Maya and Aztecs

1. Where are they located, both in location and the type of geography.

                The Mayan civilization covered a third of Central America, mostly on the Yucatan Peninsula. They lived in what is now Yucatan, Guatemala, Belize, and southern Mexico. The area is south of the tropic of Cancer and north of the equator. It is around 900 kilometers from north to south and 550 kilometers from west to east. The land is covered with rainforests, savannas, and swamps. The highlands had volcanic mountains.

The lowlands were a limestone shelf bordered by the Gulf of Mexico and Carribean Sea. The northern climate is hot, with rain May through October. Rivers and lakes would go dry and only sinkholes filled with rainwater provided water. The south consisted of rainforests and savannahs. Rivers and lakes were fed by the Usamacinta River. The highlands were made of mountains and valleys. It was prone to tsunamis, volcanoes, and earthquakes, but had fertile soil. It had rain during May through November.

2. What is their cosmological view of the world?

The Mayan viewed earth as a flat four-cornered world. Each corner had a color associated with it: Red - East, White – North, Black – West, Yellow – South, and Center – Bluegreen. Each corner was held up by four Powahtuns (old deities). The sky was held up by four Bakabs (Human/Atlantean figures) of the correct color for each direction.

Mayan civilization had a very sophisticated understanding of celestial motion. The Sun, Moon, and Venus were particularly important to their cosmology. The Mayans attached a great deal of importance to the Zenial passage when the sun would be directly overhead. Since most Mayan cities lie south of 23 degrees North, the sun would be directly overhead twice a year near to the solstices. The Mayans also worshipped the Milky Way and had a sophisticated understanding of the ecliptic. The Mayans, like all ancient civilizations, had a geocentric view of the universe. The Earth was the fixed location from which to watch the moving objects in the sky.

3. Explain and describe some of their sacred symbols (at least 3).

The earliest known writing discovered in the Mayan script dates from about 250 BC, but the script is thought to have developed at an earlier date then that. The Mayans were known for their sophisticated culture which included many hieroglyphics.

Mayan hieroglyphics were carved into stone or bone, or even painted on pottery or written on books. The two main topics of their texts were astronomy and religious views.

Ancient Mayan Symbols:

Flower of Life

The flower of life shape contains a secret shape known as the fruit of life. It consists of 13 spheres that hold many mathematical and geometrical laws. These laws represent the whole universe.

Personal Creation

It is a depiction of the realm of God: it embodies the principle of the Three in One. It is represents the cosmic egg, a symbol of creation where the three elements: mercury, sulphur and ether which are given life God and made into matter. The central circle contains the total area of the surrounding three circles.  

4. What are their sacred locations?

The Mayan civilization was one of the most advance and sophisticated cultures in the Western Hemisphere before the arrival of European explorers. It flourished between 300 and 900 AD and once consisted of over 40 cities spread across southern Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and northern Belize. This category lists some of the most impressive ruins of these ancient cities that can be visited today. Many of these Mayan ruins have been designated World Heritage Sites. The Mayan cities, full of magnificent stone temples and pyramids, were primarily ceremonial centers. Most of the Maya lived in rural areas and were farmers who looked to the priests of the cities for direction on the best days to plant, harvest, and marry. The Maya are famed for their impressive knowledge of mathematics and astronomy, which were integral to their religious rituals. They are also known for the practice of human sacrifice, which was a means of appeasing and nourishing the gods.

