Posted on 02/10/2011 6:43:58 AM PST by geraldmcg
I watched a National Geographic special the other day on NetFlix. It was about the Mayan culture in South America and Mexico. This documentary was about several anthropologist who took it upon themselves to decipher the ancient hieroglyphics that covered the buildings and walls of the decaying Mayan structures. It was quite ironic how the anthropologists romanticized the undisturbed culture of the Mayans and the harm (they say) Spanish priests brought to their way of life. Well, according to the history of their "civilization" these people lived in constant conflict and fear. War and bloodshed was a common community concern. The various tribes were in constant power struggles and on top of that they had to appease their hungry God's with the blood of their own children. Then the Spaniards came in and enforced a new religion that brought about order and civility. "Oh what a shame." Were they not happy living in there old hostile culture? Now the anthropologists are reintroducing the history and texts of the Mayan "Utopia" to the Mayan descendants that exist today.
In modern American history, our complacency when it comes to border security has opened a very clear window into the volatile culture of the Mexican drug cartels. I believe that the spirit of the Mayan people lives on today as a legacy of corruption, power struggles, turf wars and the unspeakable barbaric murders that are a daily occurrence along our border with Mexico. The Christian box that the Spaniards tried to force the natives into many years ago, may have bought a season of peace and order, but without a true change of heart, the ways of their Mayan fathers has become manifest once again. Now America willfully reaps the consequences as the Democrats try to cultivate Latino votes to secure their power for years to come.
21 men with rocks beats one man with an M4 and 20 rounds every time, IF 20 of them are willing to die.
In cases of 100 to 1 odds, small military advantage is more powerful as a pschological weapon than as a real advantage, but a real advantage never the less.
Don’t forget the psychological effect of their mythology that firmly and specifically predicted that strange men would arrive via the eastern ocean to end the Aztec Empire.
That’s the sort of thing that scares the hell out of people.
Have South American natives inherited a legacy of violent bloodshed?
Yes. Haven’t we all?
And the Southies still live the legacy, don’t they? Simon Bolivar’s epitaph reads, “Whomsoever has worked for a revolution has plowed the sea.”
There are few groups of warriors I would be willing to bet would be able to withstand that disproportionate level of carnage and still fight on to the last.
Once you captured the leader (Moctezuma/Pizarro) it was the end. In the case of Moctezuma, hid own turned against him.
If they Mayans, pre Christianity, murdered for religion, are forever a subhuman race, what does this writer say about the Romans who murdered for entertainment. This article is racist filth.
A great read on that takeover is Bernal Diaz' "The Conquest of New Spain". Diaz was one of Cortez' men. The technology bit really blew my mind in a couple of places. Diaz reported (paraphrased) that when attacking the capital across those bridges, Captain X "took three crossbowmen and 3,000 Indian Auxiliaries to breach the position."
There was also a difference in approaches to battle - I understand that, like our Indians, fighting was very stylized and used mainly to obtain captives for sacrifice. On the other hand, the Conquistadors were one tough bunch. The standard treatment for cuts was to sear the wound with a red hot iron, then coat it with oil. In one instance they ran out of oil and Diaz says they cut open a dead Indian and used the body fat for the same purpose. No wonder they won.
This article does not imply that the Mayans have the corner on violent history. Nor does it claim that any other ethnic group is void of a violence in some part of its history. It is amazing how responders to this post bring their own presuppositions of racism to this issue. The history of the world is long enough that every people group has more than one skeleton in its closet. The intent of the article was to reveal the ignorance of the anthropologists and the assumptions they made about the Mayan culture.
You’ve got your facts wrong. Originally, Eric Thompson thought Maya civilization was some kind of war-free idyll, but then epigraphers like Yuri Knorosov and David Stuart (the youngest recipient of the Macarthur Genius grant btw) figured out the writing, and we learned that the Maya were as warlike as any other civilization (surprise, surprise).
When the Spaniards arrived, they brought massacre and enslavement. Christianity was an afterthought. (Literally: the priests only came after the original conquistadors had been there a few decades.)
Your post implies that the Maya (and their descendants) are somehow more violent than other people, but that’s not supported by any evidence. In fact, there’s no evidence that any civilization has been more peaceful or more bellicose than any other.
Your right, the priests would have come after the conquistadors paved the way. The priests made the Mayans burn their historic books and offered Christianity as an alternative. I did not say anywhere in the text that the Mayans were more violent than any other people group. Only that the template of Christianity offered a more civil way of life. Not to say that violence has not occurred in the name of Christianity. Usually where Christianity is allowed to thrive, a more peaceful society results.
You gotta be on drugs.
Actually he is using "888" ("Three Eights") which is considered extremely lucky number in Asian, and particularly in Chinese, cultures. Number "8" in itself is considered the symbol of luck / fortune / wealth / prosperity.
During the Internet boom of late 1990s there was a mad rush among many Asian/Chinese websites to register URLs that had 888 in their names (e.g., www.888webtoday.com was registered in December 1999 by Gerald B. McGlothlin).
See following links for more on symbolism of "8" and "888" in Asian and Chinese cultures, or just do a search for "888" "luck" "Asia":
What Is the Meaning of Three Eights in Asian Culture? | Symbolism of 888 - eHow
Numbers in Chinese culture - Wikipedia
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