11 - Studies of Religion - Ancient Religions: Aztec/Inca/Mayan

Abstract:
Three texts reviewed here address the linkages between religion and mountainous landscapes in the Maya and Inca realms. Bassie-Sweet provides a thorough analysis of the Maya mythologies of creation and situates its players and concepts within the real world. Besom thoughtfully tackles the place of mountains and child sacrifice within the Andes with a focus on the late prehispanic Inca. Reinhard and Constanza offer a detailed and richly illustrated case study of state-sponsored child sacrifice on a mountaintop in the south of the Inca Empire. Taken together, these somewhat disparate books produce several fascinating parallels in the sacred geographies of mountains and the offerings made to them.

Abstract:
This paper describes the theology or, more accurately, the cosmology of a particular version of Maya religion in highland Guatemala. This version is consciously drawn from the ancient Maya tradition, especially the Pop Wuj (Popol Vuh), often called the Mayan Bible, but it incorporates other ideas and elements as well, including such modern ideas as inclusivity and freedom of membership.

Fantastic information including creation, cosmology, the gods,death, eschatology, sacrifice, the priesthood, rites, and sorcery.

The Aztecs believed that a deity would return from the east. According to the Spanish chronicle, the Aztecs thought this prophesy fulfilled with the arrival of Cortés in 1519.

An alphabetical list of Mayan gods and goddesses.

Scroll down to 3a: "How Can Humans Maintain their Balance on the Slippery Earth?"

A concise summary of Aztec rituals and sacrifice.

Scroll down to Mother Earth Legends

A brief summary of the story of creation as told by the Mayan people.

This paper addresses the theme of the creation myth in a selection of cultural groups.