Maya Religion Explained

Credits:
Executive Producer: Jay Gottschalk
Producers: Audra M Owens, Dhruv Singhal, Lyndsay Ballew
Co-writers: Dr. Joanne Baron, Catherine Wilde

[elliottstride]

Met a Maya tour guide in Cozumel as a teenager. I remember his very pragmatic idea about religion saying "my ancestors were farmers so they prayed for rain, I'm a tour guide I pray for tourists. Both are prayers that our family will be fed."

[tr]

Vaguely related, but you may find this interesting about the Maya. I grew up in rural central Florida and the elementary school I attended as a child had an orange grove behind it. Native artifacts were found in the soil of the farm and archeology was conducted. Among the artifacts collected were what appear to be Mayan-made goods, which really shows how extensive the Mayan trade networks were.

[javierdaniel]

I am a Mayan, born in the U.S. and raised in NYC; I am also a practicing Guatemalan Shaman, and I find this video to be probably one of the best and straightforward explanations ever created on our religion and people. Amazing work, thank you for clarifying so much!

[QUIRK]

I was once very lucky to attend a Q'eqchi' Maya ceremony in Salama, Guatemala. They wore masks of jaguars and quetzals, danced and sang, and recited lines in Q'eqchi'. I'm not sure if I've ever experienced anything that felt as... *ancient.* It really did feel connected to the roots of creation through a direct line of tradition. Just hypnotic and beautiful

[ahau]

As a student of anthropology of the Americas that focuses on the Maya I am really happy about this video because unlike most non-academic content on the Maya it is neither racist, afrocentrist, sensationalist or "aliens".

Thank you so much Religion for Breakfast I greatly appreciate this and all of your other videos!

[darkranger]

Not gonna lie.. the world's changed A LOT since 2012. It feels more like 20 years ago rather than 10.. I think some part of the world did come to an end.

[carlose]

Saying the Maya people disappeared is like saying Roman culture disappeared. The various cultures changed over time.

[aanthonyddiaz]

FINALLY IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ONE SINCE THE AZTEC RELIGION VIDEO 😭😭 THANK YOU

[priteshramya]

Your adherence to scholarly accuracy, for example, ensuring that you show classical era Maya ruins and not the ruins from another era, is infectious. Fantastaic! Never regretted subscribing to this channel.

[AncientAmericas]

This was incredibly well done! Bravo! It's clear that you put a lot of work into this and the end result is amazing. Thank you.

[RafaSarriaBustamante]

Much respect for your Mayan pronunciation Profe. Many Caribbean, Central and South American indigenous languages can be very difficult to learn. Even being an Indigenous person, I was raised speaking Spanish and English and it takes a lot of time to learn how to correctly pronounce even the simplest of phrases. So I really appreciate the time I know it must have taken to record this video with respect and dedication.

[freealter]

Maya sacrifice is actually similar to the Roman Triumph, which ended with the ritual strangling of enemy nobility/rulers

[maboose]

Back in '73, in an anthro class, I learned that while Maya today are mostly Catholic, on their household altars they generally place clocks because of the importance of measuring time to their spirituality.

[Wkumar]

Religion For Breakfast provides the best introduction to religious thought and belief than any other channel I have found on YouTube. This episode is another example of the in depth study that one finds while watching this channel. The episode on the Maya shows that religion, like any other social idea (politics, economics, etc.) changes as the needs of the culture evolve. This is the core lesson that I have learned through my own studies.

[andychuc]

Tene' Maaya'en (I am Maya) /Yucatec Maya from Belize . The Maya continue practicing the Maya Spirituality . The Yuumtsilo'ob (Maya Gods) . You should do a video of the Maya religion known as Cruzo'ob Maya between the Maya Yucatec . Has its prophet Juan de la Cruz Puc, Holy Book Santo A'almaj T'aan and had a Maya nation Noj Kaj Santa Cruz (1850-1901) . We continue practicing it . Enjoyed the video by the way .

[grahamrankin]

I am glad to be a patron and help make these possible.

[diegoreckholder]

As a Guatemalan (who isn't from Maya culture) this video feels AMAZING, and maybe it helps to make Maya people get more importance than they already do.
Thank you!

[visionplant]

A lotta these themes are very reminiscent of West Asian and Mediterranean polytheism. I wonder if there's something about agricultural civilizations that encourage the development of polytheism as opposed to nomadic pastoralism or hunting and gathering

[codyofathens]

Re: glottal stops

If you place your finger just above your Adams apple, and say 'uh-oh!' like a cartoon child in trouble, you can feel what a glottal stop is like, right between the uh and oh. It helped me tremendously to learn to replicate a glottal stop.

I still can't start a word with one, which some languages do, and it blows my mind.


Incredible video as always, I love your content!

[NormalWinterFox]

Thank you for this! I’ve been waiting for something like this ever since your Aztec video. I’m from El Salvador so I wanted to know more
Edit: I almost cried when I saw pictures of Copán and Tikal. My parents took me to those places every other year or so when I was a child and I miss those places