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The Mayans: Bedletting Rituals
228 Words1 Page
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Throughout Mesoamerica, the Mayans performed bloodletting rituals for a millennium. Mayan rulers and their family members regularly spilled their own blood by opening wounds with obsidian knives, stingray spines, or sharped bones. Men commonly drew blood from their penis, like Chan Bhlum, while women often drew from their tongue (Bentley). Both sexes occasionally drew blood also from the earlobes, lips, or cheeks, and they sometimes increased the flow by pulling long, thick cords through their wounds. The Mayan civilization believed that the shedding of blood was crucial because of its association with rains and agriculture. According to Mayan priest, the gods had shed their own blood to water the earth and nourish crops of maize, and they
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1016 Words | 3 Pagesbeen the staff of life for the Maya ever since. For example maize is for a fact always in a story in the Popol Vuh and how it is used as a offering to the gods whenever there is a bloodletting ritual or even portrayed as the go to food for anything spiritual because that is just how important maize is to the Maya. One of the stories to have included Maize is the story of Lady Blood and the miracle of the maize from the Popol Vuh it tells the tale of how Lady Blood went with the grandmother and...
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