Saturday 13 January 2018

The Mayan people: How the beliefs of the modern Maya affect the perception of the world

The population of the Maya people includes 4 to 6 million natives, making them the largest indigenous group in all of Latin America. The Mayans of today occupy the same zones in which their ancestors lived before, between these territories they are distinguished: Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. The religiosity in Latin America and, above all, in the territories inhabited by the Mayans reaches a high level and seems to be a very significant factor in the image of everything that surrounds them. Beliefs, which have survived since the times of the ancient Maya are present in today’s life and spirit at every step. But, on the other hand, they consider their customs and religion as something that embarrasses them.

Therefore, it may surprise the impact of religion on the life they lead. At the beginning, it is worth explaining their religion that consists of a mixture of the Catholic symbols with those of the pre-Columbian religion of their ancestors. To illustrate it better, the Catholic cross appears very often in different situations but has nothing to do with the symbolic of Jesus as in the Christian culture. In addition, the prayer sites that are usually made up of small huts, attribute to certain saints, p. ex. to San Miguel. This presents another element of the Catholic religion.


We can say that the Mayans perceive the world through their cyclical calendar. Thanks to it, we are able to understand them better. The Mayan calendar presents a cycle repeating itself every 52 years. Then everything in the life of the Mayans its a cycle, so what you need to know about them is that, every day means something new. Each day corresponds to a different god and they usually ask him to bring good luck by lighting the right candles for that day. The cyclical calender affects also another activity which they do every single day. In this way, they do not know how to live in the past, yesterday it does not matter, they do not remember it, they live daily, the only thing they appreciate is now and here. The indigenous of Mexico continue to believe in various gods, each of them is related to different aspects of life, and have different attributes, for example, the god of wind, rain or corn is a major part of agruculture Maya. To describe all their gods I would need a lot of space here, but I am sure if you are interested in the topic, you will check it by your own.


I’m going to continue this topic in my another post, so see you soon! :D

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