THE SILK ROAD ENCYCLOPEDIA by Su-il Jeong;

Author:Su-il, Jeong;
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 4872438
Publisher: Seoul Selection
Published: 2016-05-09T16:00:00+00:00

Site of the Inti Raymi, or “Festival of the Sun” near Cusco

The founders of ancient Mayan civilization had their own indigenous language. Approximately two million still speak the language today, with around one million of them in Guatemala. Linguists believe that the Mayan language in one of three major language groups: the ancient Guatemalan and Yucatecan family, ancient Chiapas family (southern Guatemala), and Azteca family (central lowlands). Highly conservative and protective of their traditional culture, the Mayans took an exclusionary stance towards outside languages. During the Classic Stage, however, when association with the outside world increased, elements of linguistic hybridity were introduced, breeding some fifteen to twenty regional dialects. Viewed on a larger scale, the Mayan language can be divided into two groups: the lowland and highland dialects. There are numerous instances of intercultural exchange instilling the Mayans’ unique language into universal usage. For example, the word tomato is rooted in “tomatl,” a word from the ancient Mayan-Indio language Nahuatl; chocolate comes from “xocalatl,” a beverage the ancient Indios in southern Mexico made from cacao beans; cigarette and cigar are descended from “xigar,” the Mayan word for “to suck” or “to inhale”; and kiss is supposedly descended from “tzootz,” the Mayan word for “to gently suck.” These examples could be characterized as the global contributions of the Mayans’ civilization and language.

There are several creation myths concerning the origins and establishment of Mayan civilization, only two of which will be covered here. The first is the god of Huracan. Huracan and other sky deities crafted four men out of a mixture of yellow and white maize. However, because they resembled the deities themselves, both physically and mentally, the gods were displeased with these initial creations. Thus, the gods blew air into these four creatures’ eyes until they only partially resembled their original forms, a condition far inferior to that of the gods. After putting the four men to sleep, the deities then crafted four women to create four couples, who became the ancestors of the Mayans and all humanity. The other myth continues where the story of Huracan ends, that of the sun god. Although humans had been created, they lived in complete darkness, without a sun, and thus migrated to seven caves known as the Tulan Zuiva, where they still lived without light. Humanity thus set out on a long journey in the search for light and hope, crossing both mountains and an ocean before finally arriving at a shore, whereupon the ocean parted into two walls to form a path that led all the way to a mountain called Hacavitz. Humans prayed to express their reverence for the gods at the foot of Hacavitz, and the sun appeared in the sky, thereby allowing humans to establish their first settlement, a village called Quiche. As the gods ordered humans to offer sacrifices if they wished to receive blessings, any prisoners acquired from wars with neighboring villages were used for such sacrifices. As Quiche grew in power, the original four forefathers disappeared one day, leaving a bundle of scrolls in their stead.

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