Maya Bloodletting And Elite Initiation
Rollout vase photo courtesy of Justin Kerr The theme of the past three posts was initiation. Examples were from my novel, Jaguar Rising. In the story I added another ceremony, a rite of passage for individuals who would enter the brotherhood of elites. Typically for the Maya, this involved bloodletting. More than a ritual of endurance, the symbolism around blood was complex and powerful. Inherited royal blood, whatever the status, was perceived as the rarified essence or “breath” of the ch’ulel “soul, ”a conduit between the world of the living and the… Read More
Xibalba
The Maya underworld and the god of death Rollout vase photo courtesy of Justin Kerr The Maya Underworld, called Xibalba (She-balba), “The Place of Fright,” was the realm beneath the surface of the Earth and under water, especially in caves. It was perceived to have nine descending levels arranged like an inverted pyramid, and was ruled by the Bolontik’u, “Nine Lords of Death” and was often depicted on vases as a giant conch or snail shell which enclosed a mysterious other reality interpreted by some to be an infinite, eternal and bloody… Read More
Hunting Deer
Vase rollout courtesy of Justin Kerr They joined together in companies of fifty and roasted the flesh of deer so it would not be wasted; they make presents of it to their lord and distribute the rest among friends. Fray Diego de Landa, Bishop Inquisitor of Colonial Yucatan Deer were treated like gods because their main god had appeared to them in that form. In some places there were deer parks and reserves where deer weren’t afraid of people because they were not killed. Hernando Cortés, Conquistador (Referencing the Aztec) Hunting among… Read More
The Sacred World Tree (Ceiba)
This is a young ceiba. The thorns protect the tree from animals, especially the peccary who like the bark. The spikes disappear when the tree matures. The ceiba is the largest tree in the Mesoamerican tropical forest, so it’s not surprising that the Maya would use it as a model for the cosmos. The stature of the actual tree with roots deep in the underworld, the tall trunk and branches that touched the sky, makes it an ideal representation of the three realms inhabited by gods and demons. The ideological version, an… Read More
Ancient Maya Cultural Traits 