Mythology and Ritual
Recent Maya mythology is mainly concerned with Sun's childhood and the conflicts leading up to his actual solar transformation. Although specific imagery is used for the path of the sun (for example, the sun being carried through the underworld on the shoulders of its lord), there are hardly any histories concerning the mature sun deity, save for the southern Lacandons. According to them, Kinich Ahau - the elder brother of the upper god - will put an end to this world by descending from the sky and have his jaguars devour mankind. Little is also known about specific solar rituals, although it is noteworthy that Kinich Ahau regularly occurs in the Dresden Codex, which is largely concerned with ritual matters.
Read more about this topic: Kinich Ahau
Famous quotes containing the words mythology and/or ritual:
“The history of the genesis or the old mythology repeats itself in the experience of every child. He too is a demon or god thrown into a particular chaos, where he strives ever to lead things from disorder into order.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Promiscuity in men may cheapen love but sharpen thought. Promiscuity in women is illness, a leakage of identity. The promiscuous woman is self-contaminated and incapable of clear ideas. She has ruptured the ritual integrity of her body.”
—Camille Paglia (b. 1947)