Sacrifice Among the Maya Community

NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.

NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.

This paper attempts to examine the function of human sacrifice among the Maya community. It will also try to prove if it was in cohesion with its true belief or one in charge of convincing the masses.

Human sacrifice can best be defined as the act where a person is sacrificially killed or murdered as a sign of atonement for the sins of another or others (Fox G, 1996). During the process, the victim is carefully prepared through the performance of several rituals, for instance, body painting and adornment as in the case with Mayans (Ingham, 1984 pp 380). After the death of the “sacrifice”, the body is disposed of off in a ceremonial manner, lest the gods are unpleased (Fox G,1996). The Toltec for instance was a community of cruel military marauders who lived between 700 AD and 1000 AD (Ingham, 1984 pp 389). They were later overthrown by Aztecs, who in turn overthrew the Mayans and introduced the culture of sacrificial rites to them (Thompson, 1974). Before their capture, the Mayan community was considered a peaceful society (Alexander, 1976 pp 700). Who then were the Maya? Why did they engage in human sacrifices and were they justified?

The Maya are members of Native American Indian people who lived primarily in Central America (Thompson, 1974 pp 48). The Mayan society is looked at with wonder as well as awe because of the public practice of human sacrifice. Individuals within the society had their lives shortened dramatically in order for their gods, particularly the rain god known as Chaac, to look upon the society with favor (Fox, W. 1991pp 213). Rain was a very important aspect of the Maya. There is a serial dearth between January and mid-May (Thompson, 1974). The submission of sacrifices thus fed Chaac and was considered to emblematically bring him into the ritual in the form of a bright blue color that optimistically would bring rain and allow corn to grow (Science Daily, 2008).

This explains why the people to be sacrificed had to be painted blue- in relation to the association of the color to Chaac (Alexander, 1976 pp 711) In the Mayan community the sun, the moon as well as the planets were referred to as sky wanderers and were considered to be deities in themselves (Thompson, 1974). They believed in blood, or rather, human sacrifice in order for the universe to be in balance (Thompson, 1974). Mayans also believed that rebirth, once one passed away was only made possible through sacrifice and that in an elaborate afterlife heaven was for only those who had been sacrificed, or died in childbirth. The rest went to hell, also known as Xibalba which was under the rule of the lords of death (Fox, W. 1991 pp 215). Sacrifice was therefore viewed with much respect within the belief of the Maya.

There existed a certain myth within the Maya community which was considered to be one of the core maxims of ancient Maya rituals and life in general (Ingham, 1984 pp 380). It suggested that through human sacrifice or shedding of blood, extraordinary humans could go through the underworld, also known as Xibalba, trick the gods of death and be reborn again (Fox, W. 1991). This is based on the Mayan myth about the two twins Hunabu and Xbalanque (Fox, W. 1991). In the myth, Hunabu, who is associated with outer space, the sun, and life, and his brother Xbalanque who is connected with jaguar, the underworld, Venus, and death, voyaged to the underworld and outwit the lords of death by tricking them. They were then reborn as the sun and Venus respectively (Thompson, 1974).

In case of battles or wars, the Maya used to extract the heart of a warrior and offer it to their gods (Fox, G. 1996). If a leader was captured, he was reserved to be decapitated during a special ceremony set aside specifically for that purpose (Fox, G. 1996 pp 483). On the other hand, if the victim lived far away from the Mayan village, no sacrifice would be made since it was considered to bring bad luck and foreign spirits (Ingham, 1984 pp 390). According to Mayan culture, human sacrifice was necessary to ensure continuity of time and seasons of their various gods (Arthur, 2000 pp 26).

In the case of children, they were sacrificed by either being thrown in the water while still alive to please the Mayan rain god, who was known as Chaac (Alexander, 1976). Others were skinned or cut into pieces before being offered to the Mayan gods. Children were sacrificed often since they were considered to be pure and uncorrupted (Alexander, 1976). This is because the Mayans believed that for them to communicate with the rain god, children were the specific sacrificial offers required by him since he loved small things (Thompson, 1974). Research and other studies indicate that these untoward children were unsympathetically flung into cenotes (sanctified sinkhole fissures). These caves served both as gateways into the underworld and also as a means of acquiring life-saving water. Archeologists have recently discovered about 251 skeletal remains in caves considered sacred during the Mayan era and are said to belong to boys aged between three and eleven years (Science daily, 2008). In the Chichen Itza site, for instance, the bones found at the sacred cave indicate that 80% of the sacrifices were young boys of between 3-11 years (Science daily, 2008).

