Mayan Dance: A Cultural Practice Transcending Time - Essay Example

Like other communities, dance is one of the cultural aspects that is highly practiced in Maya. Up to today, dance is an essential Maya cultural practice. The prehistoric dance of Mayan was characterized by the transformation of human beings into supernatural beings (Rich, 2017). The application of products such as drugs was meant to impact mind performance, thus enhancing their dancing technique (Wright & Lemos, 2018). Due to its significant, Mayan dance was perceived as a public affair as it gave individuals an opportunity to communicate with other worlds. The essay reviews the origin, costumes, importance, and dancer roles in the prehistory dance of the Mayans.

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It is believed that Mayan dance was started in the 16th century, and it originated from Span (Wright & Lemos, 2018). The dance was introduced by missionaries who brought Christianity to the highlands of Maya communities. For instance, Catholic missionaries such as Franciscans and Dominicans were highly associated with the introduction of dance in Maya (Wright & Lemos, 2018). Missionaries believed that the application of dance and drama were critical approaches that could impact the understanding of religious concepts and values (Wright & Lemos, 2018). Therefore, engaging biblical dance during the teaching would assist the communities in accepting the religion. Additionally, the application of dance was perceived as a way of impacting the indigenous communities to accept their change to Catholicism (Rich, 2017). Due to the faith that the spirit of a supernatural world occurs through the dance, it was easier for missionaries to introduce new concepts through the application of this culture (Rich, 2017). In this case, missionaries marked the introduction of Mayan dance during the prehistoric period.

In the prehistory of the Mayan dance, costumes were crucial materials that participants were required to observe. During the ceremony, participants were identified by large costumes that covered the body (Rich, 2017). These outfits were made from jade, feathers, and other exotic materials (Rich, 2017). Furthermore, participants were required to have large headdresses, which were covered and decorated with feathers from numerous birds. All the dress codes were made from different colors, such as black (Wright & Lemos, 2018). The black color was used to illustrate the cultural transformation, which is a crucial physical part of Maya communities. As such, black color was used to illustrate the transformation from one aspect to another, such as death. Despite their large size, the dressing was made from light materials, and this gave participants easier movement during the dance (Rich, 2017). Furthermore, a light wooden frame was another crucial cultural practice that the dancers engaged in during the process (Wright & Lemos, 2018). In some cases, the participants used animal skins, which were decorated in various ways to show some cultural aspects. Other materials such as shells, especially from freshwater and marine, were used during the dancing ceremony.

In Maya, ancient dance was used to signify several aspects of the community. At first, the dance was used to celebrate the lords of Palenque. This kind of dance requires a man with an ax and a lady to hold the lower section of a snake. In most cases, the dance was used to celebrate the birth of all gods (Rich, 2017). During the ceremony, the dance was used to close the gap between the world gods and otherworld superhumans (Wright & Lemos, 2018). Secondly, the dance was used to create a sacred space that the community could use for its ceremony. It was believed that through engaging in the dance, the community managed to purify a particular region, thus improving the connection with their gods (Rich, 2017). For instance, Mayan dance was used in ceremonial architecture, thus, purifying the region for ritual activities. Additionally, the dance was important in releasing the dead from the hold of the Xibalbans(Wright & Lemos, 2018). It was believed that Xibalbans were associated with evil, and hence, conducting the dance for the dead would help to counter the issue.

Dancers were required to be certain about where they conducted the process. The approach was influenced as some of the activities engaged in the dance were more private, and thus the dance could only engage specific individuals (Rich, 2017). In ceremonies such as purifying warriors, the community made the event public, and hence, all people could effectively witness. In such dance, communities were offered food and drinks, and this gave participants an active way of watching the event (Wright & Lemos, 2018). In public dance, the ceremony gave people an opportunity to show different social classes and their ability to conduct the process. The process helped to capture a different picture that surrounds numerous social classes within the community.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Mayan dance has been an essential cultural aspect. Mayan dance was started in the 16th century, and it originated from Span. Spanish missionaries introduced the dance as a way of enhancing their religion spread across the community. Through the introduction of the dance, missionaries believed it was easier to convert the community into Catholicism. Additionally, the dance system used an articular dressing code, such as large headdresses, which was made of feathers. The dance was used to create a sacred space that the community could use for its ceremony. Dancers were required to understand the nature of the event, and this impacted the kind of activities to engage in.

References

Rich, M. (2017). Ritual, play, and belief, in evolution and early human societies. Cambridge University Press.

Wright, M., & Lemos, J. (2018). Embodied signs: Reading gesture and posture in classic Maya dance. Latin American Antiquity, 29(2), 368-386.