People think this is just one of the many jewels he wore at the ceremonial ball.
This Mayan elite, like many others, will dance with a 25-pound weight hanging from her body, and the jade pendant is not just a gem.
This is a fascinating new insight into the arduous and cruel Mayan dance ceremony.
This is a sign of how the Mayan elites weigh themselves mercilessly before dancing, and it also opens a new perspective for the significance of Mayan jewelry.
Recently, a jade pendant weighing 5 pounds (2 kilograms) was found in Ucanar, Guatemala.
(photo: left, Khalperin, c, etc.
Yes, Christina Khalperin, dancing is more than just a way to kill time for the Mayans.
The Mayans danced to communicate with their gods.
By jumping and moving, they believe that they can put themselves into a trance and bring them into another more spiritual world.
Maya will wear masks and costumes to dance and dress themselves up as birds, jaguars or strange monsters.
They believe that their dance has the ability to transform into these creatures, which they call Wayb or soul mates.
Dancing is a way for them to become more than just men.
This is a way for human beings to enter the spiritual world.
When the Mayans danced, a large group of people would leave their bodies and enter the realm of God. This is a classic jade badge from Maya period.
(cc BY-SA 3.
0), however, the cruel reality is that all the spiritual experiences enjoyed by the Mayans in the dance are almost certainly just collective illusions. Mayan words and images clearly show that drugs and alcohol are the main part of their ritual dance.
Some of them are engraved with offerings to Dionysus, showing that Mayan priests ended a long drinking and dancing ceremony by kneeling down and vomiting.
The Mayans attributed their dance rhythm to incredible experiences.
To a certain extent, it did work.
However, the idea that dance can turn a mortal into a living creature with a soul is so beautiful that it is undeniable that * * * plays the role of a Mayan musician and dancer, a mural of Bonan Park.
However, dance itself is still the main part of their spiritual experience.
They worked together in a comprehensive and physically exhausting ceremony, all of them worked towards the same goal, and the result was the same illusion, and many people experienced pain.
Archaeologists have found countless bloodletting tools on Mayan sacrificial dance sites.
They believe that Maya often cut themselves with sharp thorns, bones and blades before dancing to release their blood and help them bring those extraordinary experiences through complete exhaustion.
Maya relief shows the bloodletting ceremony, and the lady on the right pulls her tongue with a barbed rope.
From Jacques Hiran, Chiapas, Mexico, Maya, about 725 AD.
(CC BY-NC 2。
0), of course, to a certain extent, the huge weight of jewelry hung by Maya elites will inevitably contribute to wear and tear.
To some extent, it must help to exhaust their physical strength and break it down to the point of bringing these spiritual experiences.
Late classic (650-850 AD) Maya face pendant.
(ccbysa3。
0), but the weight may have a deeper meaning.
The weight is unique to Maya elite.
They will dance in heavy belts inlaid with shells, pendants and jewels.
Rulers often put wands and shields on their heads when dancing, and press their heads down with mosaics made of shells, which is to some extent for the sake of beauty.
However, historian Christina Khalperin believes that the huge weight of this Yu Pei may reveal the special significance of this piece of jewelry.
In the west, she thinks that their weighing elite may not have bad side effects on beauty, on the contrary, it may be the whole meaning.
Royal belt decoration (Maya), southern Maya lowlands, Mexico or Guatemala, late classical period, 600-900 AD, Emerald-Dallas Art Museum.
In the public sphere, Maya elites can only wear heavy jewelry. Halperin believes that as a symbolic reminder of the office burden, the Mayans had a concept they called "Kuchi", which can be roughly translated as "burden".
A "Kuchi" may be a kind of guilt, a kind of weight, or-most importantly-a kind of responsibility, just like the responsibility of public office. The "Kuchi" of the Mayan elite is the weight he owes to his community.
This reminds us that he is not in a position of freedom or luxury.
Instead, he served his compatriot Maya there.
Holperin believes that the huge weight of jewelry, like this jade head, is a very practical and concrete way to remind them of their burden.
Every time I dance, I am overwhelmed by the office. The Maya wearing that 5-pound belt is probably a priest.
He could have lived in the ceremony center, led people to dance the ceremony and experienced the spiritual experience related to God, but every action he made would be unforgettable, which was not just fun and games.
He shoulders a sacred responsibility, and the whole society depends on him.
Every step he takes, he feels that the burden of responsibility has dragged him back to earth.
Above: This is an artist's replica of the mural temple in Bonanpak, a Mayan archaeological site displaying heavy jewelry.
CC BY-SA 3。
0, by mark oliver, I am a writer. As a teacher and a father, I have 5 years of experience in online writing. I have written articles for some major historical parenting and comedy websites, and my articles appear on the homepage of Yahoo. Read Mor.