Caracol Belize This important Mayan city flourished in the 6th century and now lies in ruins in western Belize near Guatemala. Hidden in the jungle until 1938, it contains pyramids, tombs and Mayan art. Tikal Guatemala A Mayan city that flourished around 700 AD in modern-day Guatemala, Tikal is best known for its towering Temple of the Two-Headed Snake. Uxmal Uxmal, Yucatan, Mexico The late-Classic Maya site of Uxmal was built before the 10th century AD and is one of the most complex and harmonious expressions of Puuc architecture. Palenque Chiapas, Mexico Widely considered the most atmospheric and magical of the Mayan sites, Palenque was at its peak from 600 to 700 AD. It is famed for its unique and impressive architecture and royal history. Tulum Yucatan, Mexico Spectacularly located on a cliff overlooking the turquoise Caribbean Sea, Tulum is a late-Maya site that was active from around 1200 AD until the arrival of the Spanish. Chichén Itzá Yucatan, Mexico Chichén Itzá is the largest of the ancient Mayan ruins on the Yucatan Peninsula. A center of Mayan pilgrimage for over 1,000 years, it is now one of Mexico's most-visited tourist destinations. Coba Yucatan, Mexico Much of Coba still remains to be excavated, but it is notable for its extensive system of ceremonial roads, remote jungle landscape and multiple pyramids, including the tallest in the Yucatan. Kabah Yucatan, Mexico Located 18 km from Uxmal, Kabah was at its peak from 800 to 900 AD. The ruins feature elaborate carvings of the rain god Chac and fine examples of the Maya vault. 5.  Identify their most important gods (good, bad, and trickster).  More than the name of the god is needed here. The Maya worshipped a pantheon of nature gods, each of which had both a benevolent side and a malevolent side. The most important deity was the supreme god Itzamná, the creator god, the god of the fire and god of the hearth. Another important Mayan god was Kukulcán, the Feathered Serpent, who appears on many temples and was later adopted by the Toltecs and Aztecs as Quetzalcoatl. Also important was Chac, a hooked-nose god of rain and lightning. A third god that frequently appears in Mayan art is Bolon Tzacab, who is depicted with a branching nose and is often held like a sceptre in rulers' hands. He is thought to have functioned as a god of royal descent. LINKS: http://www.nativeweb.org/pages/pyramids/overview.html http://resourcesforhistoryteachers.wikispaces.com/WHI.13 http://library.thinkquest.org/08aug/01175/geo.html http://www.sacred-destinations.com/categories/mayan http://www.laep.org/target/bridges/mayans_ancient1.html http://www.ka-gold-jewelry.com/p-products/flower-of-life-gold.php http://www.religionfacts.com/mayan_religion/index.htm

Blog Post 17 - Primal Relgions Review Questions

Primal Religious Traditions

Review Questions

1.       Why are some forms or religion called primal? Describe some of the characteristics of primal religions.

a.       Because they came before religious traditions and because all religions more or less stem from them. They have generally been the traditions of illiterate people. Primal religions tend to be the traditions of tribal peoples, organized in small groups that dwell in villages as opposed to large cities.

2.       What elements of the natural and human world did the Ancestors create or establish in the period of the Dreaming?

a.       According to Aboriginal belief, the world was originally formless. Then at a certain point in the mythic past, supernatural beings called Ancestors emerged and roamed about the Earth. The ancestors gave shape to the landscape and created various forms of life, including the first human beings.

3.       What survives in the symbols left behind by the Ancestors?

a.       The spiritual essence of the Ancestors.

4.       Explain the terms totem and taboo.

a.       Totem – the natural form in which the Ancestor appeared in the Dreaming.

b.      Taboo – certain things and activities are of nature.

5.       Why is ritual essential if Aboriginal life is to have meaning?

a.       Rituals provide structure and pattern.

6.       How did Aboriginal rituals originate?

a.       Myths of the Dreaming.

7.       What purposes are served by Aboriginal initiation rituals?

a.       Through the rituals and myths, young Aborigines learn the essential truths about their world and they are to act within it.

8.       Identify two acts of Dieri initiation rituals that symbolize deaeth.

a.       They initiate’s two lower middle teeth were knocked out and buried in the ground.

b.      Circumcision

9.       In what part of Africa do the Yoruba live?

a.       Western regions of central Africa.

10.   Why has the city of Ife always been the center of Yoruba religion?

a.       Because it is where the god Orisha-nla first began to create the world.

11.   Briefly describe the Yoruba understand of the cosmos.

a.       Yoruba cosmology depicts reality as a being divided into two separate worlds: heaven and earth.

12.   Who is Olurun, and what is his role in society?

a.       He is the original source of power in the universe and all other life forms ultimately owe their existence to him.

13.   What are the orishas? Explain their significance in the religions life of the Yoruba.

a.       They are the lesser deities that are sources of the sacred power and can help or harm human beings depending on how well the rituals designed to appease them are carried out.

14.   Name briefly describe at least two of the orishas.

a.       Orisha-nla – creator of the earth

b.      Ogun – god of iron and war

15.   What is a trickster figure?

a.       A type of supernatural being who tends to disrupt the normal course of life, found among many primal peoples.

