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Background:
Tomorrow is Another Day
The Mayan people
Mayans were members of an American Indian
civilisation who lived in the Yucatan Peninsula
in Central America, near Mexico. They had
the highest, most advanced civilisation
in the so-called New World during their
period of greatest power, the ‘Classic
period,’ AD 325 – 925.
How good were they?
Pretty impressive. During this period, the
Mayans constructed elaborate stone buildings
and stepped pyramids without using metal
tools. They used hieroglyphic writing and
expressed themselves through sculpture and
painting. The Mayans were skilled potters
weavers and farmers.
What a mistake to make
While the Mayans were intellectual and advanced
in the arts, they made some glaringly obvious
mistakes, all of which had contributed to
the downfall of their civilisation well
before the Spanish arrived in the 16th century.
Some major boo- boos were:
- They never
used animals for transport even though
they were available to them.
- Once they
had metal they used it for jewellery rather
than for tools. Their tools were made
out of stone and much less effective.
- They realised
the capability of the wheel and used it
for toys in yet they never made a cart
or a wheelbarrow.
- They built
roads but only ever walked down them by
foot on days of ceremony.
What about
the Sun God?
Mayans worshipped different gods and ancestors
and made human sacrifices upon their elaborate
temples. The idea of the Sun God was probably
introduced from Mexico towards the end of
the classic period. It is quite likely that
this idea would still have been around in
some isolated villages by the 16th century,
when ‘Tomorrow is Another Day’
is set. The blood of prisoners was sacrificed
to give life to the Sun God, and as a result
he was able to complete his daily journey
across the sky.
The coming of the Spanish
Mayan civilisation had passed its peak and
the great cities had been deserted when
the Spanish conquered the area early in
the 16th century. This is the period in
which ‘Tomorrow is Another Day’
is set. Separate provinces and chiefdoms
lived isolated in the countryside and once
impressive ceremonial centres were left
in ruins. Warfare existed between chiefs
and corruption often occurred within these
separate settlements. The Spanish with their
guns and horses were easily able to overthrow
these disorganised, small communities. The
Spanish brought with them disease, which
harmed the Mayan population, and their culture
declined even further.
Mayans today
Mayans still represent a high proportion
of the population in the Yucatan area. Separate
communities have continued to develop. Different
Mayan groups within the area use at least
20 different languages. Spanish is also
common and a large amount of the people
are Roman Catholic.
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