Mexicolore logoMexicolore name

Article suitable for Top Juniors and above

Find out more

Question for February 2025

Do they [the Maya] still do bloodletting?? Asked by Heathlands CE Primary School. Chosen and answered by Professor Anthony Aveni

The Maya no longer do it, but when they did it was nothing like the bloody gore shown in our popular media. What would you offer to a foremost deity in return for all the gifts that deity gives you - your crops, your health, your life? The Maya would offer their blood. So in the ceremonies dedicated to payment of the peoples’ debt to the gods, a priest would ascend the altar and prick a sensitive part of his body with a sting ray spine and flick some droplets of blood skyward in gracious thanks.

Picture sources:-
• Illustration (L) courtesy of Felipe Dávalos; (R) detail from a mural by Diego Rivera.

Comments (0)

Professor Anthony Aveni

Professor Anthony Aveni

Recent answers