MEDICINE AND HEALING

The Mayas believed that afflictions, death, and sickness was the result of wrongful living. Doctors preformed cures by bleeding the parts of the body that hurt. Aside from physicians, there were also traditional healers called shamans. Shamans were called upon when a person became sick. Shamans had the ability and power to understand the universe and communicate with the gods, sort of like priests. Rituals were preformed by the shamans to try and find out what the cause of the illness was. At often times, illness was thought to be caused by harming a god, goddess, or another person. Part of the cure was to correct the cause of the ilness. Curing rituals included burning inscence, praying, and taking medicines made from local plants. Boards were placed onto a baby's head to shape it to the desired flat-head. After a few days, the board would be removed. When a person died, their body was wrapped in shroud. Their mouth was filled with maize, and one jade bead.

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COOKING AND EATING

The main foods of the Mayas were maize, beans, and squash. Maise was dried and then ground on a grinding stone called a metate. The flour made from the maize was then mixed with water to make dough. The dough was formed into flat tortillas and baked on a pottery griddle. Sometimes, the dough would be wrapped in leaves and steamd in a clay pot to make tamales. Black bean was another favorite food of the Maya. It was cooked and served whole, or mashed and refried. The Mayas hunted deer, rabbit, birds, armadillos, peccary, and monkeys for meat. Many kinds of chili were used in cooking, so were certain roots. The Mayas also ate fruits such as avocado, guava, and papaya. Chocolat was known as "the drink of the gods." People in Mayan cities caught and ate fish, snails, and shell fish along the coast. One of the drinks the Mayas made was called balcha. Balcha was made from honey and the bark of a certain tree. Cacao was used as a drink, and it was sweetened with honey. The Mayas also had other favorite drinks made with fruits, maize, and honey.

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WEAPONS AND WARFARE

Many hieroglyphic writings tell stories of Mayan rulers who waged war against other Mayan cities, and took aristocrats captive. The captives were usually tortured and sacrificed to the Mayan gods. The captive's hands were tied infront of him and he would stand with his head bowed. Most of the recorded battles were between neighboring cities. There may have been a sacrifice when a new ruler was put onto the throne. Captives were sacrificed when a new temple was built, or they would be sacrificed during a celebration. The sacrificing of captives was belived to bring the king more power. Warfare was the will of the gods. The Mayas were not interested in killing. They preffered to take captives. Important comflicts between kingdoms were re-enacted in ritual ball games that were held in the victoring city. The losers were sacrificed after the game was over. One reason for war was profit. War would increase the power of one king, while taking that away from another. Mayan warriors were covered with tattoos and body paint. They would carry banners, too. They wore headresses and helmets, and cotton-padded armor. They also carried sheilds stretched with animal skins. Their lances were tipped with a sharp flint.

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SPORTS AND GAMES

Every single city had a court where the ball game called pok-a-tok was played. Pok-a-tok required skill and good endurance. The point of the game was to knock a two kilogram rubber ball through a small ring. For this game, you were only allowed to use uour wrists, elbows, and hips. This was a very serious game with religious meanings. Pok-a-tok was a symbolic of a Mayan myth abiyt the Hero Twins who fought to defeat the gods. The losers of the game were often sacrificed. A pok-a-tok player wore heavy padding around his hips and wrists. In Todos Santos, Gautemala, there is a horse race to celebrate All Saint's Day. The winner is anyone who finishes the race. The Mayan people worked hard, and so did the children. So games were fun to watch, and to do for them. Just like us.

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MAYAN RELIGION

The Mayas belived that all things were a part of a single existense. The Mayan underworld was known as Xibalba, (She-ball-bah). They believed that the earth was the back of a huge turtle that swam in the sea. The mountains were the ridges of the turtle's shell. The universe was said to be made up of the earth (where people lived), the sky (where the gods and goddesses lived), and Xibalba (where the underworld gods and goddesses lived). The great sacred tree was in the very center of the world. This treee supported the sky. Every day to the East was where the sun was born. And to the West was where the sun would die. North was straight up, and South was straight down. Mayas believed that the people of the present world were created from maize. They also believe in life after death, and they had many gods. They believed the gods needed human blood to function favorably. And this usually called for a sacrifice. This was believed to make the gods very happy. The sun god, Kinnich Ahaw, became a jaguar at night. Yax Balam, the jaguar, was their name for the sun of the underworld. The creator of the universe was Itzamna. This god was shown as a snake with two heads. One head faced the sun, and one faced the night. The rain god, Chac, was very important. Why? Because he nourished the fields and made life possible. Ek Chuah, "black scorpion",was the god of merchants. This god was usually shown carrying a bundle on his back.

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FAMILY LIFE

The men and the boys did the farmwork in the Mayan civilization. They would hunt and fish, too. They would make rock grinding stones and obsidian tools. The menw ere required to give a portion of their time and labor to the king, and the community as well. They helped to maintain and build the temples, public buildings, reservoirs, and even causeways. During times of war, the men served as soldiers to the king. The women and girls made clothes for the family, kept a supply of water and firewood in the house, prepared meals, and raised the younger children. The Mayas day began very early. Women would make breakfast, the men would eat and leave to go to work in the fields. At the very end of the day, the Mayas ate dinner (of course). But men and women did not eat together. There were no schools. Mayan children learned skills by helping and observing the adults. The women of royalty took part in the rituals and duties of the Mayan kings. Weaving methods have not changed. They use a back straploom to make cloth. One end is attached to a belt around thw weaver's waist, the other is tied to a stick fastened to a wall. The waver can tighten the threads by leaning back. They Mayas used dyed threads to do this. There threads are passed back and forth to create patterns. This is one of the things Mayan women may do during their day.

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TRADING

Hard volcanoic rock called basult was used to make tools. Some things made from basult were chisels, axes, and bark beaters. Manos and metates were made from stone. These grinding stones wre used in every Mayan household. The Mayas made ornaments from jade. Jade was considered sacred for its blue-green color. It symbolized the sky and the underworld, the homes of the gods. Working with jade required a special skill. Mirrors and masks were made of mosaics of jade, pyrite, shells, obsidian, and turquoise. Artwork and buildings were usually painted bright colors. The color red was the most common color used. Metals like copper, silver, and gold were used for ritual objects, as well as jewelry. Cotton was grown and then woven into cloth. But not many of these examples have survived. Paintings and sculptures show clothing with complicated embroidery and weaves. The Mayan women of today continue to weave. Natural fibers were used to make baskets, especially those which were made for carrying corn or doing hard work. Mats were considered a mark of importance, and these too were woven of fiber. Flint and obsidian were chipped to make sharp cutting and scraping tools. Obsidian had MANY uses.

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Questions

You've seen my website on the Mayas. Now let's see what you know...
Try and answer these questions!

• When would there be a sacrifice?
• _________ was the will of the gods.
• ___ was the most common color.
• ___ and ______ did not eat together.
• Aside from physicians, what kind of traditional healers were there?