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Maya Codices

© Suzanne Hill

I was thumbing through a beautiful book, The Great Explorers, at my brother's house the other day when this depiction of a page from a Maya codex caught my eye. I was immediately fascinated with the drawing, calligraphy, and hieroglyphs on this page and had to learn more.

As history tells, the Maya civilization was a great one, cultured and sophisticated. The Aztec empire followed, built upon the foundations of the Maya people. Cortes, during the age of European discovery, came upon the Aztec civilization and met their ruler, Montezuma. At first he was greeted warmly, as the Aztecs believed he was their savior come to earth. But after time they viewed the Spanish as intruders and began to fight to get them to leave. The Conquistadors, in a manner consistent with their times, conquered the Aztecs, almost totally destroying their cities, monuments, artifacts, and culture.

There are very few of these particular codices (codex is singular) left today. The Maya recorded information relevant to their culture and beliefs in these books. The Spanish friars, believing the books and glyphs to be the work of the devil, set them alight in a regretful and zealous book burning campaign.

Maya Life

The Maya were an American Indian people that developed a magnificent civilization that flourished for hundreds of years. The heart of the Maya civilization was in the tropical rain forest of the lowlands of northern Guatemala. They produced remarkable architecture, painting, pottery, and sculpture. They made outstanding achievments in astronomy and mathematics and developed an accurate yearly calendar. They were one of the first peoples in the Westerm Hemisphere to develop an advanced form of writing.

The Maya farmers lived in small villages near their fields. They built their houses from poles lashed together and used palm leaves for their thatched roofs. The people wore simple loose clothing to protect them in the tropical climate. Maya cities served as centers where the people gathered for important events like markets and religious festivals.

Religion played an extremely important role in Maya daily life. They worshiped many gods and goddeseses, as many as 160. For example, they worshiped a corn god, a sun god, a rain god known as Cjac, and a moon goddess called Ix Chel. Each god or goddess influenced some part of their life. Ix Chel, for instance, was the goddess of medicine and weaving.

Each day in Maya life had special religious importance. Religious festivals in honor of particular gods took place throughout the year. To entice the help of the gods, the Maya fasted, prayed, held ceremonies, and offered sacrifices. Religious festivals were also a favorite form of recreation, providing time for dancing and feasts. It is easy to see how the calendar played an integral role in Maya religion and daily life.

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