>>10169502

(Please read from start)

“Astronomy

The Maya made meticulous observations of celestial bodies, patiently recording astronomical data on the movements of the sun, moon, Venus, and the stars. This information was used for divination, so Maya astronomy was essentially for astrological purposes. Maya astronomy did not serve to study the universe for scientific reasons, nor was it used to measure the seasons in order to calculate crop planting. It was rather used by the priesthood to comprehend past cycles of time, and project them into the future to produce prophecy. The priesthood refined observations and recorded eclipses of the sun and moon, and movements of Venus and the stars; these were measured against dated events in the past, on the assumption that similar events would occur in the future when the same astronomical conditions prevailed.[340] Illustrations in the codices show that priests made astronomical observations using the naked eye, assisted by crossed sticks as a sighting device.[341] Analysis of the few remaining Postclassic codices has revealed that, at the time of European contact, the Maya had recorded eclipse tables, calendars, and astronomical knowledge that was more accurate at that time than comparable knowledge in Europe.

The Maya measured the 584-day Venus cycle with an error of just two hours. Five cycles of Venus equated to eight 365-day haab calendrical cycles, and this period was recorded in the codices. The Maya also followed the movements of Jupiter, Mars and Mercury. When Venus rose as the Morning Star, this was associated with the rebirth of the Maya Hero Twins.[343] For the Maya, the heliacal rising of Venus was associated with destruction and upheaval.[341] Venus was closely associated with warfare, and the hieroglyph meaning "war" incorporated the glyph-element symbolizing the planet.[344] Sight-lines through the windows of the Caracol building at Chichen Itza align with the northernmost and southernmost extremes of Venus' path.[341] Maya rulers launched military campaigns to coincide with the heliacal or cosmical rising of Venus, and would also sacrifice important captives to coincide with such conjunctions.

Solar and lunar eclipses were considered to be especially dangerous events that could bring catastrophe upon the world. In the Dresden Codex, a solar eclipse is represented by a serpent devouring the kʼin ("day") hieroglyph. Eclipses were interpreted as the sun or moon being bitten, and lunar tables were recorded in order that the Maya might be able to predict them, and perform the appropriate ceremonies to ward off disaster.”

“Religion and mythology

In common with the rest of Mesoamerica, the Maya believed in a supernatural realm inhabited by an array of powerful deities who needed to be placated with ceremonial offerings and ritual practices.[345] At the core of Maya religious practice was the worship of deceased ancestors, who would intercede for their living descendants in dealings with the supernatural realm.[346] The earliest intermediaries between humans and the supernatural were shamans.[347] Maya ritual included the use of hallucinogens for chilan, oracular priests. Visions for the chilan were likely facilitated by consumption of water lilies, which are hallucinogenic in high doses.[348] As the Maya civilization developed, the ruling elite codified the Maya world view into religious cults that justified their right to rule.[345] In the Late Preclassic,[349] this process culminated in the institution of the divine king, the kʼuhul ajaw, endowed with ultimate political and religious power.”

>> Offering prayers and respect to deceased ancestors is also found in the Far-East, like in China and in Ancient Egypt (remember Seti I Temple in Abydos = page 96?)

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>>10178713

(Please read from the start)

“The Maya viewed the cosmos as highly structured. There were thirteen levels in the heavens and nine in the underworld, with the mortal world in between. Each level had four cardinal directions associated with a different colour; north was white, east was red, south was yellow, and west was black. Major deities had aspects associated with these directions and colors.”

>> Just a thought here anons: is this why cabal so attached to number 13? Is it because it represents (supposedly) Heaven? Also, remember the Dendera zodiac anons? Yes, that ceiling that was “stolen” from Egypt and bought (at a super high price) by Louis XVIII of France (Pages 108 – 109): It also had 4 columns to point to the 4 cardinal directions. It’s interesting, isn’t it anons?

“Maya households interred their dead underneath the floors, with offerings appropriate to the social status of the family. There the dead could act as protective ancestors. Maya lineages were patrilineal, so the worship of a prominent male ancestor would be emphasised, often with a household shrine. As Maya society developed, and the elite became more powerful, Maya royalty developed their household shrines into the great pyramids that held the tombs of their ancestors.

