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Maya Mythology
Maya mythology or Mayan mythology is part of Mesoamerican mythology and comprises all of the Maya tales in which personified forces of nature, deities, and the heroes interacting with these play the main roles. The legends of the era have to be reconstructed from iconography. Other parts of Mayan oral tradition (such as animal tales, folk tales, and many moralising stories) are not considered here. Important Early-Colonial and recent narrative themes In Maya narrative, the origin of many natural and cultural phenomena is set out, often with the moral aim of defining the ritual relationship between humankind and its environment. In such a way, one finds explanations about the origin of the heavenly bodies (Sun and Moon, but also Venus, the Pleiades, the Milky Way); the mountain landscape; clouds, rain, thunder and lightning; wild and tame animals; the colors of the maize; diseases and their curative herbs; agricultural instruments; the steam bath, etc. The following more encomp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
San Bartolo (Maya Site)
San Bartolo is a small pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site located in the Department of Petén in northern Guatemala, northeast of Tikal and roughly fifty miles from the nearest settlement. San Bartolo's fame derives from its splendid Late-Preclassic mural paintings still heavily influenced by Olmec tradition and from examples of early and as yet undecipherable Maya script. Site The Maya site includes an 85-foot pyramid named "Las Ventanas" (The Windows); the Temple of "Las Pinturas" (The Paintings); an early royal tomb in the "Tigrillo Complex" (Ocelot Complex); and (in the "Jabalí" ild Boargroup some 500 mt. to the east from the central Plaza) a triadic complex similar to the H group in Uaxactún and Tikal's North Acropolis. The pyramid was constructed from ca 300 BC (base rooms) and was completed ca 50 AD. San Bartolo is often studied alongside the closely related site of Xultún. Murals Discovery and reconstruction In 2001, in the base of a pyramid, a team led ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
University Of Oklahoma Press
The University of Oklahoma Press (OU Press) is the publishing arm of the University of Oklahoma. Founded in 1929 by the fifth president of the University of Oklahoma, William Bennett Bizzell, it was the first university press to be established in the American Southwest. The OU Press is one of the leading presses in the region, and is primarily known for its titles on the American West and Native Americans. OU Press also publishes books on topics ranging from animals to ancient languages.Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopaedia of Oklahoma History and Culture Tornadoes and severe weather Severe weather is any dangerous meteorological phenomenon with the potential to cause damage, serious social disruption, or loss of human life. These vary depending on the latitude, altitude, topography, and atmospheric conditions. High ... are another focus. The press releases around 80 books every year. A profile of the University of Oklahoma Press from 2018 quotes OU Preside ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Maya Gods And Supernatural Beings
This is a list of deities playing a role in the Classic (200–1000 CE), Post-Classic (1000–1539 CE) and Contact Period (1511–1697) of Maya religion. The names are mainly taken from the books of Chilam Balam, Lacandon ethnography, the Madrid Codex, the work of Diego de Landa, and the Popol Vuh. Depending on the source, most names are either Yucatec or Kʼicheʼ. The Classic Period names (belonging to the Classic Maya language) are only rarely known with certainty. Maya mythological beings List Source keys *CHB – Books of Chilam Balam *LAC – Lacandon ethnography *L – de Landa *M — Madrid Codex *PV – the Popol Vuh. A Acan The god of wine and intoxication, identified with the drink Balché. Acat The god of tattoos and tattooing. Alom The god of the sky and wood, a creator deity. Ah-Muzen-Cab The god of bees and honey. Awilix The goddess of the Moon and the night. B Bacab The old god of the interior of the earth and of thunder, sky-carri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toniná
Tonina (or Toniná in Spanish orthography) is a pre-Columbian archaeological site and ruined city of the Maya civilization located in what is now the Mexican state of Chiapas, some 13 km (8.1 mi) east of the town of Ocosingo. The site is medium to large, with groups of temple-pyramids set on terraces rising some above a plaza, a large court for playing the Mesoamerican ballgame, and over 100 carved monuments, most dating from the 6th century through the 9th centuries AD, during the Classic period. Toniná is distinguished by its well preserved stucco sculptures and particularly by its in-the-round carved monuments, produced to an extent not seen in Mesoamerica since the end of the much earlier Olmec civilization. Toniná possesses one of the largest pyramids in Mexico; at in height, it is taller than the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan. Toniná was an aggressive state in the Late Classic, using warfare to develop a powerful kingdom. For much of its history, T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naranjo
Naranjo (Wak Kab'nal in Mayan) is a Pre-Columbian Maya city in the Petén Basin region of Guatemala. It was occupied from about 500 BC to 950 AD, with its height in the Late Classic Period. The site is part of Yaxha-Nakum-Naranjo National Park. The city lies along the Mopan and Holmul rivers, and is about 50 km east of the site of Tikal. Naranjo has been the victim of severe looting. The site is known for its polychrome ceramic style. "Naranjo" in Spanish means "orange tree", which is a Spanish translation of the Mayan name Wak Kab'nal. The emblem glyph of the Naranjo is transliterated as Sa'aal “the place where (maize) gruel abounds.” The Naranjo dynastic rulers are said to be the "Holy Lords of Sa'aal." Layout of site The area of Naranjo covers at least 8 km2 with the urban center covering about 2.25 km2. There are currently 389 recorded buildings in the central area and over 900 around the center. The epicenter consists of six triadic complexes, two b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maya Jaguar Gods