16.   Describe two types of Yoruba ancestors.

a.       Family ancestors gained their supernatural status by earning a good reputation  and living to an old age and are now worshiped only by their own families. Deified ancestors were important because throughout Yoruba society.

17.   Describe the role of Yoruba ritual practitioners.

a.       They mediate between gods and ancestors in heaven.

18.   What is divination and why is it essential to the Yoruba?

a.       “Through which one’s future can be learned.”  Because knowledge of one’s future is essential for determining how to proceed with one’s life.

19.   20,000 to 30,000 years ago migrating from Asia over the Bering Strait.

20.   Because it is representative of American Indian religion in general.

21.   What is Wakan Tanka?

a.       Lokota name for the supreme reality.

22.   Who is Inktomi?

a.       One of the first human beings to roam the world and is the mediator between the supernatural and natural world.

23.   Briefly desrible Lokota beliefs regarding death and the afterlife.

a.       The Lokota believe that four souls leave body and one goes on the good path which is then judged and returned back to the body for processing.

24.   What do individuals try to gain access to while going on a vision quest?

a.       An encounter with a guardian spirit or medium.

25.   Structure and function of a sweat lodge.

a.       The structure of the lodge is intended to repretsent the universe. Heated stones are placed in the center. The resulting steam causes the participants to sweat profusely leading to both physical and spiritual cleansing.

26.   Typical vision during vision quest.

a.       They see guardian spirits which can be in the form of an animal or inanimate object.

27.   Among the Blackfeet tribe, who resides over the sundance?

a.       Medicine man

28.   What is the axis mundi? In reference to the sun dance?

a.       The axis or center of the universe. Where to face in reference to the sun.

29.   Why do some participants in the Sun Dance skewer their chests and dance until their flesh tears?

a.       Because they believe that their bodies are the only things they truly own, the dancers regard bodily mutilation was the only suitable sacrifice to offer to the supreme being.

30.   In what two ways does the Aztec tradition defy the description?

a.       The Aztecs were a highly developed civilization of people with a population of about 15 million. Aztec emphasized the relationship between myth and ritual.

31.   What geographical area did the Mesoamerica include

a.       Pacific ocean to the Caribbean sea.  

32.   What god created and ordered the world? Which ancient city?

a.       Quetzalcoatl because he presided over a golden age of cultural brilliance. Teotihuacan.

33.   Who was Topiltzin Queszalcoatl?

a.       He provided the Aztecs with the perfect role model for their own authority figures.

34.   What did the Aztecs call their present age?

a.       Age of the 5^th sun. because the previous 4 suns were destroyed so they figured that this 5^th sun will also invevitably be destroyed too.

35.   How did the Aztecs understand the spatial world?

a.       The Aztecs understood that the spatial word as having 4 quadrants extending outward from the center of the universe.

36.   Why did the Aztecs regard each human being as a sort of axus mundi?

a.       Because humans connect the earthly real to the divine.

37.   What were the special religious capabilities of the Aztec knowers?

a.       His role will allow him to enter the highest heaven upon death.

38.   What historical coincidence contributed to the fall of Tenochitilan to the Spaniards?

a.       Cortes arriving in Mesoamerica.

39.   How does the popular day of the dead show the arrival of Aztec religious culture?

a.       Shows the survival of Aztec culture through festivals and meaningful rituals.

40.   What are three themes that are shared by the primal religions?

a.       Communication between living and ancestors. Secular and the sacred are not separate. Humans are sacred.

"I Confess" Extra Credit

Imagine you are a movie critic.  Write a review of the movie "I Confess" and tell your audience why you think this movie is (or is not) worth seeing. (15 points, 300-400 words)

            The main plot is that a priest learns that man murdered someone in a confession. In Quebec City, Father Michael Logan is accused of killing a well-known lawyer. The priest knows the murderer, but he can't reveal his identity because the man confessed the crime to him in the confessional. The guilty person is Otto Keller, the church sexton, who wore a priest's cassock to commit a robbery that led to the murder. Police inspector Larrue narrows his investigation to Logan, who had a motive for committing the crime. The lawyer was blackmailing Ruth Grandfort, wife of a prominent politician. He had threatened to make public a suspected liaison she had with Logan after he became a priest. Logan is arrested and tried for murder. The jury acquits him, but doubts remain as to his innocence. Following the trial, a crowd on the street threatens Logan and Ruth. When Logan is physically attacked, Keller's wife Alma, tells the crowd that her husband is the real murderer.