Belief in supernatural forces pervaded Maya life and influenced every aspect of it, from the simplest day-to-day activities such as food preparation, to trade, politics, and elite activities. Maya deities governed all aspects of the world, both visible and invisible.[351] The Maya priesthood was a closed group, drawing its members from the established elite; by the Early Classic they were recording increasingly complex ritual information in their hieroglyphic books, including astronomical observations, calendrical cycles, history and mythology. The priests performed public ceremonies that incorporated feasting, bloodletting, incense burning, music, ritual dance, and, on certain occasions, human sacrifice. During the Classic period, the Maya ruler was the high priest, and the direct conduit between mortals and the gods. It is highly likely that, among commoners, shamanism continued in parallel to state religion. By the Postclassic, religious emphasis had changed; there was an increase in worship of the images of deities, and more frequent recourse to human sacrifice.

Archaeologists painstakingly reconstruct these ritual practices and beliefs using several techniques. One important, though incomplete, resource is physical evidence, such as dedicatory caches and other ritual deposits, shrines, and burials with their associated funerary offerings.[353] Maya art, architecture, and writing are another resource, and these can be combined with ethnographic sources, including records of Maya religious practices made by the Spanish during the conquest.”

“Human sacrifice

Blood was viewed as a potent source of nourishment for the Maya deities, and the sacrifice of a living creature was a powerful blood offering. By extension, the sacrifice of a human life was the ultimate offering of blood to the gods, and the most important Maya rituals culminated in human sacrifice. Generally only high status prisoners of war were sacrificed, with lower status captives being used for labor.”

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>>10178734

(Please read from the start)

“Important rituals such as the dedication of major building projects or the enthronement of a new ruler required a human offering. The sacrifice of an enemy king was the most prized, and such a sacrifice involved decapitation of the captive ruler in a ritual reenactment of the decapitation of the Maya maize god by the death gods. […] Sacrifice by decapitation is depicted in Classic period Maya art, and sometimes took place after the victim was tortured, being variously beaten, scalped, burnt or disemboweled.[355] Another myth associated with decapitation was that of the Hero Twins recounted in the Popol Vuh: playing a ballgame against the gods of the underworld, the heroes achieved victory, but one of each pair of twins was decapitated by their opponents.

During the Postclassic period, the most common form of human sacrifice was heart extraction, influenced by the rites of the Aztecs in the Valley of Mexico;[354] this usually took place in the courtyard of a temple, or upon the summit of the pyramid.[357] In one ritual, the corpse would be skinned by assistant priests, except for the hands and feet, and the officiating priest would then dress himself in the skin of the sacrificial victim and perform a ritual dance symbolizing the rebirth of life.[357] Archaeological investigations indicate that heart sacrifice was practised as early as the Classic period.”

>>> This is absolutely sickening. And it is interesting how “twins” are mentioned in the ballgame against the gods….reminds of the twins Nommo in Dogon culture.

“Deities

The Maya world was populated by a great variety of deities, supernatural entities and sacred forces. The Maya had such a broad interpretation of the sacred that identifying distinct deities with specific functions is inaccurate.[360] The Maya interpretation of deities was closely tied to the calendar, astronomy, and their cosmology.[361] The importance of a deity, its characteristics, and its associations varied according to the movement of celestial bodies. The priestly interpretation of astronomical records and books was therefore crucial, since the priest would understand which deity required ritual propitiation, when the correct ceremonies should be performed, and what would be an appropriate offering. Each deity had four manifestations, associated with the cardinal directions, each identified with a different colour. They also had a dual day-night/life-death aspect.”

“The Popol Vuh was written in the Latin script in early colonial times, and was probably transcribed from a hieroglyphic book by an unknown Kʼicheʼ Maya nobleman.[366] It is one of the most outstanding works of indigenous literature in the Americas.[309] The Popul Vuh recounts the mythical creation of the world, the legend of the Hero Twins, and the history of the Postclassic Kʼicheʼ kingdom.”

“In common with other Mesoamerican cultures, the Maya worshipped feathered serpent deities. Such worship was rare during the Classic period,[369] but by the Postclassic the feathered serpent had spread to both the Yucatán Peninsula and the Guatemalan Highlands”

I know I’ve copy/pasted too many paragraphs about the Mayans but these are needed so you can understand me later on. I rather do it now then come back to it later on. Also anons who are not familiar with the names and culture can get quickly acquainted by reading the notable parts I’ve put up. If anons are interested in more information, they can read the rest in the link. So next I’m going to tackle the myths, gods and see what is said about the Flood, because the Mayans did mention a Flood.

