Mythology of the Americas

1. Mythology of the Americas Incas, Mayan, Aztec, Navajo, Crow, andIroquois

2. The Incan Empire At first, the Incas were simply a small tribe that lived in the city of Cuzco. They worshiped gods of nature. They believed in omens and dreams. The Inca empire developed between 1400 and 1500 AD in an area which is now Peru. Before the 15th century the Andean region was populated by many different tribes of people. Under the military leadership of Pachacuti and his son Topa Inca, who were Inca emperors between 1438 and 1493, the Inca state expanded into a great empire.

3. Inca Culture • From a geographic point of view, the Inca empire was not a very attractive place to live. • The north-western border --coastal region of the Pacific Ocean, which is the driest desert on earth. Not a drop of rain has fallen there in over 500 years. • The towering Andes Mountains begin east of the desert, with steep slopes that make agriculture a serious challenge. The Inca solved that problem by creating terraces and filling them with fertile earth brought up from the mountain valleys. • To the east of the Andes, lay the vast and humid jungle of the Amazon River Basin, inhabited by fierce tribes whom the Inca never managed to conquer.

4. Inca History • The Incas were able to build a vast empire by demanding loyalty from conquered people. At the height of their power, the Inca Empire was 2,500 miles long, 500 miles wide, and home to 12 million people. These people called themselves "the Children of the Sun”. • The Inca empire and culture was largely destroyed by the Spanish in the most brutal conquest seen on the American continent. • Under the leadership of Fransisco Pizarro the Spanish stole over 280,000 kilograms of gold from the Inca, destroyed and prohibited all expression of native religion and culture. • Yet many traditions managed to survive in the myths and culture of Peru, Ecuador and Columbia.

5. Incan Religion • The Incas believed that their ruler was the direct descendant of the sun god, Inti. Their ruler was a god. The Incas believed in many gods. They believed in the god of nature, the moon, of weather, of rainbows, and of planets. Every mountaintop was a god. All Incas had little statues in their homes that were the homes of little spirits. Anything might house a god. Just to be safe, they prayed to all their gods every day. • Every month, the Incas held a huge and public religious festival honoring one of their major gods. At the festival, there was dancing and feasting and sacrifice. Mostly, the Incas sacrificed animals. Sometimes, if something really important was going on, they sacrificed people.

6. The creator god of the Inca, also known as Viracocha • The sky god who created the sun, the moon and the people • brought Manco Capac and Mama Occlo to the world to civilize people and teach them skills such as farming and crafts Pachacamac

7. The sun god and the patron deity of the holy city of Cuzco, home of the sun • The patron god of the Incas and especially worshipped by farmers who needed his warmth and light to grow crops • Represented with a human face in a great disk and is found on many temples Inti

8. Manco Capac Pachacamac’s son, celebrated for his courage sent to earth to become the first king of the Incas taught his people how to grow plants, make weapons, work together, share resources and worship the gods Mama Occlo • the sister of Manco Capac chosen by Pachacamac for her wisdom to civilize the people. • taught the women how to weave cloth and build houses.

9. Mayan Empire • Ancient Mayan culture once stretched from central Mexico to Honduras. It also included parts of what is now Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador. • More than 40 cities were founded on the Yucátan Peninsula in Mexico (and elsewhere). • Powerful city-states vied for supremacy, militarily and culturally.

10. Mayan Culture • From the third to the ninth century, Maya civilization produced awe-inspiring temples and pyramids, highly accurate calendars, mathematics and hieroglyphic writing, and a complex social and political order. • They had a well-developed religion and divine pantheon, some of which is described in the PopolVuh. • The Maya were well on their way to becoming a powerful empire when suddenly the civilization collapsed and the mighty cities were abandoned. • One of the mightiest civilizations in the ancient Americas simply fell into ruin in a very short time. • Cities were abandoned and Maya stonemasons stopped making temples and stelae (tall sculpted stone shafts and are often associated with low circular stones referred to as altars). • The dates are not in doubt: deciphered glyphs at several sites indicate a thriving culture in the ninth century A.D., but the record goes silent after the last recorded date on a Maya stela, 904 A.D.

11. Mayan Pantheon ITZAMNÁ IX CHEL • god whoinventedwriting. • the patron of the arts and sciences as well as the god of the sky • goddess of weaving, medicine and childbirth • also the ancientgoddess of the moon • sendsfloods and powerfulrainstorms to earth, and is the wife of Itzamná.

