Mayans Religion

          The Mayans religion mainly believed in different Gods, animal spirits, and different types of pyramids. The Mayans religion involved several aspects of nature, astronomy and rituals. Most Gods represented a form in nature. For example, Sun God, Kinih Ahous, or Maize God, Yum Kaax. The Mayans were also known for their calendars ad astronomical buildings. These were used during their religious rituals. The Mayans built Pyramid like temples for religious reasons just like the Egyptians. The main difference in shape being that the Maynan pyramids have a flat top to build temples on top. The best known pyramid is El Castillo or Temple of Kukulkan in the archaeological site Chichen Itza, in the Mexican state of Yucatan. The Mayan religion was Polytheist, and they worshiped more than 165 Gods. The Gods were human-like. The Gods were born, grew up and died. Gods would do other human like activity that was deemed acceptable behavior. This included: forming alliances and intermarrying. This behavior led to the Gods having interrelated jobs withing their hierarchy. 

*Mayan God Itzam*

*The Life Like Gods*

The Mayan Traditional Clothing

                Mayan traditional clothing is very different from what we wear today. Mayans usually wore clothing that symbolized things. For Example, the clothing worn by the Mayan depended on the region they lived in and their social status. The wealthy wore colorful clothing made from animal skins. They also wore feather headdresses and fancy jewelry. However, the poor wore something completely different.The children were naked, and men wore loincloths, adding tunics, or skirts, and cloaks in weather. The dress of woman was more variable back then. Mayan women more skirts with or without a scarf tied to cover their breasts. During the cold, both women and men would use a blanket called "the manta" to wrap around their shoulders to keep themselves warm. A traditional clothing sort of type of thing was that men and women both wore their hair long. Once they were married, both mean and women often got tattoos.

Kids clothing

Woman clothing

Men Clothing

Mayan Basketball

 

 

 

         This version of basketball was the first. It was played with a rubber ball. Their goal was to get their ball into one of the goals, which were circles mounted up on the side of the playing court. Occasionally, decorative masks would be worn by the players. The losing team would then be sacrificed. Although, some evidence has shown that children have played this game for fun. Sometimes, they would not kill the losing team, but their was always some sort of blood sacrifice for religious reasons. Most of the time, it would be the ear or tongue. These games were played by the peasants for entertainment.  



Mayan Chocolate

 

        

The Mayans were the first civilization to find the cocoa bean. They created chocolate and actually added a spice to it. They said that cocoa was the "food of the gods." They carved cocoa into statues and had artwork where the person was drinking hot chocolate. They were proud of the chocolate. Many believe the cocoa was only for the elite, though. Cocoa would show up in many religious ceremonies like marriage. The elite people would sometimes plant these cocoa trees in their home garden so they would always have a supply to their delicious cocoa.



Mayan Quiz

Questions:
1.  The Mayan civilization began in what area?
2. Who is the supreme deity; the creator god?
3. What was the best period of time for the Mayans?
4. How many people were taken hostage during the fall?
5. What is a peccary?
6. What is a sarcophagus?
7. Who is the Cizin? (Hint** Mayan god)
8. What did the Mayan's ball game turn into?
9. What was the capital in 600 A.D?
10. Who made the Mayans flee most of their cities?

Maya Trivia

Maya Trivia Game

Mayan Culture

      The Mayans were a very civilized and sophisticated culture. The Mayans were one of the two societies to come up with the concept of zero. They were obsessed with the stars. They tracked the heavenly bodies. They made a hieroglyphic system that included phonetics. They had a very complex calendar as well.

Mayan Government

    The Mayans developed a hierarchical government ruled by kings and priests. They contained independent city-states. Their religion was the unifying power in the government. There were large, urban ceremonial centers. There were no actual armies, though, but warfare was a powerful importance to the government.