Mayan Beliefs

As the people migrated to the Americas, it was long till kingdoms began to evolve. Around 600 BCE towns evolved to cities, and chieftains transformed into kings. One of the know culture’s and kingdom that control the Yucatan Peninsula was the Mayas. The Maya were a very religious culture, who in fact lived in the fear of the destructive nature of the gods. One thing that was important part of their religion was the death rituals. The Mayan people developed multiple traditions to commemorate the recently deceased and worship the long dead ancestors. They also believe that certain deaths were nobler than others, such as people who died by sacrifice, childbirth, suicide, and even in battle were thought that they would automatically enter the heavens. While on the other hand the others who died were guilty and evil and suffered …show more content…
A unique thing the Mayas did toward the dead was that they put maize in their mouth. Maize, was very important in their culture, and is represent to be a symbol of rebirth and also a food for the dead for the journey in the afterworld. Gifts were also included in their burial site, such as whistles carved from rocks with the shapes of gods or animals; its purpose was to help the deceased find their way to the spirit world. Cinnabar was used to cover the graves and the skeletal, its color was red a color that the Mayas associated a lot. The color red represented the death and their rebirth in the Mayan culture. They also had a similarity as the Egyptians they also wrapped the dead bodies in cotton mantles before they were buried. Graves always faced north or west, the purpose was to face the direction of the Maya heavens, and the other burial sites were located in caves, in which were believed to be an entrance to the