Mayan Bloodletting

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the ritual of bloodletting which was prevalent in the Mayan civilization, an ancient native American culture that dates back to AD 300 to 900. It examines how each major event in the lives of the Mayan people was sanctified by their self-mutilation. Bloodletting was used to commemorate temples being dedicated, crops being planted, babies being born and marriages being consecrated. It shows how through its beginning, its peak, and its ruin, bloodletting was something done in reverence for their gods and done out of respect for their religious beliefs and how it was not a savage, destructive ritual, but a meaningful one.

From the Paper:

"Maya communities exist today, and they still believe their lives and destinies are tied directly into their family, kin, community and to the supernatural world of their gods (Sharer 128-130). Each important step in their lives is still marked by elaborate and sacred rituals, as they were in ancient times (Sharer 129). While the nuclear family is still the heart of their foundation " that is the man, his wife, and their children " Mayan families have always included the more extended version of family. Their social groupings are based on their lineage depending on what male has been born into what family. While government has changed now, in the past, political offices were passed from father to son, brother to brother, and so forth."

More papers on Mayan Bloodletting:

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