Mayan Rituals

 

The Maya was actually not a single cultural group at all but a tremendously diverse group of city-states
with different languages and ceremonial complexes, which span a long time period (300–1400 CE). Ceremonies held at these urban settings were particular  to each city, in part through their leaders, and the ancestors of their leaders, who played principal roles in the rituals.

Maya rulers were often required to let their own blood, or perform autosacrifice, to re-establish ordered relationships with the gods. The second lintel portrays a vision that resulted as the consequence of Lady Xoc’s autosacrifice. Out of the burnt offering of paper soaked with her own blood rises a vision serpent. From this creature’s mouth comes a deity who forcefully imparts his message to the ruler. There were several reasons why rulers were required to let their own blood. First, it was understood to be the mortar of the cosmos. The body and blood of rulers symbolized the ordered workings of the city – which was a reflection of the cosmos. Second, the blood of rulers was seen as re-establishing proper relationships with sky and underworld beings. These rituals of self-sacrifice substantiated a Maya ruler’s authority as an intermediary between human beings and deities of water, land, etc. The ruler was also seen as an intermediary between the urban population and ancestors, who were important for maintaining a sense of community. Third, the ruler would let blood as a method for attaining a vision. Attaining knowledge of the unseen world of the deities and ancestors was a constant source of activity. Divination
was intensely practised throughout Mesoamerica in pre-Columbian times and is still practiced among Maya people.


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