Chac the Rain God

8/14/2019 Chac the Rain God

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Chac the Rain God The Maya past and present


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BUT FIRST

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT LASTWEEKS FILM?

DONT FORGET THAT THE HOMEWORK ANDBLOG QUESTIONS ARE PART OF YOURGRADE!!!


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Location

The Maya civilizationcovered a vast region thattoday is southern Mexico[Chiapas, Yucatan],Guatemala, and Belize,along with the westernarea of Honduras and ElSalvador.


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Political organization

Unlike the Aztecs, the Maya had no one king oremperor.

The region was organized into as many as 20 differentpolitically sovereign states, each with its own leader andnoble class.

These states were organized around ceremonial centers,which were surrounded by smaller cities and farm villages.


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OriginsMaya presence inMesoamerica datesback to around2600 BC [or BCE

Before theCommon Era] inthe region nowknown as the

Yucatn. Thecivilizationrose toprominencearound 250AD [CE]


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Creation and religionAs you read in the version of the Popol Vuh, the creation of the cosmosand the earth took place through numerous cycles of formation anddestruction.


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Hunab Ku was the creator of the cosmos, and the Old WomanGoddess [god of death and destruction] held the bowl from which thedeluges that occasioned each cycle of destruction came.

The Hero Twins [Hunapu and Xbalanque] entered Xibalba [theunderworld] and then returned, having outsmarted the 9 lords of death. They were reborn as the sun and as Venus. From here stemsthe belief that the sun returns each morning from the underworld.

From the Hero Twins too comes the belief that rebirth is only possiblethrough sacrifice [they were burnt and decapitated], and the Mayasdid practice human sacrifice.

http://www.mythweb.com/teachers/why/other/hero_twins.ht
http://www.mythweb.com/teachers/why/other/hero_twins.htmlhttp://www.mythweb.com/teachers/why/other/hero_twins.html


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In the Chilam Balam de Chumayel, a book of sacred stories, Chaac, god of thunder and rain, was thefirst to make corn available for consumption to all mankind.

According to these legends, in the beginning, all corn was white, but a lightening bolt which one of thegods hurled upon the rock to break it burned, smoked or singed some of the grains.

That is why there are now black, yellow and red varieties of the grain.

In addition, the Popol Vuh tells us that from a mixture of white and yellow grains the current human racewas formed.


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It is generally believed that the ancient Maya culture beganaround 300 CE as an offshoot of the Olmec civilization.

There is evidence of contact and trading between the Mayas of this timeperiod and the inhabitants of Teotihuacan.


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Periods of Mayan

HistoryMayan history is divided into three epochs or eras, each withdistinct characteristics.

The earliest is the Pre-Classic [2000 BCE - 250 CE]The city of Copn inHonduras was started [thephotos is the 3 rd of threecities built on the same

spot; the other 2 are buriedbeneath]


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Mayan languages spread throughout Mesoamerica: todaythere are 31 different languages, not dialects.

Agrarian villages sprung up, the rudiments of the writing system began.


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Major pyramids were built at El Mirador, in Guatemala


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The Classic period [250-900 CE]

This was the Golden Age in terms of architecture, culture, trade andpopulation.

Tikal, inGuatemala,was the first

great Mayacity, with50,000inhabitants.


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The writing system became codified. With800 pictographic and syllabic glyphs, theMaya chiseled into stone and wrote on bark

pages their knowledge of medicine,astronomy, religion and history. The Spaniardsdestroyed all but 4 of these texts becausethey were consideredpagan.


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Stellae

Mark historical events,especially the reign of oneof the rulers.


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The classic period saw the construction of themost elaborate Maya centers: Tikal, Chichn

Itz y Uxml [Yucatn] Palenque [Mxico].


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But all was not well

within the kingdomsBetween 900-1200 AD, the large ceremonial citieswere abandoned, leading to 100s of History andDiscovery Channels programs on ....

THE MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF THEMAYANS!!!!!


