Mayan Traditions and Beliefs
Preserving the Ancient Mayan Way of Life
In 1502, Christopher Columbus sailed to the New World and became one of the first Europeans to experience the ways of the Maya culture; the Maya, with no knowledge of the Spanish invasion to follow, welcomed the expedition with cacao beans, blankets and other goods to trade. In the years which followed, the Maya became subjected to disease, war and slavery as the Spanish claimed Mayan land.
The Spanish took land which the Mayan people had traditionally used to grow coffee, sugarcane and bananas and in the process made Mayan farmers both landless and homeless. As recently as the 1980s, Mayan people in Guatemala, fighting for their rights, became the target of death squads; yet today there are still more than six million Maya who live in Belize, Guatemala and Mexico.
Ancient Mayan Use of the Land
There is a lot of mystery surrounding the ways of the ancient Maya, as ancient, lost Mayan cities are slowly re-discovered in the tropical forests of Latin America; however, it is believed that ancient Maya gathered food from the land, tended gardens and hunted game. Ancient Maya were also farmers, their main crop being that of corn; it is likely that they tended squash and beans too.
The planting of the corn involved both practical and ritual knowledge; a lot of faith was placed in the gods to produce a healthy harvest of food and many sacred offerings were made. Archaeologists believe that many Mayan structures were used as stages for reenactments such as the birth of the maize god.
Use of the Cacao Bean by the Maya
The ancient Maya were the first to realize the value of the cacao bean; today, it is known as the source of chocolate but the Maya traded the cacao bean as a form of currency. The cacao tree is native to South and Central America; the word cacao is a derivative of the Mayan word kakaw.
The Mayans produced a cacao brew in about 1100 B.C. and progressed to making a hot chocolate used to mark the occasions of birth, marriage, induction into priesthood and the passing over to the afterlife. Over time, the Maya introduced flavorings such as vanilla, chilies and cinnamon into the chocolate brew; it was considered to be a favorite amongst nobility, kings and gods, with many Mayan vessels depicting pictures of these occasions.
Mayan Use of Plants for Medicine and Fabrics
Many native plants were utilized by the Maya for different uses; plants such as prickly pear, yucca cactus and sea grape were to be found on ocean beaches and were used by the Maya both for food and as a medicinal source. The Maya of the Yucatan region of Mexico were believed to study the medicinal properties of many plants and some were known as a medicine man.
A native agave plant to the Yucatan region of Mexico, Henequen, was of great importance to the Maya; it was used to make ropes, nets, hammocks, curtains, and fabrics. Many Mayan women were excellent weavers, a skill which was passed from mother to daughter for centuries; the embroidered or woven design of a fabric is distinct to each native village.
The Survival of the Maya
Today, Mayan people, following the traditional way of life, live in mud-brick and adobe houses and continue to grow fields of corn; there are 28 Mayan languages spoken. Maya children are being educated in their history and language; hand made goods are sold in markets. Traditional Maya ceremonies are performed; ancient Maya believed that priests, dressed as jaguars, could cross over to the place of the dead and some of these ceremonies are still performed today.
References:
National Geographic Collector's Edition 2008 Mysteries of the Maya
For Related Reading:
Yaxchilan A Mayan Temple Found in the Forests
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