Ekchuah -Mayan god of war and merchants
Introduction
Mayan religion had many gods described by different seasonal cycles of the calendar. Their religion had a unique characteristic of human sacrifices to the deities. According to the ancient Mayan beliefs, the society perceived rulers as descendants of the Underworld and had a close link with the gods. Conversely, they considered blood as the ideal form of sacrifice as a form of thanking the gods for the rulers. Blood sacrifice was either from bloodletting practices and as well detriment of war captives. Ancient Mayans had several beliefs that explained different stages of life including birth and death. On the other hand, daily activities among the Mayans were closely linked with the supernatural…show more content… Mayans believed that their gods discovered the cocoa plant from the mountains and used them as a delicacy. Mayans believed that a serpent played a crucial role in passing knowledge to them on the special roles of the cocoa. Later, Mayans developed a cocoa god (Ek Chuah) whom they credited with the role of bringing the plant to the community. The Mayans, in their calendar, honored Ek Chuah through a festival held aroundApril. During the festival, Mayans offer sacrifices and cocoa offerings to the god.
While merchants were worshipping Ek Chuah on their travels from the market places, followed a strict ritual enhancing their interrelationship with the god. They used three stones, which they erected on the ground. As an offering to the god, they laid several grains on these stones. Later, the merchants placed additional stones in front of the already placed stones and threw cocoa grains at them (Bezanilla 33). Merchants as well offered thanksgiving prayers to the god requesting him to protect them as they returned home. It was a common among the merchants that they focused on establishing a close relationship with their merchant god and held him responsible for guiding them and protecting them during their activities (Finamore