Mayan Sacrifice

The choosing of individuals for sacrifice can be a debated topic, with there being a multitude of examples or theories about how Mayas choose exactly who was going to be sacrificed. Within the previous examples of witches, these individual were most likely chosen and sacrificed without consent. However, there is a form of human sacrifice, auto sacrifice, that was utilized by the Maya as way, which was a fully cooperative form of sacrifice. Linda Schele addresses the use of this sacrifice and its process within the text The Blood of Kings, Dynasty and Ritual in Maya Art, where she particularly focuses upon the act of bloodletting as a political and social device. Bloodletting, the process of producing blood through a series of perforations,

A key aspect of this game human sacrifice, Chichen Itza’s ballcourt having motifs that depicting sacrifice visibly and graphically. Alanis, within his article Sacrificial and Ritual Body Mutilation in Postclassical Maya Society: Taphonomy of the Human Remains from Chichen Itza’s Cenote Sagrado, suggests that these motifs show how “humiliation and sacrifice of captives was an important component of the ball game… this reinforced the idea of the ball game as a metaphor for life and death” (Alanis 2007: 190). The ballgame was a key part in the everyday life of a Maya individual, having deep cultural roots in the Popul Voh and a source of entertainment. By linking human sacrifice to the ballgame, the Maya present sacrifice as an integral part of conventional life, not an extreme variant of

As Maya culture grew and evolved, so did the use of these rituals. While these rituals did involve violent killings of individuals, they were conducted in order to ensure the greater good of all others. The individuals being sacrificed were often elevated themselves, children who were sacrificed to the rain god Chac being interpreted as the entities who are in charge of “rising themselves to the sky and pouring the rain over the Earth.” (Alanis 2007: 201). This ceremony, the Chac Chac ritual, still continues today as a reminder of Maya culture that has been survived the forceful transition to present day. Human sacrifice is a key part of the history of the Maya region, and can be seen as a defining trait within many historical moments. These rituals, conducted in order to bring order and understanding to the world, are key to properly comprehending Maya culture