Ugonma,+Cait


 * Maya - El Salvador**

Like many other cultures around the world, Mayans are polytheistic, meaning they worship more than one god. Mayan religion is based on the existence of natural gods such as the sun and moon, rain, and corn. A group of priest were put in charge of performing rituals and ceremonies. The Mayan religion is based on Xibalba; a religion based on cosmology. Their religion suddenly changed slightly when Spanish missionaries introduced them to Catholicism. Therefore the Mayans current religion changed to a mix of Xibalba and Folk Catholicism.
 * Mayan Beliefs:**

**Mayan Behaviors:** Most Mayans lived in farming villages or towns that are usually ruled by a larger Mayan city. Mayan women are basically home keepers. They keep the home clean, cook, watch after the children, and even make clothing. Women were put at a lower level than men. They were not allowed to look directly at their men or eat meals with their men. While the women took care of the home and children the men were out in the fields working. They would hunt and fish and then in the off-season they would join construction groups to help build monuments, roads, and other public projects. Despite their busy schedules, Mayans would have festivals regularly. At these festivals, religious ceremonies would take place such as human sacrifices. They had great times singing and dancing that would follow soon after.

**Mayan Language:**

The Mayan language is very different from how we, Americans, speak. The Mayans used a language that had symbols or signs representing words or phrases called hieroglyphics. Mayans also, used some words to help get their point across this is called logograms. Another method they used is called syllabograms. That is when they use symbols to represent a consonant. Over the years Mayans used hieroglyphics less and less. This language has been around for almost two thousand years now. Today epigraphers, people who study and understand inscriptions, believe that Ch’olan, Tzeltalan, and Yucatecan languages descended from the Mayan hieroglyphics. **Mayan Values:** Mayans valued their gods and religion more than anything. They had a calender that they made up based on many things such as; solar and lunar eclipses and moon phases. They valued their Gods so much that they would do rituals to honor their Gods. Another value of theirs was they believed that their culture and history was very important. They not only wrote down all of their stories, memories, folktales, ect; but they also selected a few people from the new generation to remember all of them. The new generation would have to pass it all down to the next generation after them and so forth. When Spanish missionaries were visiting the Mayan regions, they brought along their Catholic beliefs. The Mayans beliefs was quickly influenced and they created a new belief of folk catholicism. Their original,natural gods such as the sun and moon are now conjoined with christian saints and many festivals were rearranged and changed in order to please and follow both religions. From the 1960’s and forward into the years, the Mayan population started making the switch to evangelical christianity. Even though the Mayans have made many changes to their religions and beliefs over the years, they still practice their native traditions and customs in the privacy of their own homes. Justeson, John. "Mayan Epigraphy." Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture. Ed. Jay Kinsbruner and Erick D. Langer. 2nd ed. Vol. 4. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2008. 429-432. Gale World History In Context. Web. 28 Aug. 2012.
 * The Factors That Impacted The Culture: **
 * Work Cited:**

"Maya Economy and Daily Life." Early Civilizations in the Americas Reference Library. Ed. Sonia G. Benson, Sarah Hermsen, and Deborah J. Baker. Vol. 2: Almanac, Vol. 2. Detroit: UXL, 2005. 415-436. Gale World History In Context. Web. 29 Aug. 2012.

 "Maya." Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life. Ed. Timothy L. Gall and Jeneen Hobby. 2nd ed. Vol. 2: Americas. Detroit: Gale, 2009. 355-359. Gale World History In Context. Web. 28 Aug. 2012. This source was important to us because it provided us interesting and detailed information on the daily life of the Mayans. We found alot of imformation from this article for each

 "Popol Vuh." Early Civilizations in the Americas Reference Library. Ed. Sonia G. Benson, Sarah Hermsen, and Deborah J. Baker. Vol. 3: Biographies and Primary Sources. Detroit: UXL, 2005. 137-150. Gale World History In Context. Web. 28 Aug. 2012.This source was a good source because it helped us to better understand the values of the Mayan people. We also, used it as one of our primary sources.