THE INDIGENOUS MAYA OF MEXICO AND GUATEMALA

Welcome to MEXICO AND BEYOND: LAURA’S PHOTO JOURNEY. I have chosen the Mayan culture of Mexico and Guatemala to share in this blog posting as part of my "INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF LATIN AMERICA" series.


My husband and I have spent the majority of our expat life living in Mexico and Guatemala where the dominant indigenous people are the Maya. The Maya have an incredible culture, history, and presence and I am very excited about sharing the Maya with you.



I have had an ongoing fascination with indigenous cultures and civilizations since my college days when I also had the romantic idea of becoming an adventurous and daring archaeologist discovering ruins of lost civilizations.

With time my practical self took hold and I abandoned this dream. However, I never lost the allure of learning about indigenous peoples and wanting to know who, what, why, and especially how of “disappeared peoples and their civilizations.”

What I really should have been was a social/cultural anthropoligst. But with the wonders of the Internet and on-line knowledge I get to indulge my passion at long last. So if you are ready, let's meet the Maya.


INTRODUCTION

The Maya peoples are a large group of indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica. They inhabit southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras. The term "Maya" is a collective designation to include the peoples of a region that share some degree of cultural and linguistic heritage. However, the term "Maya" can also include distinct populations, societies, and ethnic groups that each have their own particular traditions, cultures, and historical identity.





The modern day Maya still live within the boundaries of their old empire in the region that now consists of the countries of Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and five states in Mexico.

There are an estimated seven million Maya living in their original homelands of Mesoamerica and in other countries all over the world. The Maya have managed to maintain numerous aspects of their ancient cultural heritage and yet be very much a part of the contemporary world.

Much of Maya history is shrouded in mystery. It is believed today that the Mayan peoples began to settle in the Yucatan area of what is now Mexico between 2600 and 1800 BC. Their descendants still live across Mexico and Central America with dozens of core urban areas such are found in the lowlands of the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico.





From the late eighth century through the end of the ninth century something unknown happened to shake the Maya civilization to its foundations. One by one the Classic cities in the southern lowlands were abandoned and by A.D. 900 Maya civilization in that region had collapsed. Maya areas such as Tikal in the rain forest of Guatemala went from bustling cities to abandoned ruins over the course of roughly a hundred years.

MY PERSONAL LIST OF SIGNIFICANT MAYAN
ACCOMPLISHMENTS INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:

MAYAN PYRAMIDS





The Maya city of Chichen Itza contains the Castillo, or Temple of Kukulcan,
one of the most famous and visited Mayan pyramids which is a step pyramid and the most impressive structure of the ancient city of Chichen Itza in Yucatan, Mexico. Constructed around A.D. 1100 the Castillo was constructed over another temple pyramid built 100 years earlier.

The Maya are renown for many, many accomplishments, but in my opinion their grand pyramids stand out as the greatest for me. The Maya constructed temple-pyramids that were the center of their magnificent centers and stone cities. Maybe my fascination with these amazing structures include their grandiose size, their perfect symmetry, and their alignment with sunrise and sunset at particular times of the year.


I have loved visiting them all and I like to think my husband actually started appreciating them while he indulged this fascination of mine. We have visited the following Mayan pyramids in Mexico and Honduras and you will find the links to my blog postings on each of them at the end of this posting: Tikal, Chichen Itza, Palenque, Uxmal, Tulum, and Copan. No cheating! The links will still be there when you have finished reading this posting.

The Temple of the Inscriptions at Palenque, Mexico is the largest pre-Columbian Mesoamerican stepped pyramid structure which was a funerary monument to the seventh century king Hanab Pakal and one of my favorites because of its beautiful and magical setting.

The tallest Maya pyramid is located in Tikal, Guatemala and dates to the eighth century A.D. before the mysterious decline of the civilization. I loved Tikal and we had the entire complex to ourselves sharing it with the resident monkeys. If you squint you can see a dangling rope to help your climb up the pyramid if you are of that bent. I will definitely pass on that opportunity!