There were also men’s bones but it is supposed that this could have been the aftermath of last-minute attempts of gallantry to save their sons from the termination (Fox, G. 1996) There is also evidence to indicate that these young boys were dismembered or ritually skinned before being sacrificed (Arthur, 2000). A closer look at a wall in the site will display four tiny helpers associated with the rain god to the effect of his affection to small kids (Thompson 77). In total 20,000 human sacrifices had been made by the Mayans for the appeasement of their gods (Science daily, 2008). According to accounts recorded in the 16^th century, Mayans used to paint the bodies of those who were to be offered up as a sacrifice blue, before shoving them backward on an uncomfortable altar and practically tearing their hearts from their bodies while still pumping (Alexander, 1976). Other victims were shot with many arrows, stoned to death, skinned, buried alive, or clawed (Fox, G. 1996).

Mayans treated the victims of sacrifice like gods before offering them up. To the sacrificed people it was almost an honor since they believed that they could automatically get a promotion in the afterlife and live with the deities (Ingham, 1984 pp 377). After the sacrificed person was shot with arrows, he would be thrown in a room at daybreak and if he was still alive by noon, he would be brought out and shot until he died (Fox, W. 1991). Removal of the heart was considered to be perhaps the greatest of these sacrifices. Here, the victim would have his body painted blue by an appointed priest and put in a rather uncomfortable table with his chest arced upwards and with his hands and legs held by minor priests (Ingham, 1984 pp 391). The appointed priest would then make an incision under the victim’s right ribs using a sharp stone. He would then remove the heart, place it in a bowl, and burn it (Ingham, 1984). The victim would then be rolled down 365 steps to a waiting crowd below and then skinned. The priest would wear the skin while dancing around the body and after the ceremonial ritual, the body would be butchered and eaten by the nobles and other spectators if at all the sacrificed person proved to be brave (Fox, G. 1996). After the ceremony was complete, people were then allowed to sit down, feast, and drink (Fox, G. 1996 pp 489).

Pre-Hispanic cultures held a belief that the world would come to an end if sacrificial rituals ceased (Arthur, 2000 pp 59). They had a strong belief that blood sacrifices kept the universe in balance and led to the prolongation of life. Mayans gave reverence to everything existing in nature and tried explaining how nothing happened without the intervention of their gods (Thompson, 1974). According to them, the world consisted of both heavens and the underworlds that were connected by a gigantic tree (Thompson, 1974). The tree’s branches were in the heavens while the roots were in the underworlds (Thompson 75). The Mayans could converse with their gods through visions, prayers as well as sacrifice. They were convinced that sacrifices aided the celestial bodies, brought good luck and fortune as well as improved harvests (Arthur, 2000).

They also believed in reincarnation in that each individual had an animal friend spirit and that at the time of death, the individual could change into their respective animal companion (Fox, W. 1991). Apparently, Mayans never sacrificed their own but victims who had been captured during war (Fox, G.1996). The Mayans engaged in warfare with the sole aim of taking prisoners for sacrifice. These prisoners could then be grouped into either low-status captives or high-status captives (Fox, G. 1996 pp 394). Low-status captives ended up as slaves to their captors while high-status captives could be listed for ritual sacrifice (Fox, G. 1996 pp 394). Ritual sacrifice was deemed essential to consecrate certain ritual occasions such as the ascendancy to the throne by a new monarch or the perseverance of a new building in which the victim was decapitated in a public ceremony (Ingham, 1984 pp 392).

Kingship was really revered. The culture demanded that a human sacrifice be offered in times of installation of a new king (Fox, G. 1996). This same king was supposed to have taken a captive in a war who was to be later used in his ascension ceremony (Fox, G. 1996). The religious explanation to this institution of kingship had the assertion that strict adherence to the rules was necessary for the continuance of the universe (Arthur, 2000). In central Mexico for instance twenty thousand people were sacrificed within a single day to commemorate the perseverance of a new temple after which the sacrificed people were then eaten (Alexander, 1976). There existed yet another form of sacrifice practiced by the Mayans, known as bloodletting (Fox, G. 1996 pp 499). This was done by cutting of oneself and allowing blood to fall to the ground. They believed that by doing so their gods would be nurtured as well as help them connect with their animal spirits (Fox, G. 1996 pp 500).

The Mayans had several absurd rituals that included, for instance, the king piercing his penis with a string ray tail, the queen dragging a rope of thorns through her tongue, collecting this royal blood, and burning it (Fox, G. 1996). It was supposedly believed that the gods could appear in the smoke and their proposition would be revealed (Ingham, 1984). This was based on the concept that their god, Quetzalcoatl gave life to humanity by sacrificing part of his own body by offering blood extracted from his wound (Thompson, 1974). Sacrifices thus were also a form of giving back blood to these gods in a bid to maintain the universe (Thompson, 1974 pp 91).

