Blog entry #5:

How do we see Mayan values exemplified in modern society?

We see Mayan values exemplified in modern society in many ways, a few o fthem are through religion, sports, and art. In religion we see creation stories that we see in Judaism and Christiantity. In sports we similar entertanment. And in art we see both cultures being reflected.

The Mayan creation stories are very similar to the ones we have in the Torah and Bible. For example the Mayans believed that in the very beginning there was nothing and no one to praise the Gods. Also, very similar God creates everything by word then he would command it good. In the Bible and the Torah there the story of Noah's Ark and the flood. There was a very similar flood in the mayan beliefs.

The Mayans also had a ball game that was a very big deal to them, religiously and competitively. Although the Mayans would sacrifice the losing team, we still see similar sports today. Like soccer and basketball, their sport was very entertaining. The sport was like soccer because you couldn't use your hands. It was like basketball, because you had to get a ball through a hoop. Once one team would do that the game was over.

Like the Mayans we also reflect our culture through art. The Mayans reflected their culture through hieroglyphics, paintings and carvings. We reflect our culture through movies, stories, photography and also paintings, drawings, and sculptures. At the De Young museum there were two cylinders. One had a monkey scribe and another scribe, the other cylinder had sacrificial scene. We can infer from these cylinders that their culture valued writing and sacrifice to please the Gods.

The Mayans have spread a lot of their traditions through out the world.