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Mysteries of the Aztec and Maya Explained
Multiple gods, gory sacrifices, and men in funny clothes.No, this is not the Middle East, this is sixteenth century Mesoamerica.These were just a few of the aspects of Mesoamerican culture that the Spanish encountered when they landed in the New World.To them, the things they saw were uncivilized, even barbaric.So, naturally, the Spanish had to take action and show the Natives what was the right way to live. They wanted to show them their way; God's way.But who's to say one civilization is wrong, just because their customs are different?That is especially the case for two civilizations that were incredibly advanced both religiously and technologically, the Aztec and the Maya.Although both cultures had their own worldview, they were both developed with different opinions on gender, which made them seem savage, and made the Conquistadors obligated to change things.What was left was a new culture, a new race, and a history that may give insight to today's civilization.
Worldmaking, Worldcentering, and Worldrenewal
Help with essay on Religions of Meso-America
In order to fully understand the religions of the Aztec and the Maya, one must first understand three basic terms, worldmaking, worldcentering, and worldrenewal, which are explained in detail in the book The Religions of Mesoamerica, by David Carrasco.
David Carrasco defines the first term, worldmaking, as a culture's view of the structure of the universe, "which told how the world was made and how supernatural forces organized the cosmos" (Carrasco pg. 0-1).It is merely the story that a culture follows to explain their own origins.
Worldcentering, according to Carrasco, means the manner in which a culture explains what makes the world go round.Worldcentering depends on the "work of human creativity in ceremonial centers and the work of sacred specialists and royal lineages" (pg. 1-).Essentially, it is the people using what is around them to make sense of why their world operates.
The last term, worldrenewal, is described as rituals and mythic traditions performed to insure the "daily, monthly, and yearly rejuvenation of society and the cosmos" (pg. ).These rituals were performed at every level of society; from the high up kings and priests down to the common natives.Religious leaders depended heavily upon celestial events and the highly developed calender system to guide these rituals and maintain the working order of the universe around them.
Worldmaking, Worldcentering, Worldrenewal, and the Aztecs
Around the year 100 CE, a migrating group of people known as the Chichimeca moved south from the mythic Aztlan, onto the central plateau of what is now the country of Mexico and into the Toltec Empire.The Chichimecca, or dog-people as the name translates, were extremely adept to surviving harsh climates.They made their home in the desert region, full of snakes and cactus, and extremely hot.The Chichimeca were looked down upon by the original inhabitants, the Toltec, who were a civilized culture, but soon assimilated into the existing social routines of farming, trading, warfare, and religion.Soon the Chichimecan men were taking Toltec wives.The two cultures seemed to be meshing together well until a Toltec princess was sacrificed and turned into a skin suit by a Chichimecan priest.When the Toltec king ordered total annihilation of the dog-people, they fled south to a swampy island, where they saw an eagle perched on a cactus devouring a snake.According to legend, this was where they were to stop and build their empire.This island would become Tenochtitlan, the sacred city and ceremonial center of the Aztec Empire.This is the history of the Aztec.But where is the mythic homeland of Aztlan?That is where worldmaking comes into play.The people had no explanation of where they came from before their migration, so they developed stories to make sense of what they had no way of knowing; their creation.The Aztec creation story is based on the belief that the world had been created and destroyed four times, and they were living in the Fifth Age.At Teotihuacan, before this world had been created, the gods were sitting around an everlasting fire trying to create a new sun.Two of the gods, Nanauatzin (the Pimply One) and Tecuciztecatl (Lord of the Snails), sacrificed themselves by jumping into the divine fire.The gods sat looking for the sunrise, but it was Quetzalcoatl (the Plumed Serpent) who saw it rise to the east.The sun had been created, but it had no pattern, no purpose.The world still had to be centered.Another god Ecatl, was instructed to sacrifice the remaining gods, which set the sun in motion on it's orbit and created the rhythmic division of night and day (pg. 1-).Another historical example of worldcentering is the development of Tenochtitlan as a Ceremonial Center.The Great Temple, also known as Coatepec, which was erected around 15 CE, was a tribute to two major deities, Tlaloc (god of agriculture and water) and Huitzilopochtli (god of war an tribute), and was considered the connecting point between the 1 layers of the celestial world above and thelayers of the underworld below.Not only did this temple center the Aztec world religiously, it served as the political and social center, too; the hub of Aztec civilization (pg. 7-4).However, this world had to be maintained.The Aztecs hoped that by offering Teyolia, one of the divine forces that animated human life, they could prolong the cycle of the world's destruction.Teyolia came from the heart, so to offer it to the gods, it first needed to be extracted from the body.This was usually done at large public gatherings at the Templo Mayor, where highly trained shamans would cut the still beating heart from captured enemy warriors and thrust it skyward as an offering (pg. 86).In the eyes of the conquistadors, it was a brutal, savage process, but to the Aztec, they were insuring the rejuvenation of the world around them.
