Mayans

__Jennifer Salem __ __Mr. Vendramin __**__Mayan Civilization __** __March, 22, 2011. __

**Sacraments:**

Like many ancient civilizations, the Maya also sacrificed humans and other living things. But why would they do something so cruel? I took a look websites and books from the library and researched their sacraments for my group to find out why. The way the Mayans worshipped their Gods and Goddesses was to sacrifice humans and other living things. In particular, the God Mayans wanted to please was their rain god, Chac. One of the interesting ways they sacrificed humans was to play a game. The rules of the game were to hit a hard ball made of rubber into a hole, and the losers were chosen to be sacrificed to the Gods. All the sacrifices and games were held in a place the Mayans called “Tikal, the city of the dead.” If they chose not to have a game, they would choose whether to have the human (or animal) in a room, tied to a pole and let them die, or shove them into a bag beat with weapons then thrown off a cliff into water. Because they believed the Gods wanted blood, the sacrifice was held alive by the arms and legs on top of a sacrificing rock. Then, he (or she) gets stabbed and sliced below in nipple and through the rib cage. The heart is ripped out alive, so it could beat for the Gods, and the dead body is thrown down the cliff.

Most times, Mayans found that dying for their God was an honour, and some would volunteer! Another theory is that some babies were born, raised and held to be “pure” and saved for a sacrifice when needed.

**__Government: __** Since the Mayas were not a violent civilization, they did not have many armies to protect themselves with. With that being said, they usually took their opponent’s heart to offer it for their sun god. Government was an important part of the Maya civilization. Priests usually ran the governments, ruled cities, led ceremonies and performed many other jobs. They were also rulers of the city. Every day they would do services after climbing the hundreds steps of the temple. They say the Maya priests might have caused the collapse of the Maya, when their people got tired of having to follow the commands from the priests, and abandoned the cities. Halch Uinic was the leader of the city-state. He was so important that a cloth was held up to his face so people wouldn't be able to speak to him directly. Wanna live with Mayans?! Call 1-800-This-Is-Not-A-Real-Number.com

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__ Shaya Moffatt __ __ Mr.Vendramin __ __ March, 28, 2011 __ ** Clothing: ** Where The Mayans lived it was very hot, so they did not want to be wearing to many layers of clothing, so they could be cool. They used bird feathers and cotton to make pieces of their clothing. Mayan people believe people who had flat foreheads and crossed eyes were beautiful. The Mayans clothing was made out of cotton. Then women wore long dresses. The men wore a piece of cloth that was attached to a thick piece of leather or a piece of cloth. This was also known as a breech cloth. When it was getting cold out, both men and women would wear a cloak. The Mayans wore sandals and moccasins made out of deer skin for footwear. The Mayans would hunt macaws And Parrots for feathers. They used the birds feathers to make head dressed. They would also file down there teeth to made them sharp. The jewelery they would wear was made out of jade, metal, stones. Tattoos were a big thing with the Mayans. Most Mayans had short dark hair that was tied back.

Since The Mayans thought flat foreheads and crossed eyed people were beautiful they used boards and beads to help them. When children were little their parents would attach a wooden board to their foreheads. They did this when they were babies because there skin and skulls were still soft and developing and the children’s foreheads would become flat. To get crossed eyes they would hang beads in front on the children’s nose so that they would stare at the beads and become crossed eyed. ** War: **

<span style="height: 198px; left: 0px; margin-left: 333px; margin-top: 259px; position: absolute; width: 279px; z-index: -1;"> Some kings of the Maya people would order their people to go into war so the kings could become powerful leaders. The Mayan people used Steles (head stones) to represent their warriors. The weapons the Maya people used, spears made of wood with rock tips, shields decorated with feathers of red, yellow, green and blue. They also used knifes, bow and arrows and a club. The reason Mayans mostly fought was for their Gods. The Sun Jaguar was the main Mayan God. Before battles warriors would ask for his guidance.

Amanda Townend

**Food:** The Mayan people were farmers. They grew corn, beans and squash. corn and/or maize was the principal food in Maya, women prepared it in a variety of ways; they would grind the corn into flour and then make a paste and dry out the kernels and then remove them from the cob. After drying out maize they would soak it in water and lime. They made flat corn cakes, known as tortillas or a taco shell today, as a type of bread. They would wrap the beans in the flat corn cakes and make something like the first burrito. They made alcoholic drinks from corn called blache, they sweetened it with honey and spiced it with bark. 1 For fruit and vegetables they gathered from the country side and grew their own avocado pears, avocado, guava, papaya, tomatoes, chilli peppers and sweet potatoes, yucca, manioc and grew spices such as vanilla beans, cocoa beans. They raised turkeys, dogs, and ducks and honey bees for honey on their farms as well. 2 They hunted deer, rabbits, boar, armadillos, and sometimes even monkeys, and pig like animals called peccaries. They fished and collected shellfish and also ate turtles, iguanas and insects.3

**Religion:** The Mayan people were polytheists, they worshipped Gods and Goddesses. They worshipped a lot of nature Gods and Goddesses. The three most important gods were the sun god, maize god and the tattooing god. Another one of the more important Gods was Itzamná, he was the creator, god of fire and god of hearth. Another important god was Kukulcán, who was said to be a feathered serpent. He appeared on a lot of temples that they built. Also important was Chac, a hooked-nose god of rain and lightning. 1 A third God that appeared quite often in their art was Bolon Tzacab, he is drawn with a long branching nose and is often held like a sceptre in rulers' hands. He is believed to be a god of Royal Descent. 2 The Mayan view of the afterlife consisted primarily of a dangerous voyage of the soul through the underworld, which was populated by sinister gods and represented by the jaguar, symbol of night. The majority of Maya, including the rulers, went to this underworld. Heaven was reserved for those who had been sacrificed or died in childbirth. 3 The Mayans believed that it was important to keep the gods happy. To please them the Mayans burned incense in temples. They also practised human sacrifice. Captives taken in war were often sacrificed. (If they could the Mayans would not kill their enemies. Instead they would capture them for sacrifice). 3