The Pyramid of the Magician is a Mesoamerican step pyramid located in the ancient Pre-Columbian city of Uxmal, Mexico. The structure is also referred to as the Pyramid of the Dwarf, Casa el Adivino, and the Pyramid of the Soothsayer.

The Uxmal pyramid and other monuments were built in the ninth and tenth centuries A.D. and according to Maya legend it was built by the god of magic, Itzamna, as a training center for shamans, healers and priests. The pyramid is considered unique because of its rounded sides, considerable height, steep slope, and unusual elliptical base.

Can you see the gargoyles on the top of this palace roof in Uxmal? What stories these structures could share if only we could hear them!





Having Uxmal to ourselves made my husband very happy since he is not always a great fan of exploring "the rock structures of the old folks" as he refers to my Mayan ruins.


MAYAN WRITING SYSTEM WITH HIEROGLPHS

The Maya writing system is considered by archaeologists to be the most sophisticated system ever developed in Mesoamerica. Hieroglyphic inscriptions were either carved in stone or wood on Maya monuments or painted on paper, plaster walls, and pottery.

              A colorful illustration of a few of the many Maya hieroglphs


The earliest Maya inscriptions found date to the third century BCE in San Bartolo, Guatemala. Maya writing was in continuous use throughout Mesoamerica until the Spanish conquest of the Maya in the 16th and 17th centuries.

MAYAN NUMERAL SYSTEM





The Maya numeral system was their system to represent numbers and calendar dates in the Maya civilization. It was a vigesimal (base-20) positional numeral system. The numerals are made up of three symbols; zero (shell shape with the plastron uppermost), one (a dot) and five (a bar). The following link will take you to a detailed explanation of this system since I cannot even start to do it justice:  THE MAYA NUMERAL SYSTEM

MAYAN CODICES BOOKS

                                 Page from the Maya's "Dresden Codex"

                               

The Maya codices (singular codex) are folding books written by the pre-Columbian Maya civilization in Maya hieroglyphic script on Mesoamerican bark paper. The codices have been named for the cities where they currently reside. The Dresden codex is generally considered the most important of the few that survive.

MAYAN CALENDAR

The Maya calendar is a system of calendars used in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica and in many modern communities in the Guatemalan highlands and in the regions of Veracruz, Oaxaca, and Chiapas in Mexico. The essentials of the Maya calendar are based upon a system which had been in common use throughout the region dating back to at least the 5th century BCE.

The deity Itzamna is frequently credited with bringing the knowledge of the calendar system to the ancestral Maya along with writing in general and other foundational aspects of Maya culture.

MAYANS AND CHOCOLATE

A Maya image on bark "paper" of Mayas drinking chocolate which I consider a "gift from the gods" and for which I am certainly thankful.


The Maya of Central America are believed to be the first to discover cocoa as early as 900 AD. They learned that the beans inside the cocoa pods could be harvested and made into a liquid which would become a treasured Mayan treat. Mayan chocolate was very different than the chocolate we know today.

Chocolate was a liquid made from crushed cocoa beans, chili peppers, and water. They poured the liquid from one cup to another until a frothy foam appeared on top. In fact, the word "chocolate" is said to come from the Mayan word "xocolatl" which means “bitter water.”  The above chocolate "gods" would be too lovely for me to eat, however.


THE FALL OF THE MAYA CIVILIZATION

The last Maya state existed until 1697. No one really knows what caused the collapse of the Maya civilization. For reasons that are still debated the Maya centers of the southern lowlands went into decline during the 8th and 9th centuries and were abandoned shortly thereafter.

The reason for this mysterious decline is unknown although scholars have developed several competing theories. What happened? Some NASA-funded researchers think they have a pretty good idea.

Go to the following link for some fascinating reading THE FALL OF THE MAYA CIVILIZATION from which the following excerpts were lifted:

"They did it to themselves, says veteran archeologist Tom Sever.

