The Lacandon Maya are the last Maya who have traditions that have been kept entirely free from christian influence. They number in the hundreds in two locations in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas. Unfortunately, these traditions are quickly dying out, due to the encroaching modern life and christianity.
A very few Lacandon still worship Maya gods in rituals and have multiple types of sacred places they visit. These sacred places are various caves and natural rocks dotted around their landscape that they view as abodes of their gods. Ancient Maya ruins are also seen as houses of the gods. The Lacandon used to do pilgrimages to these places and burn copal in “god pots” and offer offerings. Then they would take a little stone, bring it back to their village, place it in their gods pots, which would then be seen as a house where the god itself would be present. The god pots would be stored in a little building called a god house. A ceremony that would be carried out for these god pots was the balché ceremony. Copan was burned in the god pot, and they would be offered the alcoholic drink balché and ritually prepared food. The last aspect, the sacred food, was prepared by women. The balché would be drunk by the participants in the ritual. Lakes were also seen as abodes of gods, and Lake Mensäbäk and Yahaw Petha were seen as an entrance to the underworld. They have at least 13 gods. Hachäkyum is their head diety. Mensäbäk the god of storms, who lives in Lake Mensäbäk and invites people to live with him after they die. Other gods include T´up, Ah K´in Chob, Säkäpuk, Kayum and Itzanah. When a god pot is abandoned, it is deposited in a cave. Which almost all god pots have been. Because the Lacandon rituals are rapidly disappearing. The Lacandon are split in two groups, the Southern and Northern. The southern abandoned their gods already in the 1950s and adopted evangelical christianity. The northern has kept their rituals for longer but they seem to finally be disappearing, also being encroached on by christianity who harrass the remaining ritual masters. Currently, there is a single ritual master left, Don Antonio Martinez. He might have carried out his last balché ceremony with no one to learn the sacred rites and being harassed by christians. A sad possible end to the maya religion, I hope something drastically happens to revive the ancient traditions.
Myths and stories from the Lacandon
Sources:
The Worshipers of Stones. Lacandon Sacred Stone Landscape
Maya Pilgrimage to Ritual Landscapes
The Lifepath Dialogues (Read this one in particular to know about the latest developments among the Lacandon. The author personally knows the last Lacandon ritual master)
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