The Mysterious Maya
In The Mysterious Maya, I learned a lot of things in regards to the history of the native inhabitants of Central America and in relation to the Spanish involvement thereafter. I learned a great deal about the culture and religion of the Maya and Aztec population. I had no idea the extent of the two culture's belief systems. In the article, I found the information on the Toltec-Aztec religion to be quite fascinating. The authors bring up the almost voodoo-like, "superstitious," (p. 5) aspect of their culture:"...they cut open their victims' chests and tore out their still-beating hearts as an offering to the sun god...they were feeding it with its favourite food, human life-force, which would ensure that the sun would keep on rising" (p. 5).The term "life-force" raises my eyebrows. I would like to learn more in-depth about how their spirituality beyond the mutilation of the body. Do they believe in hell? What do they believe "heaven" is? What happens in heaven? To Western civilizations, this would seem frightening - and very absurd - that the idea of sacrificing a human being to appease the gods is practical or even viable. But I, like the authors, believe that it is not unlike the Christian model of "mortification of the f
It is interesting to me that Cortes and the Catholic Church didn't realize this parallel. The more obvious answer is that this is clearly an interesting historical lesson; and I am one to love a good history lesson. Many Mexican and Central American people have been affected by the Chiapas Insurrection, and it is important to understand the situation. Within my career, I will work closely with minority communities. Also, within the article, I learned of the extent of the silencing of the native cultures by the Catholic Church. In an attempt to explain the "backwards" religion and culture of the Aztec and Maya populations, the unique and uncanny Mesopotamian similarities in architecture of Palenque, and even allusion that the "Roman Empire" (p. The big difference was in the manner it was carried out. " This, again, says to me that they wanted to believe that, because of their passage across the Atlantic and journey to Babylon, that there was some deeper connection between European-Middle Eastern and Central American cultures. That's why articles like these are important. Without history, it's impossible to tie their culture to the person and understand anything as to why they believe what the do and act the way they normally would.
Common topics in this essay:
Maya Aztec,
Catholic Church,
Central American,
Chiapas Insurrection,
Americas Aztecs,
Roman Empire,
Valley Mexico,
Bishop Nuneswas,
Central America,
Aztec Maya,
central american,
learn history,
mexican central,
mexican central american,
catholic church,
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Acceptance Essays