Worldmaking, Worldcentering, Worldrenewing, and the Maya
The Maya took a somewhat different approach to explaining their universe.Surrounded by jungle and lush vegetation, the Maya developed a more agricultural worldview.According to the Tzutujil Maya of Guatamala, creation came in the form of a giant tree in the midst of chaos.This tree formed one of everything that was to exist in the world in the form of fruit, which grew into the created world.Every Mayan culture believed a similar story, where a plant "repeatedly sprouts, blossoms, wilts, dies, and is reborn" (pg. 100).This cosmic tree figures into the spiritual aspect of life as well.The tree is rooted in the underworld, with the trunk in the terrestrial realm, and the upper part in the heavens.When a person dies, their soul travels down the tree into the roots, where they must overcome the underworld in order to ascend the tree and rejoin the gods in the heavens (pg. 101).This belief is based on the story of the Twins, Hunahpu and Xbalanque, who travel into the underworld and overcome the Lords of Xibalba, trick the demons into defeat, and earning a godly status.This story is reflected in the carvings found on the sarcofogus of the Mayan king who had ruled for over 60 years, Pacal. When it was discovered in 15, archaeologists found the picture of Pacal falling down the cosmic tree into the jaws of the underworld.This picture represents Pacal's journey into the afterlife and his rise back to godliness similar to the story of the Twins (pg. -5).The same process happens with the sun when it descends into the underworld, overcomes the darkness, and returns at dawn.The Maya practiced autosacrifice (the sacrifice of oneself, like bloodletting) to open passages from the terrestrial level to the celestial realm and to renew the cycle of the world.Since the body was viewed as the center of the universe, the wound and the blood both symbolized a portal for the gods to travel to and from the heavens. The complex calender system also helped them to plan ahead and perform the rituals that would keep the earth going.This calender was so accurate, they could foresee when to plant, harvest, and go to war.It even predicted the demise of the Aztecs in 151, the year Cortez arrived at Tenochtitlan.
The Aztecs, Maya, and Gender
Although the Aztecs and the Maya had similar religious views, the role of women in the society differs greatly.The Aztec were a fierce, mostly male dominated, warring culture.They were the more macho of the two civilizations.This is evident in the story of Huiztipotle.In this story, the god, Huiztipotle, springs from his mother's womb fully dressed for battle and decapitates and dismembers the female god, Coylxauhqui.Huiztipotle then became the leader of the Aztec people, taking them to the future site of Tenochtitlan.These people may have been too consumed with war, which ultimately lead to their own demise.The Maya on the other hand, were a much more feminine culture.They gave more power to females in society and were concerned with peace more than war.They realized that women were equally important in reproduction and were not afraid to show it.Their kings dressed in plumage along with their war costumes to show that they were strong and powerful (male), yet caring and nurturing (female).The blood of females was believed to be sacred as well.There is a story of the Lady Xoc and the ruler Shield Jaguar, found in a series of carved lintels, which tells of a woman who pulled a thorn rope through her tongue to get blood for a vision.After the ritual, the woman is depicted seeing a giant Vision Serpent and the Shield Jaguar possibly emerging as king (pg.111-).The Maya, some say, may have been too concerned with peace for their own good.They too died out, but for unknown reasons.Their disappearance was probably due to a growing population and anover stressed economic structure.
Indian and Spanish Religions Intersecting To
Create A New Religious Culture
Since the trip to the New World was not an easy one, the Spanish conquistadors decided to leave women at home.Once in the New World, they chose native women to marry and a new race was born, the Mestizos.The natives were brutal, and savage in most of their eyes, but to some, they seemed salvageable.For this reason, the Spanish opted to convert the natives and show them the real god, their own Christian god.Some natives somewhat accepted this forced conversion, but still held on to traditional customs.One of the stories from a modern highland Mayan culture, the Zinacantan, displays the Christian story of Jesus's betrayal, but with native influences as well, like using animals as characters.In the story, Jesus is betrayed by a magpie, who represents Judas, and a rooster and sparrow, which represent the thieves who were crucified alongside Jesus (pg.1-5).Another way the two religions intersect is in the customs and traditions of the new religion.One of the most important figures in the Catholic religion is the Virgin Mary.A similar virgin appeared to a lowly Indian, Juan Diego, in 151.This Virgin de Guadalupe came to Juan Diego as he passed the hill of Tepeyac.When Diego reported his apparition to the church, the idea was scoffed at.Only when he returned with proof, in the form out of season roses wrapped in a cloak which miraculously made a picture of the Virgin, did the priests believe him and make Tepeyac the site of the future cathedral.As you can see, the two worlds were able to mix, creating a religion with both Spanish Catholic and Native Indian influence.
As long as there are differences in the world, there will always be people who, like the Conquistadors, feel the need to correct others.Sometimes, this ends in ways that are not socially acceptable, like, in the Aztec's case, the near annihilation of a whole civilization.Other times, the mixing of cultures is a good thing, when it is not forced, when the natives are acceptant of the new traditions and the newcomers are respectful of native customs.It is said that "the past is seen with 0/0 vision," and "in order to see the future, we must look to the past."These are both excellent thoughts, some that more people should have when thinking about the United State's involvement in Iraq.Will the two cultures blend peacefully? Or will one culture decimate the other like in the New World?Only time will tell.
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