Sacrifice: A Maya Conception of a Misunderstood and Underappreciated Component of Well-Being
Sacrifice: A Maya Conception of a Misunderstood and Underappreciated Component of Well-Being
Alexus McLeod
ABSTRACT
In this paper, I develop an account of the premodern Maya conception of sacrifice as a virtue and a key aspect of well-being. To do this, I look to premodern Maya sources—particularly, Classic Period texts and images (in Part One) and the Postcontact text Popol Vuh (in Part Two). I offer interpretive reconstructions, to illustrate key features of the Maya concept of sacrifice as a principle of growth as well as metaphysical and ethical renewal, as demonstration of the interrelatedness of phenomena, and as an aspect of personal survival.
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