• Page 245 –

>>10178755

(Please read from the start)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_mythology

“Maya mythology is part of Mesoamerican mythology and comprises all of the Maya tales in which personified forces of nature, deities, and the heroes interacting with these play the main roles. The myths of the Pre-Hispanic era have to be reconstructed from iconography. Other parts of Mayan like oral tradition (such as animal tales, folk tales, and many moralising stories) are not considered here.”

“Sources

The oldest written Maya myths date from the 16th century and are found in historical sources from the Guatemalan Highlands. The most important of these documents is the Popol Vuh[1] which contains Quichean creation stories and some of the adventures of the Hero Twins, Hunahpu and Xbalanque.

Yucatán is another important region; the Yucatec Books of Chilam Balam contain mythological passages of considerable antiquity, and mythological fragments are found scattered among the early-colonial Spanish chronicles and reports […].

“In the 19th and 20th centuries, anthropologists and local folklorists committed many stories to paper, usually in Spanish or English, and only rarely together with the Mayan language text. Even though most Maya tales are the results of an historical process in which Spanish narrative traditions interacted with native ones, some of the tales reach back well into pre-Spanish times. […]”

“Important early-colonial and recent narrative themes

In Maya narrative, the origin of many natural and cultural phenomena is set out, often with the moral aim of defining the ritual relationship between humankind and its environment. In such a way, one finds explanations about the origin of the heavenly bodies (Sun and Moon, but also Venus, the Pleiades, the Milky Way);

>> Notable = “Venus, the Pleiades, the Milky Way”.

“Cosmogony

The Popol Vuh describes the creation of the earth by a group of creator deities, as well as its sequel. The Book of Chilam Balam of Chumayel relates the collapse of the sky and the deluge, followed by the slaying of the earth crocodile, the raising of the sky and the erection of the five World Trees.[8] The Lacandons also knew the tale of the creation of the Underworld.”

• Page 246 –

>>10178763

(Please read from the start)

“Creation of Mankind

The Popol Vuh gives a sequence of four efforts at creation: First were animals, then wet clay, wood, then last, the creation of the first ancestors from maize dough. To this, the Lacandons add the creation of the main kin groupings and their 'totemic' animals.[10] A Verapaz myth preserved by Las Casas in his 'Apologética Historia Sumaria'[11] assigns the creation of mankind to artisan gods similar to the Popol Vuh monkey brothers. The creation of humankind is concluded by the Mesoamerican tale of the opening of the Maize (or Sustenance) Mountain by the Lightning deities.”

>> Sounds familiar? Isn’t it similar to 4 divine reigns on Earth in Ancient Egyptian Mythology? (Page 86)

“Reconstructing pre-Spanish mythology

In the seventies, the leading Maya scholar Michael D. Coe identified several actors of the Popol Vuh hero myth on ceramics […].Using bits from monumental inscriptions, Linda Schele even composed a cosmogonic myth for this "First Father", one that still awaits iconographic confirmation. It runs as follows:[23] "Under the aegis of First Father, One-Maize-revealed, three stones were set up at a place called 'Lying-down-sky', forming the image of the sky. First Father had entered the sky and made a house of eight partitions there. He had also raised the Wakah-Chan, the World Tree, so that its crown stood in the north sky. And finally, he had given circular motion to the sky, setting the constellations into their dance through the night.”

“Cosmogony: Defeat of the Great Crocodile

In an early description of a Yucatec fire ritual (Relación de Mérida), a crocodile symbolizes the deluge and the earth; such a crocodile, called Itzam Cab Ain, was instrumental in causing a flood and was defeated by having its throat cut (Books of Chilam Balam of Maní and Tizimín).[24] Pre-Spanish data are suggestive of these events. A water-spewing, deer-hooved celestial reptile on page 74 of the Dresden Codex is generally believed to be causing the deluge. A Postclassic mural from Mayapan shows a tied crocodile in the water,[25] whereas a Classic inscription from Palenque (Temple XIX) mentions the decapitation of a crocodile.”

