Mayan Beliefs
The Mayans believe that Mother Earth was a gigantic monster. It was an
alligator, toad, and a turtle combined. Above her was a sky with a layer for
each planet and spheres of movement for the sun and the moon. Below her was the
underworld where heavenly bodies passed when out of sight. All around her were
the spirits of rain and thunder. The deities of the food plants and animals
attended her. All nature was alive and it was constantly dying and being reborn
(Burland 1771).
The Mayans are American Indian people who lived in southern Mexico
(Miller "Maya" Grolier). The Yucatan was the center of the Mayan civilization
from about the 1st century B.C. ("Yucantan" Grolier). They flourished in Mexico
and central America from 250 to 1600 A.D. ("History of Agriculture" Grolier).
Their ancestors had crossed the Bering land Bridge from Asia (Miller "Maya"
Grolier). Honduras was once a part of the Mayan Empire. It had flourished
between 250 and 950 A.D. (Seligson "Honduras" Grolier). The Mayans also had
lived in Mexican states: Yucantan and Chiapas, British Honduras, Guatemala,
Honduras, and El Salvador (Burland 1770)
By 1200 B.C., they had dominated trade routes. The trade routes
extended from the modern Mexico state of Guerrero to Costa Rica (Miller "Maya"
Grolier). The Mayans had constant cultural and commercial contact from other
tribes such as the Aztecs. They were with the central and coastal Mexican
civilization that had influenced them and influenced other cultures (Harrison
"History of Latin America" Grolier).
The Mayans worshiped ...