Mayans Beliefs

INTRODUCTION

The Mayans are known for their spectacular art, impressive architecture, and sophisticated mathematical and astronomical systems which were all way ahead of their time. The calendar in which predicted when the world would end, is the reason why most people know of them. They thrived for 2,000 years (1000 BC-AD 1542) 4,000 years ago.

Location

The ancient Mayans lived in what is now known as southern Mexico and northern Central America including Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Yucatán Peninsula and El Salvador.

Religion

The Mayans believed that a life was a never ending cycle, and nothing truly was ever born, and nothing truly died. That belief inspired the ideas of the deities or gods. Xibalba was the dark realm beneath the earth,

Some produce they ate is manioc, sapodilla fruit, jicama, sweet potatoes, cacao tree fruit, tomatoes, avocados, macal and chili peppers as well as corn, beans, squash, and they ate green vegetables like chaya. The Mayans main food was maize or corn, as we call it now. They also ate avocados and tomatoes. Corn cakes were also eaten, but they ate these pancakes, or what we now call tortillas, with every meal. Tamales with meat or Iguana eggs were also eaten, most often as a lunch item. Meat was something that the higher classes ate, but during a festival, one had a better chance of eating meat. The Mayan are also famous for drinking a bitter drink that is drunk worldwide, and that is chocolate milk. Now, chocolate milk is sweet rather than bitter, and the Mayan nobility were the only ones to drink this beverage, usually mixed with vanilla. Another drink, was a porridge like drink made out of corn called

Fortunately, through chemical analysis, scientists were able to find out the materials the Mayans used for their clothing. They used bark cloth, hemp fiber, and cloth for the clothing. The people would dye their clothing from plant or animal resources. The colors frequently used was green, blue, violet, black, and red. The fashion of the Mayans was for both men and women, mostly men, to wear big headdresses made with feathers and jewels. The men’s clothing consisted of a breech-clouts, loincloths, and patis. Breech-clouts are long and wide pieces of fabric wrapped the waist repeatedly before being wrapped between the legs. The upper classes usually decorated them with feathers, while the lower class stuck to plain loincloths. Not as commonly worn, the pati is a big square shaped piece of fabric that was tied around the shoulders. Depending on the class, the way it was decorated is different. Patis were worn during the day as well as during the night while one slept. The women would usually wear a sleeveless poncho-like tunic called a huipil, a skirt or a dress. Skirts were either tied with belt or knotted in place with the huipil worn over the skirt. Women of nobility had clothing that was more decorated than skirts of the lower classes; usually they would have decorative fringes and knots. The