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Maya Pilgrimage, Ritual Landscapes, and Relations with Deities in Chiapas, Mexico

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Geography of World Pilgrimages

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Abstract

Pilgrimage has been important in Maya cultures in Chiapas, Mexico, for over 2000 years. In this region, as in other parts of Mesoamerica, people have visited significant landscape shrines for rituals as part of their daily lives. Movements to sacred places, including mountains, caves, rock shelters, islands, and ancient ruins, have been necessary for Maya to maintain social relations with deities attached to these locales. Maya must interact with their deities at these ritual landscapes to provide them with offerings and prayers so that in turn the gods will give people rain, food, health, and prosperity. The authors show the significance of Maya pilgrimage and relationships with deities in case studies from Mensabak, Miramar, and Lacandon shrines in ancient Maya sites in Chiapas. The archaeological, historical, and ethnographic information used in this essay demonstrates that pilgrimage must be considered for comprehending many aspects of Maya culture over time, including settlement patterns, economic life, social organization, and cosmogony.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State, Tempe, AZ, USA

    Joel W. Palka

  2. Dirección de Estudios Arqueológicos, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Mexico City, Federal District, Mexico

    Josuhé Lozada Toledo

  3. School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA

    Ramón Folch González

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  1. Joel W. Palka
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  2. Josuhé Lozada Toledo
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  3. Ramón Folch González
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Correspondence to Joel W. Palka .

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  1. Geography, University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain

    Lucrezia Lopez

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Palka, J.W., Lozada Toledo, J., Folch González, R. (2023). Maya Pilgrimage, Ritual Landscapes, and Relations with Deities in Chiapas, Mexico. In: Lopez, L. (eds) Geography of World Pilgrimages. Springer Geography. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32209-9_10

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