The Mayan Gods and Religion

The Mayans were very religious people; their religion regulated almost everything they did in their life's. Priests were the most important individuals in the tribes. The Mayan beleived their Gods had destroyed and recreated their earth several times, this was a main reason for always trying to please their gods with sacrifices and various other actions. Their sacrifices included various animals that had many spiritual ties to them. Each God represented something for them in one way or another. Their Supreme Being and creator of the universe was called "Hunan Ku" (Gallenkamp). The next important gods were the sun and moon gods. "Kinish Ahau" was the sun god. They beleived that the sun and moon gods were responsible for harvest and various other vital things important to their life's; statues show him wearing a headdress from ears of corn. Their were four rain gods called "Chacs", which represented rainfall, lightning, thunder, and storms. "Ixtab" was the goddess of sacrificial suicide (Henderson). Mayans beleived suicide lead to heaven. "Yum Cicil" was the god of death (Gallenkamp). He was also called "Ah Puch", the god of the underworld. Every job or activity in the Mayan life had a god or goddess.

Aesthetics in the Mayan Culture

Aesthetics was a very important part of the Mayan Culture. Although beauty through the Mayans eyes was very different from today's definition of the word. To make their heads longer, Mayan babies were squeezed between two pieces of wood. Another practice performed by the Mayans was to break their nose and reshape it, to allow it to look more hooked shape (Suart 34). Most Mayans were tanned and had black hair and eyes. Both men and women had long hair which was braided into two or four braids. They wore very little clothing. The clothing they did wear though was very decorative, with the fanciest piece of clothing being headdresses worn by nobles. Their bodies were pained differently according to tradition and occasion. Priests wore blue, warriors wore red and black, and children wore white (Morley 223).

Morley, Sylvanus G. The Ancient Maya. Stanford University, CA:
Stanford University Press, 1946.

Stuart, George The Mysterious Maya. Washington, D.C:
The National Geographic Society, 1977.