12. Mayan Pantheon CHAC • Rain god • associatedwithcreation and life (alsocloselyrelated to Kukulcan). • one of the three gods that was thought to have created the Earth. • serpent in his natural form and was responsible for teaching the Mayan's about such things as how to run a civilization, agriculture, and medicine. • had a human form as well as his feathered serpent form • would transform into a man standing about 6 feet tall with long white hair, but most interestingly he was a male Caucasian man with white skin!  Kukulcán (Quetzalcóatl)

13. Aztec Empire Invaders led by the Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes overthrew the Aztecs by force and captured Tenochtitlan in 1521, bringing an end to Mesoamerica’s last great native civilization (disease brought in by Europeans). • The Aztecs, who probably originated as a nomadic tribe in northern Mexico, arrived in Mesoamerica around the beginning of the 13th century. • From their capital city, Tenochtitlan, the Aztecs emerged as the dominant force in central Mexico, developing an intricate social, political, religious and commercial organization that brought many of the region’s city-states under their control by the 15th century.

14. Aztec Culture • Had an elaborate government and society that consisted of four classes: nobles, commoners, serfs, and slaves • Economy was based upon agriculture, corn being the most important crop. • Religion was a staple in the Aztec culture. • The Aztecs worshiped hundreds of gods and goddesses; each represented a different aspect of life. • Ceremonies were very important to the Aztecs during the agricultural year ensuring good crops. • During these ceremonies human sacrifices were given to the gods. • Many of the sacrifices were war prisoners or children. • They felt that human hearts and blood gave the gods strength.

15. Aztec Pantheon HUITZILOPOCHTLI (pronounced Weetz-ee-loh-POCHT-lee) • The Aztec's main god • Called "Hummingbird on the Left (South)", "Left-Handed Humming Bird" • God of Sun, death, war, young men, warriors, storms, guide for journeys. • His festival was one of 25 days of a blood orgy with hearts and blood of prisoners dumped on his altar.

16. Aztec Pantheon Quetzalcoatl Tezcatlipoca • “The Feathered Serpent” or Precious Twin. • God of intelligence and self-reflection, a patron of priests. • Primordial god of creation, a giver of life. • With his opposite Tezcatlipoca he created the world. • “The Smoking Mirror” • God of the night sky, ancestral memory, time and the Lord of the North, the embodiment of change through conflict. • Together with his eternal opposite Quetzalcoatl, he created the world. • In this process, he lost his foot when he used it as bait for the Earth Monster Cipactli.

17. Aztec Pantheon Tlaloc Chalchiuhtlicue • “He Who Makes Things Sprout” • God of rain, • He is a fertility god, but also a wrathful deity, responsible for both floods and droughts. • "She of the Jade Skirt" or "She whose Night robe of Jewel stars Whirls Above". • The patron god of women she controlled fertility as well as the oceans, rivers and any other running water. • As the wife of Tlaloc she had a lot of responsibility in the Aztec nation.

18. Navajo Culture • The word Navajo comes from the phrase TewaNavahu, meaning highly cultivated lands. • Largely reside in New Mexico and Arizona • Are considered to be the largest tribe of all Native American Indians. • Originally began their tribes in the 1500’s. • Traded maize (or corn crops) and woven cotton items such as blankets for things like bison meat and various materials that they could use to make tools and weapons. • When the Spanish came into their territory in the 1600’s, the Navajo who use their sheep for things like clothing and food.

19. Navajo Mythology • There is no supreme being in the Navajo religion. • Navajo religion worships the winds, watercourses, sun, and a number of gods that they believe intervene in human affairs. • These gods are worshipped often by offerings made to them and ceremonial dances in their honor where they are represented by painted and masked men. • They believe that there are two types of beings, the earth people and the Holy People. • Although the Holy People cannot be seen, the feel that they either help or harm the earth people and are extremely powerful which is why it is important for them to worship and perform ceremonies often. • There are around sixty sacred ceremonies that can be performed by the Navajo Indians. • In order for these ceremonies to be effective, they tend to last as long as four days. • Four is a sacred number to the Navajo.

20. Navajo Pantheon • Estsanatlehi - Chief goddess • Hastsehogan - House god • Hastseltsi - God of racing • Hastsezini - Fire god • Iyatiku - Mother of humans and corn goddess • Nayenezgani - God of war • Nltci - God of wind instruments and wind • Tobadzistsini- God of war • Tonenili - Rain god • Tsohanoai - Sun god and creator • Yei - Creator gods • YolkaiEstan - Sea goddess

21. Crow Culture • Crow men hunted bison, sheep, deer, elk, and other game and were skilled at using bows and arrows and spears to catch their prey. • Both men and women participated in art such as quill embroidery and carvings, music, and storytelling. • The name of the tribe, Apasaalooke, meaning "children of the large-beaked bird,” was a name given by the Hidatsa, a neighboring Siouan tribe. • The bird, perhaps now extinct, was defined as a fork-tailed bird resembling the blue jay or magpie. The Crow Indians, who were made up of many small clans, once inhabited the Yellowstone River Valley, which covers parts of Wyoming, Montana, and North Dakota.

