Mayan/Mesoamerican Resources

[Maps]

This is NOT a place to discuss 2012, UFOs, or any other such popular New Age beliefs relating to the Maya, Quetzalcoatl/Kukulkan, etc.

Practices of the contemporary Maya peoples, Aztecs, Inca, Mexican Brujeria and Curanderia, and other ancient Central and South American cultures are relevant and fine to post. It's just my point of interest happens to be the Maya.
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A note: I've been reading about this stuff for about a year now, and I'm still very much a layperson with it all. It's difficult information to come by, even harder to understand if you're not an academic, and even -harder- to piece together from a non-academic revivalist* standpoint.

That said, I'm going to try my darndest to post good, solid material for perusal for others who many be interested in looking into these old religions. For those of you interested in the Aztec religion, there's the yahoo group 'Red and Black' for strict recons, but it's a private group and doesn't seem incredibly welcoming to people who haven't dedicated themselves to that path yet. They also have little to no information about the Maya.

So this is just a note that I am learning in a social vacuum and may or may not be sharing the best of information. But if I find things that I post to be wrong or iffy, I'll label or append as needed.

*I mean revivalist in the sense that the ancient religion is different than that practiced by the present-day Mayan population; my interest lies in the cosmology that existed before the influence of Christianity. I mean no disrespect to the contemporary Maya.
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Okay, so, books.

Anyone even remotely interested in anything from pre-Columbian Mesoamerica should get their hands on a copy of the Popol Vuh, the creation myth according to the Quiche Maya. Preferably the one translated by Dennis Tedlock, but even the copy available on Mesoweb is fine.

Another important text is the Book of Chilam Balam of Chumayel , which outlines a bunch of stuff including histories, rituals, prayers, and other things. It's an extremely difficult read (I'm only partly done with it myself), so take your time. Unfortunately there are no footnotes with the version I linked to, but the Sacred Texts copy has them. (I just prefer the PDF format for real reading, so I reference both.)

I think Maya Cosmos might also be a good read as far as the culture and worldview goes (from a shamanistic POV). I've only read excerpts, but they seemed good. Also to note that Linda Schele seems to be a pretty trusted academic.

And you can't forget about De Landa's 16th century account of the Yucatec Maya: Yucatan Before and After the Conquest. Haven't read, but I plan to. Unfortunately, be wary of the cultural bias.



So as far as non-essential books go, here's my 'to-read' list (reviews will be slow, but forthcoming eventually):

Religions of Mesoamerica: Cosmovision and Ceremonial Centers
The Order of Days: The Maya World and the Truth About 2012
The Classic Maya

As for web primers go, Authentic Maya seems to be pretty good: http://www.authenticmaya.com/index.htm

More in-depth analyses can be found at FAMSI, and Mesoweb.

FAMSI articles and dissertations I've found very enlightening:
Recipe for Rebirth
Directions and Partitions in the Maya Worldview
A Yucatec Maya Thanksgiving Ceremony

I haven't looked at too much on Mesoweb yet, so when I read more there I'll report back.

Here's an excerpt from Maya Cosmos, that talks about a concept called 'Itz', or the "cosmic sap": http://www.mesacc.edu/dept/d10/asb/a...ribes/itz.html

Not really sure about the rest of that site yet. It's an edu domain, so it must be partially legit, at least. It's skimpy on basic information, but there is some useful stuff there.

There are general things to be wary of when studying Mayanism, and that a lot of it just isn't true, or disguises itself as academia when it really has a completely new age/fluff agenda, and the ones that hint at pagan interpretations of archaeological data are usually much the same. Generally a good rule of thumb is to avoid any websites that claim to have calendar information (tzolkin and long count). There is a lot of real emphasis placed on the calendar and Mayan astronomy, but from what I've found is that any analysis of it from a western perspective that isn't firmly anchored in scholarly evidence is asking for trouble. Books that aren't 2012-centered I think are better about this.

WHEW.

Anyways, if anyone else is interested in this stuff, even if it's not particularly Mayan in nature, feel free to share whatever resources you've got provided they follow the general aim of the thread. And if you have any questions that you think I might be able to answer (hint: I probably won't if it isn't really basic), drop me a line! I'm also always on the lookout for study buddies~

[Marilyn/Absentminded]

This is NOT a place to discuss 2012, UFOs, or any other such popular New Age beliefs relating to the Maya, Quetzalcoatl/Kukulkan, etc.

So, in other words, you don't think the world will end next year because of space aliens with crystal skulls?

Just a reminder that you cannot tell people what/how to post in 'your' thread, but you can ignore anything you feel is off topic and make posts designed to bring it back.

Marilyn
TC Staff

[Maps]

So, in other words, you don't think the world will end next year because of space aliens with crystal skulls?

