much discussion leading up to december 21, 2012. Learn more about precolumbian civilizations in this article.
They believed that the universe was made of three layers. As a part of their religion, the maya practised human sacrifice. At various points during the classic period, one or other of these powers would gain a. Two popular figures in maya mythology were the hero twins, hunahpu and xbalanque. He was regarded as a holy figure, and his position was hereditary. Their foremost god, itzam na incorporated in himself the aspects of many other gods. Mayan civilization simple english wikipedia, the free. One popular tale told how the gods opened maize mountain where the first seeds to plant maize were found. A shaman explaining the meaning of a nahaul dr diane davies translating 5. This means that you were born on the eleventh day of a trecena that began with the day 1lizard. Along with pictures of important figures and places, youll learn about the maya religion like never before. At special occasional ceremonies, the mayan culture would give human sacrifices to their gods.
Some aspects of the maya religion are still practiced today. These are the deities to point you in the right direction. The maya have a long history of traditions and beliefs using natural sources for food, medicine, clothing and ceremonies. Mayan life path astrology for mel gibson page 6 1lizard accompanying your daysign, ocelot, is the number 11. A key aspect of this religion was the importance it had given to agriculture and the timeliness of harvests. Government and religion ancient civilizationsancient maya. The mayan religious calendar tzolkin comprised of only 260 days and two cycles each comprises of weeks spanning 30 days and 20 days. This is partly because each of the gods had many different aspects. This ancient civilization took root in the yucatan peninsula as a border and a part of mesoamerica. On the map provided, you will identify where the incan, maya, and aztec empires were located. Nov 17, 2016 religionfacts provides free, objective information on religion, world religions, comparative religion and religious topics. These are the four gods of the cardinal points of the compass.
Avocados and tomatoes were mainly eaten by the aztecs and maya, along with a wide variety of fruit. They believed that without the help of these important gods, there would be no crops and everyone would starve. As is the case with many other contemporary mesoamerican religions, it results from centuries of symbiosis with roman catholicism. The maya, aztec, and inca civilizations ate simple food. Explore these mayan activities for kids to use either in the classroom or for homelearning. Maya, inca, hinduism, and jainism similarities differences divali people tidy business establishments and bringing financial records up to date, cleaning houses and illuminating them with oil lamps, wearing new clothes, gambling, feasting, honoring clay images of lakshini and. The maya worshipped many gods who worked together and sometimes in opposition of each other. The mesoamerican ball game was played, experts think, by all the cultures in the region, beginning with the olmecs who may have invented it. Chilam balam of chumayel national humanities center.
When he died, he passed the throne on to his eldest son. As the maya didnt have any cardinals or compasses, just think of them as giant entities who hold up the four corners of the sky. History of drug use in religion a mushroom cult in the mayan culture of central america. The phenomenon of the spanish conquest of the maya region suggests strongly that, in the process. Maya religion the maya worshipped the gods of nature.
Maya nationalism became an identifiable cause in the early 1970s, was quiescent during the violence, and today. Today, maya architecture is important, as it is one of the few aspects of maya. The maya culture has always been a bit of an enigma, and even the experts disagree on certain aspects of their society. Diplomacy, the established method of influencing the decisions and behavior of foreign governments and peoples through dialogue, negotiation, and other measures short of war or violence. The maya king sat at the top of this class structure. They showed the importance of astronomy and astrology. Preclassic period 2000 bc to 250 ad the preclassic period covers from the start of the maya civilization to 250 ad when the maya civilization began its golden age. Rituals of human sacrifice and the building of pyramidical temples.
Mayan deities have commandeered counterparts in the saints, virgins, and even multiple christs. Anthony aveni asserts, once a maya genius may have recognized that somewhere deep within the calendar system lay the miraculous union, the magical crossing point of a host of time cycles. The maya civilization was a mesoamerican civilization developed by the maya peoples, and. Surname 3 spread of this religion was accelerated by the effects of civilization from the west, known as olmec. Jul 29, 2015 the ancient maya maintained a complex religion.
Radar mapping, archaeology, and ancient maya land use pdf. Learn more about ancient american cultures at history. The mayan language exists, and is spoken in some places. The maya world was composed of 3 layers the heavens, the earth, and the underworld. Corn maize was the central food in their diet, along with vegetables such as beans and squash. In the human search for selfknowledge, maya is that which obscures, confuses and distracts an individual. Maya, sarvasara upanishad defines as all what is not atman. The mayan and aztec religions are part of mesoamerican beliefs. Main ideas indian society divided into distinct groups under the aryans.
