Who Are the Mayans Today

I really enjoyed watching the Rigoberta Menchu. I wanted to give her a big hug after listening to her. I just loved her smile and personality. I enjoyed her comments on quality of life. She mentioned the two dimensions that represent fortune. One being material fortune, (money, car, house, ect…) and spiritual fortune. If there is no balance between the two then there is human decomposition. Many have their material fortune much higher than their spiritual fortune. When the Mayans are young they are taught never to take more than they need. Many people are taking more and more everyday and there is so much suffering because there is no balance. I thought that was great because it is so true. There is so much crime on the news and most comes from not having a balance in life. I know this has nothing to do with the topic we are to right about but I just really enjoyed listening to her speak.

The Mayans today are spread out all over Mexico and there is an estimated 7 million still living spread out around Mexico. According to the article Mayans Today, Most Maya families are maize farmers and they still use the slash and burn method for their milpas. They still use a lot of the same methods for their cooking as well. Still today, in Chiapas, Mexico, the Maya people are caught between the Zapatistas rebels and the Mexican government. They are still being mistreated and receiving threats toward their way of life. In the Lacandon forest, the harvesting of the great mahoganies is not only destroying the precious rainforest, but is also seriously jeopardizing the remote Lacandon Maya community. Their culture represents a diverse combination of life styles from traditional Mayan Shamanism to 21st Century Professionals.

The Maya are often referred to as a civilization of the past; yet there are millions of traditional Maya practicing and living today. I find it interesting that they still practice their way of life even though they are persecuted for it. They still wear the traditional Mayan clothing and continue to live a simple way of life. They do not have huge houses and material things. Some do drive cars. The women wear colorful garments as their regular cloths. It is reported that Those garments were once only permitted to the ancient Maya ruling class. Each village has its own distinctive and complex pattern. The women weave these garments in the intervals between housework and farming, and the techniques are passed on from mother to daughter. (I found this info from http://www.nhk.or.jp/inca-maya-aztec/en/02-mayan/mayan-civilization/how-collapse.html)

I agree with what a couple of people said in voice threads mentioning how so many people talk about this civilization being dumb and being savages but they were considered to be more intelligent and a more advanced cultural.