The Mayan’s family

The Mayan’s family

The family in the Mayan ancient civilization was sacred, because it was the center of the all ceremonies and rituals.

Firstly, the typical Mayan’s family had five or seven members and they woke up before the dawn. The morning started with a chocolate cup or a corn cup and a tortilla, which they ate in a bedroom at side of the chimney, in their wooden homes.

The family’s members had each one a role, so, the more important members was the father; he was the authority of his children only until they were eighteen years old, but before the father was the boss of the family, and he worked in the agriculture, like sowing tomatoes, fruits, pepper, paprika, etc., and construction, like sculptures, monuments, buildings, etc., and while the mother was at her home, knitting, cooking or cleaning the house.

On the other hand, children, dependent of the gender, were at their home or went out with their father, in other words, the girls were at home with their mother, for learning to cook, to knit, etc., and the boys went out with their father for learning about agriculture and construction.

Is important to mention, that the Mayan civilization was organized for hierarchies, so firth were urban people, in this the directing class, priests, artisans and merchants, and second rural people, in this social class peasants were located

For this reason, the family couldn’t to go up in the social classes, neither to progress, because the rights were very strict.

Secondly, the family in the Mayans, were very united and were necessary that all members were together in the morning and on the night, because they had some rituals, for example, the most important rituals was dedicated to gods, so on the night, all members of the family, were together for praying and scarifying, because their life was governed by gods, and their maximums god was Hunab Ku. They, also, went to ceremonies and weddings in family.

By Paula Fernanda Fortoul.