The timeline of the maya civilization is often divided up into three major periods. The ancient maya classic age the peak of their culture occurred between 300 and 900 a. In 1990, nnenna freelon went to the southern arts federations jazz meeting and met ellis marsalis. Maya, declares sarvasara, is anything that can be studied and subjected to proof and disproof, anything with gu. The architectural development of an early maya structure at. The maya have many gods that they worship, here are just a few. Potatoes and a tiny grain called quinoa were commonly grown by the incas. Their ideologies of creation, sacrifice, sacredness, and multiplicity are key to understanding the maya religion. Ancient america was the home of many large, advanced civilizations including the maya, inca, olmec and aztec societies. Along with the zapotecs and mixtecs, mayans and aztecs believed in a vital force that distinguished living matter from nonliving, or animate vs. Free presentations in powerpoint format the maya empire.
Sacrifices, in the mayan religion, were special rituals that were presided over by the mayan priests. Most of the yucatan maya were defeated by the end of the decade. We are not associated with any religion or organization. They were at their strongest from approximately 200 to 900 ce keen, 2004. To the maya, religion was ultimately their creator and destroyer. They often decorated their buildings with intricate stone carvings, stucco statues, and paint. It seems apparent, however, that the maya believed earth to be flat and fourcornered. It is very interesting learning about what they believe and to learn their creation story.
Religion shapes maya life religion influenced most aspects of maya life. Allred 5th grade cop n cop n maya civilization lived on the yucat n peninsula the yucat n peninsula in. The major god of the mayan people was izamna, who was known as the fire and earth god as well as being a creator. Aug 23, 2017 the maya refer to both a modernday people who can be found all over the world as well as their ancestors who built an ancient civilization that stretched throughout much of central america, one. Part i david joralemon yale university s tudents of ancient mexican religion have long rec ognized that the offering of human blood to gods and other supernatural beings was the central ritual act in the religious life of all mesoamerican peo ples. From that time on, some aspects of the maya religion survived in a non institutionalized form, often combining aspects of maya religion with christian religion. He was responsible for standing between his people, and the otherworld. The syncretism of catholicism and maya religion notably the sophisticated custom of the tzutijiles centered on santiago atitlan is arguably not an equal mixture, but rather maya religion with a catholic veneer.
Although the maya and the spanish and their respective religions had. The invisible upperworld, the visible middleworld or. Some of their gods were the god of rain, god of maize, and the god of sun. Additionally, the long count calendar of maya was devised. Some had more than one sex, others could be both young and old, and every. A sacrifice could be an animal, corn or even human blood. The ancient mayan civilization flourished in the steamy jungles of presentday southern mexico, belize, and guatemala. They worshipped nature gods such as the gods of rain, sun, and corn.
The multifaceted gods and rituals have even persisted in todays maya culture, however syncretized they have become. Read more about the nature, purpose, history, and practice of diplomacy, including unofficial diplomacy, in this article. The religion of the maya examines the history and evolution of the mayan religion, including its main tenets, the similarities it shares with other religions and the differences that make it unique. The traditional maya religion of the extant maya peoples of guatemala, belize, western. Maya, inca, hinduism, and jainism by danae l on prezi. Origin the maya lived in what is now southern mexico into northern central america. Mayan religion there were many different gods that the mayan people worshiped and all gods had a good and bad side. Mayans 6164, which points to this as a defining and essential feature of the. Symbolism and ritual practices related to hunting in maya. In some ways they are similar to my beliefs, but are also different. Beneath your surface personality you have the lizards need for attention and recognition. The people of belize and their historymaya religion maya religion the maya believed in many gods which were associated with natural phenomena. Hinduism, the largest religion in india today, developed out of ancient indian beliefs and practices.
The mayan pantheon life and religion mayan religion very little is known about the maya pantheon. Ppt the maya civilization powerpoint presentation free. As a result, the popularity of maya began to rise at an alarming rate, and it is thought that the ceremonial sites of ceibal played a crucial role to enlighten people about the religion that appeared to be unique in many aspec. The maya built pyramids, temples, palaces, walls, residences and more. A proposal was submitted to the foundation for the advancement of mesoamerican studies, inc.
The playing arena was in the shape of an i with high platforms. Precolumbian civilizations, the aboriginal american indian cultures that evolved in mesoamerica part of mexico and central america and the andean region western south america prior to spanish exploration and conquest in the 16th century. Religionfacts provides free, objective information on religion, world religions, comparative religion and religious topics. The ancient mayan culture is a nature worshipping religion.
Maya religion was far more complicated than the simple worship of gods of nature. The traditional maya religion of the extant maya peoples of guatemala, belize, western honduras, and the tabasco, chiapas, and yucatan states of mexico is part of the wider frame of mesoamerican religion. Priests had great influence among both the elite and ordinary people, since they directed ceremonies and rites to propitiate the supernatural, which was ruled by different gods. The ancient mayan religion has some very different beliefs. The village chief acted as the leader of political life, as well as the priest. Most famously, the maya of the southern lowland region reached their peak during the classic period of maya civilization a. Religion was of key importance in maya culture, permeating all aspects of life. Aztec, maya, and incan webquest goals of the webquest during this webquest you will complete the following tasks. Maya mythology tells the story of how man was created from maize.
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