Maya Civilizations - The Maya World
Where Man, Nature and Time are One
by Producciones Z-E

Religion

Living Maya Practicing a Religious Ceremony on All Saints Day

The Maya religion was developed over the centuries from a fundamental belief in returning power to the world. During the Pre-Classic and Classic periods, natural forces such as earth, sky, death, corn and lightning were represented in the form of hybrid creatures and symbols whose images changed according to what they were actually required to embody.

During the Post-Classic period these images became fixed; the creatures acquired a personality and became immutable divinities who formed part of a hierarchical pantheon.

For a long time the Maya were contrasted with the bloodthirsty Aztecs, presented as non-violent, intellectual people who opposed bloody sacrifices. In recent discoveries however, it has been shown that although the number of victims were much lower than those of their neighbors, human sacrifice played an important role in Maya religion from the beginning.

The living Maya still preserve certain traditions. In the above picture we could appreciate them at a celebration honoring the dead in a mixture of catholicism and ancient Mayan rituals where they fete and bring offerings to the pantheon of their ancestors as a veneration to their memory.

   Source: Guatemala Tourist Commission INGUAT