Quote:
Originally Posted by Conan
So what do you call the human sacrafices?
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they don't sacrifice humans anymore.
for those of you that are curious, i went to Guatemala for about two weeks this summer and actually had a chance to interact with ethnic Mayans, people whose beliefs are still indentured in traditional Mayan religion.
the religion itself resembles pagan cultures of eastern Europe, with very similar belief structures directed towards the four corners of the earth. throughout the religion there is a strong correlation between the human spirit and the Earth from which that spirit is blessed, and many of their ceremonies worship this interminable connection.
while i was there i managed to ascend to a Mayan highplace, which is a small building with an altar where practitioners sacrifice animal and crop offerings. there was a pink cross which marked the highplace (resembling the Christian cross very closely), bearing reference to the four corners of the earth.
although almost the entire population of Guatemala is ethnic Mayan, only few of the oldest generation still harbor beliefs about the "end of days" which supposedly plagues the end of the Mayan calender. for the most part it's a developing nation which seeks to industrialize while maintaining the Mayan heritage from which the peoples have descended.