The Maya are often depicted as people who lived in complete harmony with their environment, says PhD student Robert Griffin. But like many other cultures before and after them they ended up deforesting and destroying their landscape in efforts to eke out a living in hard times.

A major drought occurred about the time the Maya began to disappear. And at the time of their collapse, the Maya had cut down most of the trees across large swaths of the land to clear fields for growing corn to feed their burgeoning population.

They also cut trees for firewood and for making building materials. They had to burn 20 trees to heat the limestone for making just 1 square meter of the lime plaster they used to build their tremendous temples, reservoirs, and monuments, explains Sever."

So maybe the Maya caused their own decline and not the Spanish conquistadors. May this be a lesson to all of us!


CONCLUSION

The following link will open my large album on the Maya of Mexico and Guatemala.  For best viewing I would recommended clicking on the first photograph and then click on the "burger" in the upper right hand corner and select "view as slide show."  Enjoy!

THE MAYA OF MEXICO AND GUATEMALA PHOTO ALBUM

And last, but not least,  are the links to my previously published blog postings on the Maya ruins of Mexico and Guatemala. Many thanks for joining me on my introduction to the Maya. Until next time, wishing you wonderful travels and excursions wherever they may take you. Laura

THE MAYAN RUINS OF TIKAL

MAYAN RUINS OF PALENQUE, UXMAL, AND TULUM

THE MAYA RUINS OF COPAN, HONDURAS

THE PYRAMIDS INCLUDING CHICHEN ITZA

With my sincere thanks to the wonderful Maya people of Mexico and Guatemala including the above students in Merida who wanted to learn English from a few of us ex-pat women and to the many lovely Maya ladies we met along the way. 

                                            

THE QUECHUA INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF THE ANDES

Welcome to MEXICO AND BEYOND: LAURA’S PHOTO JOURNEY. I have chosen the Quechua culture to be the first of my blog postings on the indigenous peoples of Latin America. This choice is no doubt inspired by my fond memories of visiting Machu Picchu, Cusco, and the Urubamba Valley of Peru and the Otavalo region of Ecuador many moons ago. I look forward to your company so let’s meet the Quechua.

A few introductory Quechua basics:
PRONUNCIATION: KECH-wah
LOCATION: Peru; Ecuador; Bolivia (Central Andes regions)
POPULATION: Approximately 7.5 million
LANGUAGE: Quechua language
RELIGION: Combination of Pre-Columbian and Roman Catholic beliefs


The Quechua Indians of the central Andes are the direct descendants of the Incas. The Inca Empire which existed for a century before the arrival of the Spanish was a highly developed civilization. The Inca Empire stretched from parts of present-day Colombia in the north to Chile in the south.


Peru attained independence from the Spanish in 1821 and most Quechua still live in the Andean highlands. They rely on subsistence agriculture growing little more than their own food and nomadic herding much as did their Inca ancestors.

About one-third of Peru's 24.5 million inhabitants are Quechua Indians. Migration and urbanization in the past few decades have drawn many Quechua to Lima which is the capital of Peru and there is now a large indigenous and mestizo (mixed-race) population in Lima.

Most Quechua rely on subsistence farming for their livelihood. Corn, potatoes, and grains are crops that have adapted to the high-altitude environment and are the two of the main staples of the Quechua diet.


Land is still farmed using the Inca method of terracing on steep slopes. This labor-intensive approach to agriculture requires a tremendous amount of time. Common dishes include meat or potato stews, spiced with hot peppers, coriander, or peanuts. Considered a delicacy, guinea pig is an important source of protein for the Quechua which predates the Incas.

The Quechua language with 25 million speakers is spoken in ten countries in Latin America and is an official language in three of them. Quechua was also once the language of the great Inca Empire. Many of the ancient Quechua myths are still preserved in their oral tradition. Most of them narrate the origin of various ethnic groups and tales of the mountains, rivers, and lakes.

Quechua religion combines both Pre-Columbian and Catholic elements. The most significant Pre-Columbian influence that endures is the belief that supernatural forces govern everyday events such as weather and illness. This belief serves a utilitarian purpose to the agricultural Quechua.


