Customs of Yesterday's Mayan

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Government:

The ancient Maya had a different type of government from the ones we find today. The batab is a governor, a nacom is a war captain, and a Holpon is a judge. Also, a warrior is just called a worrier.

Sacrifice:

Mayan are often known for their human sacrifices. Some people today find it cruel, bad, and unbelievable! The priests would decide when it was going to be done and how. If the people needed something, the priests would give a human sacrifice. If the sacrifice was to be a man, he would have to be in good physical health. If the sacrifice was to be a woman, she had to be pretty and a virgin.

One way the human sacrifice was conducted was to throw the person into a well. By dawn if the person was still alive, the priest then thought that the gods wanted that person's life to be spared.

Marriage:

If their was no son in the family, the daughter had to get married! The couple usually would live with the husband's parents. The parents could do anything to their child's spouse. In most cases, you would see the mother doing these bad insufferable acts to her child's spouse. These acts would go from beating to starving their child's spouse. The couple would live with one of the parents till their first baby was born. Then they would live on a piece of land that the village gave them. Very rarely would you see parents treat their child's spouse kindly.