Just a reminder that you cannot tell people what/how to post in 'your' thread, but you can ignore anything you feel is off topic and make posts designed to bring it back.

Marilyn
TC Staff

Damn! Oh well, it was worth a try. :B

Mostly it's just that I find that entire brand of cultural appropriation/misconception to be extremely offensive, though I guess it would be just as well to address those when and if they actually come up and aim to reeducate.

[monsnoleedra]

This is NOT a place to discuss 2012, UFOs, or any other such popular New Age beliefs relating to the Maya, Quetzalcoatl/Kukulkan, etc.

Practices of the contemporary Maya peoples, Aztecs, Inca, Mexican Brujeria and Curanderia, and other ancient Central and South American cultures are relevant and fine to post. It's just my point of interest happens to be the Maya.

Not Myan but one of the better Aztec sites I have found.

http://www.amoxtli.org/cuezali/index.html

[Maps]

Not Myan but one of the better Aztec sites I have found.

http://www.amoxtli.org/cuezali/index.html

Right! Totally forgot to link to that when I mentioned Red and Black. Thanks for pointing it out. :]

Here's a pretty good primer on the pantheon: http://alternativearchaeology.jigsy.com/mayan-gods Author makes mention of belief in ancient astronaut theory and how it ties into Maya civilization, so that sent up a red flag, but their understanding of the extremely confusing fluidity of the gods makes me think this is probably credible for the most part.

[sparrow]

Not Myan but one of the better Aztec sites I have found.

http://www.amoxtli.org/cuezali/index.html

After checking out that website, I found it really fascinating that there was a goddess that presided over suicide. I haven't heard of a deity that presided over that specifically before. Am I seriously under educated here, are there other gods of suicide?

[FierFlye]

I don't know much about the Maya, but during a vacation to Cozumel by husband and I took a tour of San Gervasio, the sanctuary of the goddess Ixchel and pilgrimage site for many Maya. A local Mayan woman was our own personal tour guide! I took a bunch of photos and notes that I'd be happy to share if anyone is interested.

[monsnoleedra]

After checking out that website, I found it really fascinating that there was a goddess that presided over suicide. I haven't heard of a deity that presided over that specifically before. Am I seriously under educated here, are there other gods of suicide?

I have to admit that is a facet of things I've never been drawn to research or investigate. THough I do admit it wouldn't surprise me to find gods / goddesses associated to that in socities that were heavily influenced with death rites and games.

[Maps]

I don't know much about the Maya, but during a vacation to Cozumel by husband and I took a tour of San Gervasio, the sanctuary of the goddess Ixchel and pilgrimage site for many Maya. A local Mayan woman was our own personal tour guide! I took a bunch of photos and notes that I'd be happy to share if anyone is interested.

Ooh, I'd love to read some of your notes. :]

I have to admit that is a facet of things I've never been drawn to research or investigate. THough I do admit it wouldn't surprise me to find gods / goddesses associated to that in socities that were heavily influenced with death rites and games.

I've never actually heard of a suicide deity before either. You'd think that in a culture like ancient Egypt they might have one? But then again, I have no clue as to how they viewed suicide.

The impression I get with the Maya is that they weren't really obsessed with death; in fact, they were very much all about life. Sacrifice seems to be much more about life than violence and death for their own sake, I think. In fact, in the principle myth, you've got the Hero Twins Hunahpu and Xblanaque going down into the underworld to defeat the Lords of Death/Xibalba, and at the end decreeing that they would get no more sacrifices and their only offerings henceforth would be copal (incense).

[monsnoleedra]

..I've never actually heard of a suicide deity before either. You'd think that in a culture like ancient Egypt they might have one? But then again, I have no clue as to how they viewed suicide.

The impression I get with the Maya is that they weren't really obsessed with death; in fact, they were very much all about life. Sacrifice seems to be much more about life than violence and death for their own sake, I think. In fact, in the principle myth, you've got the Hero Twins Hunahpu and Xblanaque going down into the underworld to defeat the Lords of Death/Xibalba, and at the end decreeing that they would get no more sacrifices and their only offerings henceforth would be copal (incense).

I'm very much limited in my knowledge of South and Centeral American mythology and epic saga's.

I really do not think you'd find a suicide god / goddesses in Egyptian mythology considering the many tests a persons various parts had to undergo to get into their after-life. Not even sure you'd find anything similiar in Roman or Greek panetheons either when you consider the punishment inflicted upon the restless dead.

I think you'd probably get more suicide gods / goddesses in South and Centeral American lore considering you had those who voluntered themselves as the sacrifices. So in a way that is a ritualized suicide though its done for other purposes than one might consider suicide by today's standards and usage of the word.