By making offerings to the powers that control natural forces, the Quechua feel they can influence events and not merely be helpless in the face of bad weather or disease. When drinking alcohol, for example, it is customary to first offer a drink to Mother Earth Pachamama.

The Quechua celebrate important Catholic holidays such as Christmas and Easter. But at the same time they have not abandoned their ancient holidays. In the ancient Inca capital of Cuzco (also spelled Cusco) the Inca Sun Festival is still celebrated.


Donning replicas of Inca tunics, rather than contemporary Andean garb, Quechua Indians reenact the Inca sun-worshiping ceremony. The Inti Raymi festival, which celebrates the June solstice, reflects the Inca's vast knowledge of astronomy. On this occasion, there is much eating, drinking, and dancing. True to Inca traditions, a llama is also sacrificed on this day.

Major life transitions, such as birth, puberty, and death are marked by rituals and celebrations that combine Catholic and indigenous traditions. Courtship and marriage involve a lengthy series of rituals and stages. At the wedding there is a public procession as the bride leaves her home to join her husband's community. Various other rituals, including fertility rites, follow the wedding.

Children in Quechua society play many important roles. From a very young age they participate in economic activities and key household tasks. As in most other subsistence economies, children are essential as they are expected to provide long-term economic security to their parents as they age.

Women play a subordinate role to men in the community political structure. Women are less likely to receive a formal education, do not hold significant positions of power within the community, and are excluded from many potentially profitable economic activities. A clear sexual division of labor exists with regard to both agricultural and household tasks.

Traditional Andean clothing reflects Spanish influences. In 1572 the Spanish prohibited the Quechua from wearing native Inca tunics and wrap-around dresses. Andean peoples then adopted the clothing still in use today. Quechua women wear skirts and blouses with colorful woven shawls around their shoulders. Men wear trousers, shirts, and woven ponchos (capes). Sandals are the preferred footwear for both men and women.

The style and color of clothing worn by Quechua Indians varies dramatically from region to region. The Otavalo of Ecuador, an important subgroup of the Quechua, have a very distinctive dress. They wear white trousers and shirts, covered by a solid black poncho. Otavalo men are also famed for their long black braids.

Formal education in Peru is required until the age of sixteen. In rural areas, however, the percentage of students who finish their schooling is much lower than in urban areas. This is in part because children play a valuable role in household and agricultural work and often their labor cannot be spared.

The characteristic music of the central Andes is called huayno which recounts daily life in mountain villages and proclaims Andean nationalism (patriotism). Traditional instruments which are still used include drums, flutes, and the charango, a mandolin-style guitar made from an armadillo shell.

Huayno singers are increasingly popular in urban areas. Quechua folk music also includes beautifully haunting music for panpipes (hollow pipes of graduated length). One of these songs, "El Condor Pasa," was a hit record for the American singing duo Simon and Garfunkel in the 1960s which I remember well!

As the Incas did not write there is not a tradition of Quechua literature. In the twentieth century Peru, however, there has emerged a tradition of writers who focus on the life of the indigenous Andean peoples. Jose Maria Arguedas, Cesar Vallejo, and Ciro Alegria have written influential books that portray the oppression of the Quechua throughout the centuries and chronicle their hard life in the Andes. These authors have contributed to a growing Andean nationalism and pride.

The most significant handicraft produced by the Quechua is textiles. Women throughout the Andes can be seen spinning wool most of the day even while sitting at the market or waiting for a bus. Both llama and sheep wool are used. The "belt loom" is still in use by the Quechua and predates contact with Europeans. The Quechua are very skilled weavers and their products are increasingly in demand for the tourist and export market.

I have very much enjoyed sharing the Quechua indigenous people of the Andes region with you and I am looking forward to sharing more indigenous cultures of Latin America in future blog posts. So until then from Otavalo, Ecuador my thanks and best wishes to you wherever your adventures and travels may take you! Saludos,  Laura