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There are a number of theories as to why the Maya leftthe cities--increased warfare between the kingdoms,

severe drought, a damaged ecosystem due tooverpopulation [8-10,000,000].

The physical demands placed on the people by thenobility and the priests would also have taken their toll.Human sacrifices did take place, although more prevalentwere blood sacrifices by means of sharp instruments like

stingray spines or self-inflicted mutilation.

The demands by a new ruler for an entirely new city builtupon the city ruled by a predecessor would have exhausted

the inhabitants.


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http://www.papacweb.o
http://www.papacweb.org/kuhul/index.htmlhttp://www.papacweb.org/kuhul/index.html


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Around 1000 CE the population increased in what isnow Mexico, in the Yucatn and Chiapas regions.


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Their advanced mathematical knowledge enabled them todevelop a complex calendar system.

They actually had 3 separate calendars:

a 365-day solar year calendar [ haab ]--18months of 20 days, plus 5 unlucky days

a 260-day ritual year calendar [ tzolkin ]--this was a longcycle of days and guided religious practices

a world-time calendar of 5128 years, known as the LongCount. This fixed the point in time when the world began[3114 BCE] along with the point in time when it wouldend:


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21 December, 2012.

Despite what you may have heard, this is NOT the endof the world, however, but rather the end of a cycle.


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CHAC

Is the god of rain and lightening,and was one of the morebenevolent gods in the pantheon[all gods were seen to have apositive and negative side]

He is said to be the oldestcontinuously worshipedgod in Mesoamerica;prayers are still offered tohim today in times of drought.


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Chac had 4manifestationswhich

corresponded tothe 4 cardinaldirections, a major aspect of the Mayabelief system.

The 4 directions, plus a 5 th representing thecenter were: north/white, south/yellow,

east/red, west/black, and center which wasassociated with the tree of life, symbolized by agreat ceiba tree that was the center of thecosmos

Every direction had acorresponding color associated with it.


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Neither past nor present Maya canbe considered oneculture nor onelinguistic group.

The differencesbetween thelanguages canbe enormous,

and the groupsmay be unableto understandone another.


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Clothing styles and colors, along with hair styles andheadwear, establish origins amongst the Maya, alongwith civil status and social positions.


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The women have maintained the traditional style of dress more than the men have, although many of

them still dress as their ancestors did.


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Lacandones


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The Lacandones are a unique group of Maya.


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They are one of the most isolated and culturallyconservative groups in Mexico, living in Chiapas near the

Guatemalan border.

They number around 1000 people[ in Mexico],after nearly disappearing in the 1940s.


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Synchretic religious practices: most of thesecommunities were Christianized years ago by

Catholic priests and missionaries.

Fundamentalist Protestant missionariesgained inroads among many Maya

communities.

Yet some indigenous beliefs and practices

remain.


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Cemeterystructures and

colors are setin accordanceto the cardinaldirections andtheir correspondingcolors.


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http://www.youtube.com/watch?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GgYyO8JM7Ihttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GgYyO8JM7I


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Housing and clothing

Many aspects of life remain much as they didsimplewooden homes made of small logs with a thatched roof,no electricity or running water. Everything was

handmade.

Times are changing and modernity has encroached.Many Maya now live in concrete homes withelectricity, running water, etc.


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About tonights film:Made in 1973 in the village of Tenejapa

Very low budget [the director apologizes for the quality of thecomet] [as well he should! He ran out of money.]

Non-professional actorstheyd never SEEN a movie, let

alone acted before!

Despite great critical acclaim, the film never got a distributor and was set aside for about 30 years before being digitizedand redistributed.

The shaman in the film is the real shaman of the village.

The glyphs that introduce each of the 9 days represent the 9

lords of the underworld defeated by the Twins


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What to watch for:

The boy vs. the men in the village; the boy inrelationship to the diviner

indications as to the films time setting

the roles of men, women and children in the village

what do the roles of the shaman, the diviner and the boyindicate about the Maya and their future?

Documents

Chac the Rain God