The pre-Columbian Maya religion knew various jaguar gods, in addition to jaguar demi-gods, (ancestral) protectors, and transformers. The main jaguar deities are discussed below. Their associated narratives (part of Maya mythology) are still largely to be reconstructed. Lacandon and Tzotzil-Tzeltal oral tradition are particularly rich in jaguar lore. The Maya people saw the jaguar's attributes as a strong and powerful creature, as well as its easily recognizable coat, and incorporated it into their mythology. Many gods were portrayed as jaguars, or at least had characteristics not unlike jaguars, due to their powerful nature. The Jaguar God of Terrestrial Fire and War ('Night Sun') The Jaguar God of Terrestrial Fire is recognizable by a ' cruller' around the eyes (making a loop over the nose), jaguar ears, and fangs. He personifies the number seven, which is associated with the day ''Akʼbʼal'' ('Night'). Usually called 'Jaguar God of the Underworld', he has been assumed t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Izapa
Izapa is a very large pre-Columbian archaeological site located in the Mexican state of Chiapas; it is best known for its occupation during the Late Formative period. The site is situated on the Izapa River, a tributary of the Suchiate River, near the base of the volcano Tacaná, the sixth tallest mountain in Mexico. History The settlement at Izapa extended over 1.4 miles, making it the largest site in Chiapas. The site reached its apogee between 850 BCE and 100 BCE; several archaeologists have theorized that Izapa may have been settled as early as 1500 BCE, making it as old as the Olmec sites of San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán and La Venta. Izapa remained occupied through the Early Postclassic period, until approximately 1200 CE. Concept of Izapan style Due to the abundance of carved Maya stelae and monuments at Izapa, the term "Izapan style" is used to describe similarly executed works throughout the Pacific foothills and highlands beyond, including some found at Takalik Ab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vucub Caquix
Vucub-Caquix (, , possibly meaning 'seven-Macaw') is the name of a bird demon defeated by the Hero Twins of an ancient Maya myth preserved in an 18th-century K'iche' document, entitled ʼPopol Vuhʼ. The episode of the demon's defeat was already known in the Late Preclassic Period, before the year 200 AD as represented in Stela 2 and Stela 25 of Izapa in Mexico which is its earliest representation and the precedent of the story that was narrated in the Popol Vuh many centuries later. In his appearances, Vucub-Caquix is described as a demon bird and a false sun god with shining eyes that daily sat on a big tree to eat its fruits, he was also the father of Zipacna, an underworld demon deity, and Cabrakan, the Earthquake God. The Kʼicheʼ Tale Vucub-Caquix is described as a powerful bird pretending to be the sun and moon of the twilight world in between the former creation and the present one. According to modern Kʼicheʼ, his name refers to the seven stars of the Big Dipper aste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maya Hero Twins
The Maya Hero Twins are the central figures of a narrative included within the colonial Kʼicheʼ document called Popol Vuh, and constituting the oldest Maya myth to have been preserved in its entirety. Called Hunahpu and Xbalanque in the Kʼicheʼ language, the Twins have also been identified in the art of the Classic Mayas (200–900 AD). The twins are often portrayed as complementary forces. The Twin motif recurs in many Native American mythologies; the Maya Twins, in particular, could be considered as mythical ancestors to the Maya ruling lineages. In word and image After being invited to Xibalba by One-Death and Seven-Death, the Lords of the Underworld, to a game of ''Pok Ta Pok'', a Maya Ballgame, Hun Hunahpu (lit. One-Hunahpu) and Vucub Hunahpu (lit. Seven-Hunahpu) were defeated and executed as a result. Hun-Hunahpu's head was put in a tree. When Blood Moon, the daughter of Blood Gatherer, one of the Lords of the Underworld, passes by the tree, his head speaks t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bartolomé De Las Casas
Bartolomé de las Casas, Dominican Order, OP ( ; ); 11 November 1484 – 18 July 1566) was a Spanish clergyman, writer, and activist best known for his work as an historian and social reformer. He arrived in Hispaniola as a layman, then became a Dominican Order, Dominican friar. He was appointed as the first resident Roman Catholic Diocese of San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Bishop of Chiapas, and the first officially appointed "Protector of the Indians". His extensive writings, the most famous being ''A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies'' and ''Historia de Las Indias'', chronicle the first decades of colonization of the Spanish West Indies, Caribbean islands. He described and railed against the atrocities committed by the conquistadores against the Indigenous peoples. Arriving as one of the first Spanish settlers in the Americas, Las Casas initially participated in the colonial economy built on forced Indigenous labor, but eventually felt compelled to oppose the abuse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Howler Monkey Gods
Among the Classic Mayas, the howler monkey god was a major deity of the arts—including music—and a patron of the artisans, especially of the scribes and sculptors. As such, his sphere of influence overlapped with that of the Tonsured Maize God. The monkey patrons—there are often two of them—have been depicted on classical vases in the act of writing books (while stereotypically holding an ink nap) and carving human heads. Together, these two activities may have constituted a metaphor for the creation of mankind, with the book containing the birth signs and the head the life principle or 'soul', an interpretation reinforced by the craftsman titles of the creator gods in the Popol Vuh. Based on its facial features, the stone sculpture of a seated writer found within the House of the Scribes in Copan is often described as a howler monkey. However, it is the two large statues of simian figures shaking rattles (see fig.), found on both sides of the 'Reviewing Stand' of Copan' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
