To many people and cultures, the topic of numbers may seem to have limited to a nonexistent symbolic relationship or importance. Numbers seem to have the sole purpose to act in mathematics. Many people would not consider a number to be the center of their actions or daily thoughts. Regardless, the Maya people holds one number above all near and dear to its heart. The number four in Maya culture and literature keeps recurring in many texts. The two primary examples of addressing the importance of the number four can be seen in the sacred Popol Vuh and the popular play of the Rabinal Achi. In a close analyzation of the number four, it can be confirmed that it holds great influence on the Maya people. This can be stated because the number four can be seen in …show more content…
This text follows the trials and errors of the Maya gods in their quest to create the ancient world of Central America. The story then switches from the gods and creation to focus on the stories of the famed Hero Twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque. The reader follows along with the brothers on their journey to defeat and seek revenge on the lords of Xibalba who killed their father One Hunahpu. The last sections of the Popol Vuh focuses on the first humans and their future lineages. It ends with an extensive list of all the tribes and nations of the K’iche’ …show more content…
In this play, all four corners of direction like in the Popol Vuh are being utilized. When on stage, the two main warrior characters move in a west to east (and vice versa) direction. They always face the audience and never cross the invisible line that separates them on stage. Some of the minor characters then only move in a line from north to south (and vice versa) on each half of the stage. Thus, all four directions are being
“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.
The aim of this paper is to provide a brief description of the bundle payment initiative will be addressed in relationship to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Additional focuses will be placed on comparisons of the bundle strategy with traditional Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) payments. The purpose of the analysis is to implement and design a bundle payment program for community acquired pneumonia (CAP) patients utilizing the bundle program. The analysis will address health care providers and service vendors needed to successfully implement the program. Additionally, AONE nurse executive competencies will be discussed in relation to skills needed by nurse leaders in collaboration with the programs implementation.
Elialde author of The Sacred and the Profane introduces a new model of the sacred and the profane. Elialde’s model is meant to be universal, therefore meant to be appropriate for any recognized religion. David Carrasco author of Religions of Mesoamerica and Kay Almere Read and Jason J. González authors of Mesoamerican Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs of Mexico and Central America, discuss their interpretation of the Mesoamerican religion although their views on the Mesoamerican religion differs in some aspects when compared to Eliade’s model of the sacred and the profane there are a few noticeable similarities between both views.
One of the most important myths of the Huichols Indians is about the creation of the world. These types of myths are categorized as origin myths which “are typically the most sacred of a culture’s myths and provide the foundation upon which other myths are built” (Lindell “Professor’s Notes 4” 2). The article “Journey of Grandmother Rain” by Jack Eidt tells the story about the first humans, the creation of the land, and the creation of the sun. From a structuralist perspective, the binary opposition that shapes the worldview of the Huichol Indians is apparent in this origin myth. According to Eidt, in the Huichol origin myth the first human, named Watacame, and his black female dog, Tziku Mayuri, had to “withstand five days of monsoons, wind, waves, flooding and storming” (Eidt). After Watacame had successfully survived the storm, the Goddess Takutzi Nakawe (Grandmother Rain)
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.
The Popol Vuh is a written documentation of Maya oral history, containing a series of narratives that preserve Mayan myth, deities, religious practices, as well as ethical views and beliefs about the world. Popol Vuh translates into ‘Council Book,’ and is believed to have been used by leaders to consult during times of crisis and deliberation. Although the book is myth, it describes how everything became to exist on earth, how human life began, what to expect after death, and the gods who created life. The Popol Vuh is also an explanation for natural events and social order. The book becomes a way to overcome the human vision and live to the gods design.
The reason to why their number system is truly their most remarkable achievement is because it would already be hard to make a number and then have to give it a name of what you or anyone would call it. Not only did they make their own number system, but they also understood. It can be very difficult to make your own language or number system and understand it. It is also very remarkable because at their time not a lot of cultures had the knowledge of the zero, they did.
Early creation myths are found in the Popol Vuh, which is K’iche for “the Book of the Community”; it entails the creation and genealogy of the rulers of the Mayan kingdom. It has been referred to as the single most important piece of
The motifs found in the creation myths are undoubtedly different from those found in any other type of myth. Contrary to popular belief, the purpose of the creation myths is much greater than a primitive attempt to explain the mysteries of creation. Behind each creation myth is a vast variety of symbolism along with a number of motives which are often shared between cultures, despite vast geographical differences. My intention here is not only to discuss the purpose of the creation myths, but also to compare and contrast common themes which can be found in three selected works. These being, an Eskimo creation myth, the Ongwe creation myth and the Navajo creation myth.
Massive temples hidden in the jungles of the Yucatan, mysterious stone stelas, and cryptic calendars eluding to advanced knowledge of the stars and mathematics are just some of the artifacts originating from the “Classic Maya” period (200 CE-900 CE). However, these popular items should not be the only defining characteristics of a society that dominated the Mesoamerican region for nearly a millennia. Dynastic lines, similar to those found in European houses, were important elements during this period in places like Palenque, Tikal, and Calakmul. Additionally, the Maya experienced violent and consistent warfare between localized powers and the backbone of their society, agriculture, suffered through several multi-year droughts. These factors
The Mayan way of life revolved their religion. They had a polytheistic religion praising many gods. Each god had a certain thing that they would rule over or take care of. Chac was the god of rain, Kinich Ahau was the sun god, and Yum Cimil was the god of the underworld. There were many gods and goddess for almost every reason one could think of, there is even a goddess of suicide. They would perform human sacrifices, bleeding rituals, and dances to praise and to
What Mayan writing seems to represent is a sacred language used only by the elite, initiated, and known only by them. The language of the Mayan was identical with that of the Yucatan Indians, given the fact that writing was identical. The Maya kept records on large stone monuments called stelae. They used the Steele to record important dates and to take note of great events in the lives of their rulers.(Price 91)They also used the stelae to recount the positions of the “heavenly bodies”_ particularly the Moon, Venus, and Jupiter.(Miller)
A coach needs to take on a lot of responsibilities in order to be effective and must also have personal strength, determination and commitment in order to support participants to be successful and accomplish results. They must always be able to provide motivation and encouragement to engage young people to participate in fun activities that they will enjoy whilst they are learning. They must always treat them as individuals and respect their needs and aspirations and value their cultures and beliefs. Displaying positive behaviour can influence the young people’s performance and confidence levels especially between the ages of 15-17 years (Reference).
There is an enormous amount of symbolism in the Navajo Creation Story. One important symbol is the number 4. The table below lists several aspects of the story that are related to the number 4.
The practice of bloodletting and human sacrifice ritual is undoubtedly important in the life of the Mayans. The bloodletting allows the ruler the ability to communicate with the Gods and their ancestors. While the human sacrifice is connected to the continuation of the cosmos and the resurrection of the agricultural seasons. A summary and a discussion of the book Popol Vuh is presented, on the topic of reassurance theme of human sacrifice is addressed in this paper. The examination of how bloodletting and human sacrifice is crucial to the Mayan culture, and how these rituals provided the stability of social and political aspect of the Mayan society.