The deity called Itzamna is linked to the Mayan myth/story of the Flood.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itzamna

“Itzamna (Mayan pronunciation: [itsamˈna]) was, in Maya mythology, the name of an upper god and creator deity thought to reside in the sky. Although little is known about him, scattered references are present in early-colonial Spanish reports (relaciones) and dictionaries. Twentieth-century Lacandon lore includes tales about a creator god (Nohochakyum or Hachakyum) who may be a late successor to him. In the pre-Spanish period, Itzamna, represented by the aged god D, was often depicted in books and in ceramic scenes derived from them.”

“J. Eric S. Thompson originally interpreted the name Itzamna as "lizard house", itzam being a Yucatecan word for iguana and naaj meaning "house".[2] However, Thompson's translation has gradually been abandoned. While there is no consensus on the exact meaning of the name Itzamna, it may be significant that itz is a root denoting all sorts of secretions (such as dew, sap, and semen) and also sorcery. The otherwise unattested, agentive form itzam could thus mean "asperser" or "sorcerer".

>> It is believed that Itzamna is linked to serpents or reptiles. The “secretions” may insinuate that he is also seen as a fertility god for crops; it might be one of his many faces.

• Page 247 –

>>10178779

(Please read from the start)

“Creation of Mankind

The Popol Vuh gives a sequence of four efforts at creation: First were animals, then wet clay, wood, then last, the creation of the first ancestors from maize dough. To this, the Lacandons add the creation of the main kin groupings and their 'totemic' animals.[10] A Verapaz myth preserved by Las Casas in his 'Apologética Historia Sumaria'[11] assigns the creation of mankind to artisan gods similar to the Popol Vuh monkey brothers. The creation of humankind is concluded by the Mesoamerican tale of the opening of the Maize (or Sustenance) Mountain by the Lightning deities.”

>> Sounds familiar? Isn’t it similar to 4 divine reigns on Earth in Ancient Egyptian Mythology? (Page 86)

“Reconstructing pre-Spanish mythology

In the seventies, the leading Maya scholar Michael D. Coe identified several actors of the Popol Vuh hero myth on ceramics […].Using bits from monumental inscriptions, Linda Schele even composed a cosmogonic myth for this "First Father", one that still awaits iconographic confirmation. It runs as follows:[23] "Under the aegis of First Father, One-Maize-revealed, three stones were set up at a place called 'Lying-down-sky', forming the image of the sky. First Father had entered the sky and made a house of eight partitions there. He had also raised the Wakah-Chan, the World Tree, so that its crown stood in the north sky. And finally, he had given circular motion to the sky, setting the constellations into their dance through the night.”

“Cosmogony: Defeat of the Great Crocodile

In an early description of a Yucatec fire ritual (Relación de Mérida), a crocodile symbolizes the deluge and the earth; such a crocodile, called Itzam Cab Ain, was instrumental in causing a flood and was defeated by having its throat cut (Books of Chilam Balam of Maní and Tizimín).[24] Pre-Spanish data are suggestive of these events. A water-spewing, deer-hooved celestial reptile on page 74 of the Dresden Codex is generally believed to be causing the deluge. A Postclassic mural from Mayapan shows a tied crocodile in the water,[25] whereas a Classic inscription from Palenque (Temple XIX) mentions the decapitation of a crocodile.”

The deity called Itzamna is linked to the Mayan myth/story of the Flood.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itzamna

“Itzamna (Mayan pronunciation: [itsamˈna]) was, in Maya mythology, the name of an upper god and creator deity thought to reside in the sky. Although little is known about him, scattered references are present in early-colonial Spanish reports (relaciones) and dictionaries. Twentieth-century Lacandon lore includes tales about a creator god (Nohochakyum or Hachakyum) who may be a late successor to him. In the pre-Spanish period, Itzamna, represented by the aged god D, was often depicted in books and in ceramic scenes derived from them.”

“J. Eric S. Thompson originally interpreted the name Itzamna as "lizard house", itzam being a Yucatecan word for iguana and naaj meaning "house".[2] However, Thompson's translation has gradually been abandoned. While there is no consensus on the exact meaning of the name Itzamna, it may be significant that itz is a root denoting all sorts of secretions (such as dew, sap, and semen) and also sorcery. The otherwise unattested, agentive form itzam could thus mean "asperser" or "sorcerer".

>> It is believed that Itzamna is linked to serpents or reptiles. The “secretions” may insinuate that he is also seen as a fertility god for crops; it might be one of his many faces.

• Page 247 –