Many Mesoamerican civilizations were infamous for grotesque and gruesome ceremonies at the heart of their religion. In an archeological site in the Valley of Mexico, remains of these civilizations still tell the story of the rich history of many ancient people. This site was the city of Teotihuacan, which was once occupied by the Mayans (Coggins 16). Structures built by that civilization lay in ruins now, but give people today a glimpse at how religion was practiced in the ancient world.

The Mayan religion is one that was defined by important rituals, often dictated by the calendar. Their religion was set apart because of the archaeological evidence that shows the people having a greater time-depth than any other ancient civilization; as a consequence, their culture developed into a distinct one over time (“Maya Religion”). The Mayans were a pantheistic people, meaning that they identify their god with the world. In other words, the idea of god encompasses all of reality. Eventually, parts of their traditions and beliefs spread to other Mesoamerican civilizations.

Quiche Mayans compiled the creation stories of their culture in “The Book of the People,” or the Popol Vuh. This compilation includes a set of continuous narratives that “contains the cosmogonical concepts and ancient traditions of this aboriginal people, the history of their origin and the chronology of their kings down to the year 1550” (Roscoe 517). It starts off with Mayan mythology and branches off into historical events. The original text has been translated into many languages from the Quiche language. The Popol Vuh contains the story of human existence and how the first people came to be according to Mayan belief.

The first creation narrative is about the Quiche Mayan god Huracan, or “Heart of the Sky.” Huracan wanted to be called upon and remembered, so he decided that effigies should be created and brought to life so that he can be worshipped. The original word for the creation was “K’ix,” which was translated as “to complete, finish, conclude, or come to a solution” (Christenson 69). This action word is used to describe the processes of drawing blood by oneself. Huracan sacrificed himself so that he would be able to give life to the effigies. As a result, people were created from the mud and were animated by sacred blood. Thus, blood was demanded by the gods as an exchange for new creation.

Human blood was seen as a very crucial part of the Mayan religion. It played a key role in their cultural values, and more importantly, in their sacrificial rituals (Coggins 20). The people practiced offerings to the gods through rituals known as bloodletting, where an individual would pierce a part of his or her body to draw blood and let it flow freely. Bloodletting was known to serve cultural functions too, but was essentially a religious ritual. “The male bloodletting rite emulated the female procreative and nurturing role…The bloodletting act [was performed] to nourish the gods” (Brady et al. 25). In order to maintain contact with the gods, the Mayan people had to provide a source of sustenance. Since blood nourished the gods, bloodletting was regularly done by the people. The gods would then reciprocate by nourishing the people and granting their requests.

Although the whole community benefitted from bloodletting, the ruling figures would be the ones who usually take part in blood offerings to the gods. According to Munson et al.:

Rulers were viewed as descendants of gods. It was considered their duty to bleed and mutilate themselves on ritual occasions to cement their divine lineage and sustain the universe. Before going to war, for example, a king would puncture his penis with a stingray spine or a lancet made of jade or obsidian, while his queen would run a thorn-encrusted rope through her tongue (360).

As with most religions, the divine beings and the earthly beings are separated. In order for the people to communicate with the gods, a connection has to be established between the natural world to the supernatural. This connection is made possible by the act of bloodletting. A portal is opened between the two worlds, allowing for the interaction of gods and humans. Once this portal is opened, the ruler who has performed the act is given royal power by the gods (Reilly 15). These acts of bloodletting were often performed to receive visions from the gods. Blood loss from the rituals induced hallucinations and put the ruler in a trance-like state, enabling them to freely communicate and be on the same level as the gods.

Finding favor with the gods, rulers were able to stay in power and continue their royal lineage. “Because descent was a determining factor in the competition for political power in Maya society, blood— especially royal blood— assumed a profound symbolic significance” (Klein 42). Accordingly, the blood of the rulers was considered more divine than just any blood, which gave bloodletting rituals performed by royals more significance. This can be seen through the artwork on relics that have survived today. Most Mayan artwork on objects such as pottery and stone slabs were “mainly commissioned by kings and other high elite to fulfill their political and social purposes…by producing works that ‘affirmed’ [their right to rule over the people]” (Klein 43).

The Mayan civilization was very devoted to religion. Even though everyone in the whole community did their part to find favor with the gods, the sacrificial rituals benefitted the rulers the most. Their rulers were seen as living descendants of the gods that they venerated and claimed their divine right to rule. However, they received full power only after they have offered blood sacrifices, which allowed a connection to be established between the world of humans and the world of the gods. “Classic Maya kings gained their office not through personal charisma alone but through their blood relationship to the ancestors whom they communicated in order to rule (Reilly, 16). With this, the Mayan leader became a manifestation of the gods on Earth and maintained his ruling over the people.

Works Cited

Brady, James E., and Andrea Stone. “Naj Tunich: Entrance to the Maya Underworld.” Archaeology, vol. 39, no. 6, 1986, pp. 18–25. www.jstor.org/stable/41731831

Christenson, Allen J. Popol Vuh: The Sacred Book of the Quiché Maya People. Norman: U of Oklahoma, 2007. Print.

Coggins, Clemency Chase. “Creation Religion and the Numbers at Teotihuacan and Izapa.” RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics, no. 29/30, 1996, pp. 16–38. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20166942

Hill, Roscoe R. “Popol Vuh: The Sacred Book of the Ancient Quiché Maya by Adrian Recinos, Delia Goetz and Sylvanus G. Morley.” The Americas, vol. 7, no. 4, 1951, pp. 517–518. www.jstor.org/stable/978368

Klein, Cecelia F. “Mayamania: ‘The Blood of Kings’ in Retrospect.” Art Journal, vol. 47, no. 1, 1988, pp. 42–46. www.jstor.org/stable/776905

“Maya Religion.” New Catholic Encyclopedia. 2nd ed. Vol. 9. Detroit: Gale, 2003. 381. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 28 Sept. 2016.

Munson, Jessica et al. “Classic Maya Bloodletting and the Cultural Evolution of Religious Rituals: Quantifying Patterns of Variation in Hieroglyphic Texts.” Ed. Eduardo Moreno. PLoS ONE 9.9 (2014): e107982. PMC. Web. 4 Nov. 2016.

Reilly, F. Kent. “The Shaman in Transformation Pose: A Study of the Theme of Rulership in Olmec Art.” Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University, vol. 48, no. 2, 1989, pp. 5–21. www.jstor.org/stable/3774730