22. Crow Mythology • Death rituals sometimes consisted of the mourning family inflicting pain on themselves. As a means of grieving, they would cut themselves so it would leave a scar. • Crow women were known to cut off their hair as a means of grieving. • Warriors moved on to become chiefs of their clan only if they fulfilled several prerequisites and were then selected as chief by the council of chiefs. They needed to defeat another tribe through war, physically touch one of their enemies during battle, steal a horse from an enemy settlement and take a weapon from an enemy under fire. • Tribe members customarily fasted up to three times in their life, in an attempt to bring themselves closer to the spirits. • A sacred pipe was smoked and passed around by the chiefs before tribal meetings with the belief that it would help to solve problems. The pipe had to be passed in a specific manner. It was passed only to the left and was not to be rotated in any way during the pass.

23. Crow Pantheon • Akbatekdia - Supreme god • Coyote - God of creation • Isakakate - The great spirit • The shaman of the tribe was known as an Akbaalia ("healer"). • Cirape ("younger brother") is a companion of the old coyote trickster spirit. • The Mannegishi are bald humanoids with large eyes and tiny bodies. They were tricksters and may be similar to fairies. They have supposedly been sighted in Massachusetts and are known there as Dover Demons. • Awakkuleis also a trickster spirit, but occasionally helps people instead. • Baaxpee is a spiritual power that can cause a person to mature, as well as unusual events or circumstances that force maturation. • After transmogrification, the changed are known as Xapaaliia. • Andiciopec is a warrior hero who is invincible to bullets.

24. Iroquois Culture • The Iroquois Indians are Native American people that lived in the Northeastern U.S. • The area is also referred to as the Eastern Woodlands region and encompasses New York and the immediate surrounding areas. • The Iroquois originally called themselves Kanonsionni, meaning “people of the Longhouse” (the name of the shelter they live in), but today they go by the name Haudenosaunee. • Originally five tribes made up this larger group, but in 1722 a sixth tribe joined the Iroquois nation and they also became known as the Six Nations: Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Tuscarora and, Seneca

25. Iroquois Culture • The Iroquois were hunters and gatherers, farmers, and fishermen but the main staples of their diet came from farming. • They harvested the three sisters -corn, beans, and squash as well as tobacco for smoking. • Out of six annual ceremonies, four of them revolved around the corn crops: Corn Planting Festival, Green Corn Festival, Harvest Festival of Thanksgiving, Maple Festival, New Year Festival, Strawberry Festival • The Iroquois are very well known for their masks. These masks are considered sacred and not meant for anyone but tribe members to see. • The Iroquois were very spiritual people. They believed that everything took place for a reason and everything, living and non-living, had a spirit. • Stories were passed down verbally from generation to generation. • The older tribe members would customarily sit around longhouse fires on cold winter nights and tell stories of how things came to be to the younger Iroquois.

26. Iroquois Pantheon • Ataensic - Sky woman and mother earth • Eithinoha - Earth goddess • Ga-Oh - God of the winds • Gendenwitha - Goddess of the morning star • Ha WenNeyu - The great spirit • Hahgwehdiyu - A creator god • Hawgwehdaetgah- A creator god • Hino - God of the sky • HodianokdooHediohe - Omnipotent and incomprehensible creator god • Ioskeha - Creator god • Neo - Supreme god • Oki - God of oaths and agreements • Onatha - Goddess of wheat • Sky-holder - Creator • Sone-yah-tis-sa-ye - Great spirit and creator of the Indians • Taweskare - Malicious creator god

27. Bibliography • http://iroquois.algonquinlonghouse.org/index.asp • http://www.aaanativearts.com/indian_gods.htm • http://www.mythologydictionary.com/central-american-mythology.html • http://www.mythicjourneys.org/bigmyth/myths/english/eng_maya_culture.htm • http://mysite.du.edu/~ajenniso/IncaEmpire.html • http://peru-facts.co.uk/inca-facts.html • http://tiger.towson.edu/~bmendi2/The%20Incan%20Empire.html • http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/incan-mythology.php • http://203-05-b5.blogspot.com/2009/09/in-order-to-fully-comprehend-aztec.html • http://www.angelfire.com/az/atid410/ • http://www.maya12-21-2012.com/maya-deities-mayan-gods-and-goddesses.html • http://www.ancient.eu.com/article/415/ • http://iroquois.algonquinlonghouse.org/index.asp • http://www.buzzle.com/articles/iroquois-tribe-religion-and-culture.html • http://native-american-indian-facts.com/Great-Plains-American-Indian-Facts/Crow-Indian-Facts.shtm • http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/gods/aztec-gods-a-gallery • http://www.bigorrin.org/iroquois_kids.htm • http://www.viventura.com/blog/15-curious-facts-about-the-incas • http://www.everyculture.com/North-America/Crow.html