Mayan Religion, Sacrifice, and Warfare

Mayan Religion, Sacrifice, And Warfare It is estimated that the earliest Mayan communities lived along the Pacific Coastal area of what is now Guatemala as far back as 1800 BCE. By 1000 BCE, Mayans were living in Guatemala's southern lowlands. The Preclassic Mayan period is estimated to have lasted from 1800 BCE to approximately 250 CE. The pinnacle of the Mayan culture was reached during the Classic Period, which took place between 250 CE and 900 CE. In Mayan culture, religion, war, and sacrifice were closely related and often overlapped.

The Mayan people worshipped nature gods, "especially those associated with maize, rain, and the sun" (Neffa). The Mayan peoples also had an established priestly class and recognized the importance of astronomy and astrology, thereby constructing complex and accurate calendars. The Mayan gods were considered to have both a benevolent and malevolent side. The Mayan leaders of the priestly class were thought to be intermediaries between the gods and the people and were seen as semi-divine beings (Neffa). The Mayans believed in an afterlife that was categorized into two distinct realms.

The majority of Mayans were destined to endure a dangerous voyage through an underworld that was populated by sinister gods, whereas sacrificial victims and those that died in childbirth were destined to go to heaven (Neffa). Mayan texts include religious rituals, astronomy, and divination. Unfortunately, the Spanish who attempted to convert the Mayans to Christianity destroyed the majority of these texts. Only three Mayan texts survived destruction by the Spanish and are presently housed in Dresden, Madrid, and Paris (Neffa). Human sacrifice was a central practice of the Mayan religion.

Human sacrifice was believed to increase fertility, demonstrate piety, and propitiate the gods (Neffa). Mayan gods were believed to feed off blood and ritual sacrifice and bloodletting were commonplace. The Mayans held the belief that if they did not perform ritual blood sacrifices, their world would fall into chaos and disarray. The Mayans never sacrificed members of their own community, rather they sacrificed people they had captured during battles and war.

Important ceremonies required that the sacrifice be held down at top of a pyramid or raised altar "while a priest made an incision below the rib cage and ripped out the heart with his hands. The heart was then burned in order to nourish the gods" ("Mayan Religion"). Though only captives were sacrificed to the gods, bloodletting was also common practice among the Mayan aristocracy. Blood was drawn from various body parts, splattered onto paper, and burnt as an offering to the gods ("Mayan Religion").

The constant threat of war during the Classic Period, and the wars that erupted due to the tensions between the rival communities, eventually led to the downfall of the civilization. Subsequently, the cities in the southern lowlands fell to each other; each city's demise was recorded in the victorious city on stelae (Salinas). Violent warfare was meant to establish political control and secure resources. Theories contend that the capture of sacrificial victims motivating factor for warfare among the Mayan people (Chacon). By 900 CE, the most important.