Religions of Mesoamerica: Cosmovision and Ceremonial Centers (Religious Traditions of the World)

Religions of Mesoamerica: Cosmovision and Ceremonial Centers (Religious Traditions of the World)

A vivid introduction to the native religions of Mexico and Central America from one of the leading scholars in the field. In this first introductory text to cover thoroughly the Mesoamerican religious traditions, David Carrasco provides an overview of the history of Mesoamerican cultures and describes their religious forms, structures, myths, and prevailing "cosmovision"--the Mesoamerican view of time and space and its ritualized representation and enactment.Carrassco details the dynamic of two important, representative cultures--the Aztec and the Maya--and discusses the impact of the Spanish conquest and the continuity of native traditions into the post-Columbian and contemporary eras. Integrating recent archaeological discoveries in Mexico City, he brings about a comprehensive understanding of ritual human sacrifice, a subject often ignored in religious studies. "Clear, crisp and engaging...Carrasco conveys the long-term vitality of religious expression in Mexico and celebrates the creative potential of the human imagination." -- William B. Taylor, professor of history, University of Virginia An introduction to the native religions of Mexico and Central America from a foremost scholar in the field. David Carrasco, professor of history of religions at the University if Colorado, is the author of Quetzalcoatl and the Irony of Empire, and other works. Chapter One Introduction: Approaching Mesoamerican Religions Inventions and Fantasies of Mesoamerica Around 1510 a Spanish reconnaissance expedition from the island of Cuba made contact with a small group of Maya Indians on a beach bordering territory that the people called the Land of the Turkey and the Deer. Attempting to figure out their location the Spaniards shouted, "What is this place called?" The natives replied, " Uic athan ," meaning, "We do not understand your words." In an ironic turn of meaning characteristic of many changes that were to follow, the Spaniards decided to call this area Yucatan, a place name that is now the permanent designation for this eastern part of Mesoamerican. Mesoamerica is a term given by scholars to designate a geographical and cultural area covering the southern two-thirds of mainland Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, and parts of Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. In this area the powerful processes of urban generation began with sophisticated agricultural production in the second millennium BCE and ended with the Spanish conquest in the sixteenth century CE. Extensive research shows that Mesoamerica was inhabited by a wide spectrum of social groups with various levels of social integration; but the permanent, extensive ceremonial centers at the heart of social worlds resembling small-scale city-states became the most powerful social unit in a few different regions beginning around 1500 BCE. It is also clear that the earliest and most influential institutions contributing to the organization of peoples into urban centers were sacred ceremonial precincts. Therefore it is useful to approach the study of Mesoamerican religions through the continuous patterns and presence for cosmovision and ritual action created and celebrated within these ceremonial centers and their city-states. As the naming of Yucatan suggests, however, knowledge of these places and peoples was subject to inventions and fantasies that have had long-term influences. Unless we acknowledge their presence, they can silently distort our understanding of religion in Mesoamerican cultures. In fact Mesoamerica was a powerful European fantasy long before it was mapped or lived in. It was believed to be at once the Garden of Eden and the land of wild men, monstrosities, and devil worship. As the quote that opens the preface to this book indicates, there was excitement and even euphoria in Europe at the news of Columbus's landfall. This excitement extended beyond the Italian humanist Peter Martyr, as indicated by the fact that Columbus's first letter to the crown was published nine times in 1493 and twenty times by 1500. However, it was not easy or comfortable for Europeans to fit the incredible news of entirely unknown lands, peoples, empires, souls, gold, into their intellectual horizon. America became, for centuries, a "strange new world" with different languages, customs, symbols, cuisines, philosophies, manners, and landscapes. Juxtaposed to Peter Martyr's happy announcement is the cleric Cornelius De Pauw's claim, three hundred years later, that the "discovery of the New World was the most calamitous event in human history."2 Europeans struggled in diverse ways to observe, perceive, and understand the New World of America. In the process they produced many inventions and fantasies. The many inventions and fantasies concerning Mesoamerica can be divided into two groups: fantasies about Mesoamerican geography and inventions about the nature of human beings. It is important to review these fantasies and inventions before we study the religions of the Az