Indigenous Rituals In Guatemala

Throughout the humanities course, I have been intrigued by a vast amount of information on different cultures. However, there was a particular section that truly caught my attention, and has piqued an interest in me that has caused me to do my own research aside from this paper. The culture of the Mayas, and the Aztecs has been extremely fundamental in understanding my ancestry, being that I am Mexican American. I took an interest in their beautiful architecture, their ritualistic and sacrificial religious practices, as well as their history and how they began. Throughout this paper I will outline the similarities and differences of these two cultures, as well as articulate an understanding of the humanity disciplines outlined above.

​Many of the cultures that we have today have evolved from past events. Such as language it was something that became known throughout the years. Some of the languages that came from that were English, Spanish, German, and Latin to name a few. These languages were derived more past civilizations. One important civilization that is known for having great success is the Mayan civilization. The Mayan civilization is known for many things like they fully developed written language, art, architecture, math and some other factors. Historians have said that they don’t know an exact date of when this civilization rose up but they do mention that it flourished for about 2000 years. Although staring in 250 AD it is said that it was the start of their high point and it continued until the arrival of the Spanish in 1524. The Maya area covers southern Mexico and northwestern Central America. According to Sharer the area is divided into three regions: the Pacific coastal plain to the south, the highlands in the center, and the lowlands to the north. Even though these three regions were under the same civilization they all practiced different religious rituals. Religion plays a big role in every civilization. Some civilizations tend to praise more than one god and they always mention that what they have is thanks to their god. When they see things going wrong they often say that their god is punishing them because they did something that the god/s did not like. This tends to be the same

“In the Western Hemisphere, no early culture was more remarkable than the Mayans” (Background Essay). The Mayans were an adept civilization and accomplished many exceptional things during their time. Their deeds include things such as a number system, immense cities, and a vast trade network but there is no Mayan achievement more remarkable than their calendars. The Mayans created three calendars: a sacred calendar called tzolkin, a solar calendar called haab, and a long cycle calendar.

Sometime around the year 900 CE , the Maya abandoned many of their cities and moved to the highlands of modern-day central america. Scholars still don't know why this happened. The Scholars were very confused over why it happened and some think it shouldn't have happened. So the calendar can really help them out.

Many people, when they think of Native Americans, will think of dancing and strange rituals, which is not the case with the Inuit Tribe. The Inuit Tribe are located in the far Arctic North. Also known as the Eskimo, the Inuit people have adapted to live in the freezing temperatures. They live by some of the most common ways Native Americans do. They practice not to waste anything they kill and also practice making arts. The Inuit Tribe have many ways to survive in the wild even with the hardships and scarce resources around them (Sontella 5).

The book Ambivalent Conquests, by Inga Clendinnen, is very illuminating read for anyone wanting to know more about the events between the Spaniards and the Maya peoples of the Yucatan Peninsula. The book is separated into two separate parts: the Spaniard and the Indians. In the Spaniards section, Clendinnen wrote of the arrival of the Spanish in search of gold, and the attempts of the Christianization by missionaries. The second part, Indians, covered the way the Maya viewed the Spaniards arrival and following attempts of Christianization. The overall theme of the book was the continuing idolatry by the Mayans in the eyes of the Franciscans who tried to Christianize them and the actions taken by the Franciscans as a response.

Guatemala has more people than any other Central American country, with an estimated population of 11,980,000 it is home to many different cultures. The population can be divided into two groups; Indians and people of mixed Spanish and Indian ancestry. But in Guatemala, being called an Indian or a non-Indian does not depend entirely on a person 's ancestry. It is basically a matter of how people live and of how they categorize themselves. For example, a Guatemalan is considered an Indian if he or she speaks an Indian language, wears Indian clothing, and lives in a community where the people follow the Indian ways of life. The Indians think of themselves more as part of their community than of their country. They pay little attention to

The Guatemalan Culture (also known as Chapines) has many improvements to be made, but they are still more stable than other cultures. There are many cultural aspects to the Guatemalan way of life. The culture comes from Mayan and Spanish influences. Guatemala is a beautiful city that borders mexico to the south in Central America. Almost half of their population lives in Urban areas and they speak two different languages. People first started living in this area around nine hundred A.D. The average american would not understand the way of life in Guatemala.

This study examines Horace Miner’s essay “Body Rituals Among the Nacirema. While using the participant observation approach, he gives us a new perspective on the daily behaviors within this group of people. Exploring ethnocentrism and how we view cultures outside of our own.

For the Mexican Tradition Dia de los Muertos I will be doing my pet Roscoe. He was fast, big, and fun. He had white fur and blue eyes we had a little playground he used to run crazy and go inside there to hide. He loved kids. I remember when I went into my pool and was ready to get out than he was standing there and he was so excited!! Roscoe was such a good dog. He will be remembered.

The Popol Vuh is a collection of historical mythos of the K’iche’ Maya, a group that still lives in the Guatemalan highlands. Popol Vuh translates as either, “Book of Council” or in proper K’iche’ “Book of Events” or “Book of the People”, and tells the creation mythos of the K’iche’ peoples, an epic tale of Hero Twins Hunahpú and Xbalanqué, along with a series of genealogies.

There are depictions on painted murals and reliefs, such as the ones at Bonampak and on other Maya artifacts, which illustrate many rituals that were accompanied by the act of war. The Maya had rituals and ceremonies that were held in honor of specific gods in hopes of gaining their support or blessing for battle. The shields and weapons of the Maya warriors were also decorated with symbols of these war gods.

Description: Tikal is the ruins of an ancient city found in a rainforest in Guatemala.

Almost every aspect of Maya life was centered on religion. These ancient Mesoamerican peoples worshipped many gods and goddesses; this was part of their daily lives, despite class differences in their sophisticated society. Religion served as a basis for the government and social life. Priests and shamans played an important role in their government, conducted religious ceremonies, and made sacrifices to the gods. The Maya believed in the supernatural, and used this belief to explain life and their universe. Every object, whether it is part of nature or man made, was considered sacred and worshipped.

When most people think of the Mayans, they think end of the world prediction in 2012. Everyone knows the movie 2012 which portrayed the end of the world predicted by the Mayan calendar. What many do not know is that the Mayans developed three separate calendars; the Long Count, the Tzolk’in, and the Haab, which were represented by glyphs or pictures that were used in their daily lives in many different ways. The Mayans kept time in a very different way than we do today. The Mayans may not have invented the calendar, but they certainly developed it further, and still use their version today.