I don't think that before viewing this I had ever seen a Hitchcock movie. It wasn't what I truthfully expected it to be at all. But I'm not saying that is a bad thing, I actually liked the movie. I thought it carried your attention the whole way through, which is always a good sign in watching a movie. It also made me want to see it again. For it not being what I expected it's an interesting film, I will give it that. If you haven't seen it yet go watch it. I would definitely recommend it.

2.  Why did the priest remain faithful to his vow to never reveal anything from a confession when it would have been easier on him to just reveal the information?  What does the movie's resolution at the end demonstrate Hitchcock's own view of God?  How would you have ended the movie? (15 points, 300-400 words)

            The priest remained faithful to his vow to never real anything from a confession when it would have been easier on him to just reveal the information because he wants to uphold the vows he made. He meant it when he made the vows and does not want to be a hypocrite and go against his honor. It would haunt his conscience if he went against hiw vows probably. It is his duty as a priest to never real anything said in a confession. He swore to never go against that confidentiality and he upholds it during the movie.

            Hitchcock views God as a true and understanding God. Having faith in God is important. He knows that God will forgive any and every sin and demonstrates that with when Otto Keller goes to confession with Father Michael Logan. He feels guilt about the murder he committed and believes that if he goes to confession that that guilt would just disappear. 

3.  Look up Alfred Hitchcock's biography and find some articles about his Catholic faith.  How do you think his faith informs his view of the cinema?  Give examples from "I Confess" (or other Hitchcock movies) to make your case.  (400-600 words, 25 points)

Born to a Catholic family in London in 1899, Hitchcock didn't begin his studies at a Jesuit school until he was eight or nine, but the influence of his religious upbringing can be seen throughout his work. Hitchcock grew up in a strict Catholic family that went to Mass regularly at a church pastored by one of Hitchcock's cousins, a priest. Hitchcock himself was, briefly, an altar boy. In 1908, he began attending St. Ignatius College, a Jesuit school. Nevertheless, Hitchcock was a practicing Catholic for most of his life. His wife Alma, a film editor, converted to Catholicism before their marriage in 1926, and they worked and lived together until his death in 1980. They attended Mass weekly, and they quietly made several generous donations to Catholic churches and charities. In 1952, their daughter Patricia married the grandnephew of the late Cardinal William O'Connell, who had been a powerful archbishop in Boston. Though he moved to Hollywood, he did not let the glamorous life so often filled with drugs and sex override his faith. Around the age of 5, according to Hitchcock, he was sent by his father to the local police station with a note asking the officer to lock him away for five minutes as punishment for behaving badly. This theme of an innocent person being punished is seen throughout Hitchcock’s films. The most notable being “The Man Who Knew Too Much” and “I Confess.” In “I Confess,” we see Father Logan being wrongfully accused of a murder he did not commit. In “The Man Who Knew Too Much,” there is a similar theme.

 4.  Answer the question on the movie poster: "If you knew what he knew what would you do?"  Tell me why, and compare your own reaction to the priest in the movie. (15 points, 300-400 words)

It is hard for me to answer this question due to the circumstances in the movie. Therefore, I have two different answers. If I was just myself, a regular person I would without a doubt tell the police who the real murderer was and not think twice about it. I believe that if you commit a crime you should face the consequences. The murderer also was clearly a heartless person as he even killed his own wife to protect his self. He had no regard for those around him. I refuse to endure the consequences of someone else’s actions, especially if it was deliberately malicious. For that reason, I would tell the authorities and wash my hands of the situation. This reaction was the exact opposite of Father Logan. He did not tell and instead chose to possible be convicted of a crime he did not participate in any way, shape, or form in. This brings me to my second answer to the question. If I was a priest, I would not have told on the murderer. I recognize that priestly duties and vows come before myself. When making that promise, you are promising to God to uphold all the responsibilities of the priesthood, one of them being to not tell what is said in the confessional under any circumstance. It takes courage and strength to know who killed someone and not be able to say anything even if it is directly affecting you. This reaction would have been the same reaction that Father Logan had in the film. It takes God to fill someones heart in order for one to take the blame for another persons actions.