Mini Paper

The indigenous group that I decided to focus on are the Mayans, specifically I wanted to
center my paper on some of their ritual acts. Religion was a huge aspect of Mayan life, along the
lines of other tribes/nations, religion was the focal point of countless ritual acts for the Mayans.
For example, the Mayans practiced blood sacrifices and bloodletting. These blood sacrifices
would be practiced at major Mayan events, such as political events, religious events, and major
life milestones. The Mayans believed that majority of holy blood came from the ear, and the
tongue. They believed that the blood from the ear would allow them to hear their gods, and the
blood from the tongue would allow them to speak what they had heard. These rituals were
performed for the reason of satisfying these gods that they held so highly, these sacrifices
brought order for them. Along with the blood sacrifices, the Mayans also practiced human
sacrifices. These human sacrifices were done for the same reason as the blood sacrifices, to
appeal to their gods, and to bring organization to their world. The human sacrifice would have
his/her legs and arms tied while a priest would cut the chest open to retrieve the heart, the heart
was used as an offering to the gods. These rituals performed can be classified as a technological
ritual, technological rituals can be defined as a ritual seeking to produce a change in nature so
that humans benefit in some way. By that definition, the blood and human sacrifices that the
Mayans perform are indeed technological rituals, these rituals are meant to bring order to the
Mayans world which does benefit the Mayans in some way. These bloodletting sacrifices were
almost similar to parades, the rituals would normally take place in temple rooms on top of
pyramids. People would gather at the bottom of the pyramid to witness their rulers communicate
to their sacred gods through these rituals, the rulers would use these rituals as an opportunity to
display their ability to communicate with the gods. This gave the Mayan people reinsurance that
their people, and they would be fine.These bloodletting ceremonies, and other sacrifices were

extremely vital to the way of life for the Mayan people, these ceremonies would be depicted in
carvings, statues, and paintings. The sacrifices in these bloodletting rituals wouldnt necessarily
always be killed, in some cases human sacrifices would be made, but in the ritual of bloodletting
the idea would be to keep the sacrifice alive. Bloodletting was not the only possible way for the
Mayans to communicate with their gods, smoking, abstaining from eating, etc. would be used to
produce a trance like state in order to speak with the gods and ancestors. Its very similar to the
shamans that we discussed in class, as they took psychedelic drugs to produce a trance like state
in order to communicate with the dead or whomever they please. A part of the ritual would
include the blood being collected, and it being placed into cloth or bark. Once placed into the
cloth or bark it would then be burned, this was done in a way to communicate with the gods;
specifically the sky gods. The material used to perform these bloodletting rituals would rely on
the importance of the ritual, for example, a ritual being performed for a king taking a throne
would require elite matter for the cutting. Such materials used for these important events would
be obsidian, eccentrics, and spoons. Bloodletting was not only exclusive to the Mayan culture,
but many cultures throughout Mesoamerica. Among Aztec culture bloodletting was a major part
of their culture, similarly to the Mayans. Another form of sacrifice that the Mayans used to
communicate to their gods would be heart extraction, again this practice was common
throughout Mesoamerica. Heart extractions are believed to be an even larger sacrifice to the
gods, this was done in cases of major crisis. Alike bloodletting, these rituals would be
documented on carvings, paintings, and monuments. The difference between bloodletting, and
heart extraction was in the case of bloodletting male or female adults would be the ones
sacrificing their blood, with heart removal children were commonly used. Both bloodletting, and
human extraction were the most commonly used methods of sacrifice. What these rituals all of

have in common is the importance of the gods in each sacrifice, with these rituals it gave the
Mayans a sense of safety. The gods of the Mayan people were completely vital to everyday life,
such as having sky gods, water gods, earth gods, etc. One example of a very important god in
Mayan civilization is the sun god known as Yumil Kaxob. Kaxob was important to Mayan
agriculture including the growth of maize and other abundantly growth grains. Not only did the
Mayan people count on Kaxob to give them a productive season for agriculture, they also
prayed to Kaxob to limit droughts during growing season. These rituals were vital to the
continuing of good fortune for the Mayan people, without these rituals the Mayans would have
felt more vulnerable to a horrid environment
Citations:
Ancient Maya Bloodletting Rituals. Archaeology.about. 3 March 2016.
Mayan Rituals. Sites.google. 3 March 2016
Mayan Gods. Lost-civilizations. 3 March 2016