In these public performances of ritual dancing and drama, the kings and nobles were transformed into gods by entering a visionary trance. They were manifested through songs, playing of musical instruments, and shouts and jeers from multitudes who came to eyewitness the rituals which reaffirmed the king’s authority to act as a vessel in bringing supernatural powers to his realm for the benefit of his people (Fox, G. 1996). The Mayans also believed in an elaborate afterlife, but heaven was reserved for those who had been hanged, sacrificed, or died in childbirth. Everyone else went to Xibalba or hell, which was ruled by the lords of death (Thompson, 1974 pp 74).

Therefore as can be seen the Mayan sacrifices were not there to convince the masses since they went in tow with the peoples living patterns. They conformed to their true beliefs based on their religion (De Borhegyi, 1964). It is therefore prudent to state that these sacrifices guaranteed the function of the universe, divination of time, passing of the seasons, growth of corn, and the afterlife of the human race (Thompson, 1974). These sacrifices ensured the existence of gods, replenishing their periodic consumption of bioenergy. It was therefore a means of appeasing the gods Huitzilopochtli and Quetzalcoatl via keeping the fifth sun; the last stage of everything from destroying them (Thompson, 1974 pp 72).

And as stated above 20,000 thousand people were annually killed among the Maya showing how hallowed and blessed these sacrifices were held. The sacrifices were not, therefore, meant to convince the masses since even the high and mighty suffered for their people in accordance with the dictates of their religion with the priests carrying out these sacrifices with no loss of discomfiture or good worth (Fox, W. 1991 pp 214). There are however those who hold the view that the Mayans were involved in human sacrifices without a true spiritual ancestry. These people assert that that in each and every culture there are those who see the truth and also those who corrupt it. They argue that during those times true Mayan sacrifice was that of self-sacrifice and therefore the attempt to use fundamentalist views later turned it into human sacrifice (World-L, 1995).

As much as everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, it is in order that we understand that the views we hold are subjective. We in our interpretations, make a few errors. We do not interpret past history in terms of our views of the present values majorly to satisfy the present needs. By contrasting the past or people in a different culture to ourselves we do run the danger of seeing ourselves as the true standards of civilization and judiciousness which are in essence not right (World-L, 1995).

Mayans are considered to be the most barbaric and savage cultural society that ever existed. But researchers have recently tried proving otherwise. Sacrificial rituals did exist but only on very rare occasions. Even though modern technology tries to portray Mayan sacrificial rituals as bloody images of victims having their hearts torn out of their bodies while still pumping, anthropologists believe that such images were only used to instill fear in the ordinary Mayans (Science Daily, 2008). There was no substantiation to confirm that these scenes actually took place (Alexander, 1976).

Though in the 19^th and 20^th century early researchers tried to refute the fact that the Mayans rarely practiced human sacrifice, mural paintings, as well as carvings, showed otherwise (De Borhegyi, 1964). At Chichen Itza for instance, archaeologists discovered remains of human skeletons as well as jewelry in ancient cenotes (De Borhegyi, 1964 pp 86).

It is therefore with this view that I conclude this essay with a proposition that these sacrifices were in essence in cohesion with the true Mayan beliefs.

Works Cited

Alexander, Laurence L. Ricoeur’s “Symbolism of Evil” and Cross-Cultural Comparisons: The Representation of Evil in Maya Indian Culture. Journal of the American Academy of Religion 44(4), 705-714. 1976.

Arthur, Damarest. Ancient civilizations in Mesoamerica: A reader. New York: Blackwell Publishing. pp 22-106. 2000.

De Borhegyi, Stephan F. Pre-Colombian Ball-Game Handstones. American Antiquity, 30(1), 84-86. 1964.

Fox, John G. Playing with power: Ball courts and political ritual in southern Mesoamerica. Current Anthropology, 37(3), 483-509. 1996.

Fox, John W. The Lords of Light vs. the Lords of Dark: The Post-Classic Highland Maya Ballgame. In Scarborough, Vernon L. and Wilcox, David R. (Eds.). The Mesoamerican Ballgame (pp. 213-238). Tucson: The University of Arizona Press. 1991.

Ingham, John. Human sacrifice at Tenochtitlan. Comparative studies in society and history. Pp 379-402. 1984.

Science Daily (2008). Web.

Thompson, J.E.S. (1974). Maya Astronomy. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, 276(1257), 83-98.

Click Here To Order Now!

Sacrifice Among the Maya Community

Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?

We have qualified writers to help you.

We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.

You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)