THE MAYAN BELIEFS

The Mayans had many beliefs and rituals about astronomy.

A cluster of stars that were very interesting to them, were the Pleiades, or Tzab. A myth of these stars was that one day, the twin gods Hun-Apu and Xbalanque, and the giant Zipaona had a fight. The twins, with the help of their brothers, dug a pit to build a house. They asked Zipaona to dig a deeper hole. They threw dirt, and rocks on him and finished making the house. When they finished, Zipaone jumped up and the brothers were flung in the heavens.

This myth describes the cluster of the Pleiades. The Mayans believe that when the Pleiades rise in the morning on the 25 of April, it fertilizes the seeds. Also, it predetermines the coming of the rain. A ceremony they had was that every 52 years, when the Pleiades rise at midnight, the people left the city. If the Pleiades would not stop, they would have 52 more years to live. If the Pleiades stopped, the earth would be destroyed.

Another belief that the Mayans had, was of the planet Venus. When Venus was in a certain position, the Mayans went to war and sacrificed people. They believed Venus was born on August 13, 3114 b.c. The calendar they used had a year of 144,000 days that was called the Baktun. When three of these years pass, the world will end. Astronomists believe that according to this belief, the world will end the 22nd of December of 2012!