Read Online The Emperor Has No Clothes A Practical Guide for Environmental and Social Transformation by John Hagen - Free Book Online
Authors: John Hagen
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would undergo periodic death which was synchronized
with the cyclic intervals of the natural process the god embodied.
The royals when they died were resurrected from the underworld as a
god. The most desirable of the pantheon of gods for royal
resurrection was the corn god (over 60% of their diet was corn).
The corn god symbolized planting corn on earth and like the plant
suffers cyclic decapitation (harvesting). War captives where used
to play the ball game against their conquerors for ritual purposes.
The ritual ball games outcome was never in doubt though, the
captives always lost and were subsequently beheaded or had their
hearts ripped out to provide a blood sacrifice. The captives were
also utilized for sacrifices in numerous other religious rituals
connected to the various gods to revitalize their presence. It was
a common practice for the victims to be tortured and mutilated for
protracted periods before being sacrificed. Thus, the well being of
the kingdom was dependent upon the king because he was a conduit to
the gods since he was the author of the constant blood sacrifices.
These sacrifices were of several types. The first was conducted by
the royal who cut themselves and dribbled some blood on a piece of
paper which was burnt to convey it to the gods. The second method
used sacrificial animals and people by killing them in various
ways.
In the earlier part of Mayan history, swidden
(slash and burn) a dispersed form of agriculture was practiced. The
farmer practicing this method would clear a patch of forest and
burn the cleared vegetation which provided ash to stimulate growth.
However, tropical soils are thin, most of the nutrients are
concentrated in the growing vegetation and the soil becomes
depleted in 2 to 4 years when used for this type of agriculture.
After the soil becomes depleted and crop production falls off, the
farmer would move to a new location and repeat the process. The
depleted field would be allowed to lie fallow for 10 to 20 years to
recover its fertility and then returned to for crop production.
This form of agriculture does not require a great deal of labor,
and can be practiced with simple hand tools. In the 1930's studies
were conducted on swidden agriculture. The findings of these
studies showed that it only required 48 days of work to produce
enough food to feed a family. This method of agriculture can be
sustainable as long as adequate periods of fallow time are allowed
for the soil to recover its fertility. Because of the long fallow
periods it requires a large amount of land to practice, and
therefore can only sustain low population densities.[18]
17. The ball game was also
played for non ritual or sporting purposes and both men and women
were participants. It used a heavy rubber solid ball and is the
precursor of modern ball games using rubber balls such as
basketball,soccer, volleyball etc. The game was played by hitting
the ball with hips thighs and upper arms but not kicked or thrown
and passed through hoops mounted on the walls, the players wore
protective clothing.
18. The Kayapo a modern South American
Indian tribe practices sustainable swidden agriculture that mimics
the process of ecological succession. They cut a patch of forest at
the start of the dry season in April-May and leave the plant
materials to dry until astronomical observations and a number of
biological indicators such as the flowering of indicator plants and
animal migrations start to take place in late August – September
and set on fire when the meteorological conditions are correct..
The process of burning is carefully supervised by their shamans
being focused on the combustion of small trunks and lianas but kept
under careful control. Several weeks prior to the burning the soil
is seeded with sweet potato, manioc, and yam which sprout
immediately after the burn. Short cycle crops such as corn, beans ,
melon, and squash follow which quickly provide ground cover in
conjunction with long cycle crops that
with the cyclic intervals of the natural process the god embodied.
The royals when they died were resurrected from the underworld as a
god. The most desirable of the pantheon of gods for royal
resurrection was the corn god (over 60% of their diet was corn).
The corn god symbolized planting corn on earth and like the plant
suffers cyclic decapitation (harvesting). War captives where used
to play the ball game against their conquerors for ritual purposes.
The ritual ball games outcome was never in doubt though, the
captives always lost and were subsequently beheaded or had their
hearts ripped out to provide a blood sacrifice. The captives were
also utilized for sacrifices in numerous other religious rituals
connected to the various gods to revitalize their presence. It was
a common practice for the victims to be tortured and mutilated for
protracted periods before being sacrificed. Thus, the well being of
the kingdom was dependent upon the king because he was a conduit to
the gods since he was the author of the constant blood sacrifices.
These sacrifices were of several types. The first was conducted by
the royal who cut themselves and dribbled some blood on a piece of
paper which was burnt to convey it to the gods. The second method
used sacrificial animals and people by killing them in various
ways.
In the earlier part of Mayan history, swidden
(slash and burn) a dispersed form of agriculture was practiced. The
farmer practicing this method would clear a patch of forest and
burn the cleared vegetation which provided ash to stimulate growth.
However, tropical soils are thin, most of the nutrients are
concentrated in the growing vegetation and the soil becomes
depleted in 2 to 4 years when used for this type of agriculture.
After the soil becomes depleted and crop production falls off, the
farmer would move to a new location and repeat the process. The
depleted field would be allowed to lie fallow for 10 to 20 years to
recover its fertility and then returned to for crop production.
This form of agriculture does not require a great deal of labor,
and can be practiced with simple hand tools. In the 1930's studies
were conducted on swidden agriculture. The findings of these
studies showed that it only required 48 days of work to produce
enough food to feed a family. This method of agriculture can be
sustainable as long as adequate periods of fallow time are allowed
for the soil to recover its fertility. Because of the long fallow
periods it requires a large amount of land to practice, and
therefore can only sustain low population densities.[18]
17. The ball game was also
played for non ritual or sporting purposes and both men and women
were participants. It used a heavy rubber solid ball and is the
precursor of modern ball games using rubber balls such as
basketball,soccer, volleyball etc. The game was played by hitting
the ball with hips thighs and upper arms but not kicked or thrown
and passed through hoops mounted on the walls, the players wore
protective clothing.
18. The Kayapo a modern South American
Indian tribe practices sustainable swidden agriculture that mimics
the process of ecological succession. They cut a patch of forest at
the start of the dry season in April-May and leave the plant
materials to dry until astronomical observations and a number of
biological indicators such as the flowering of indicator plants and
animal migrations start to take place in late August – September
and set on fire when the meteorological conditions are correct..
The process of burning is carefully supervised by their shamans
being focused on the combustion of small trunks and lianas but kept
under careful control. Several weeks prior to the burning the soil
is seeded with sweet potato, manioc, and yam which sprout
immediately after the burn. Short cycle crops such as corn, beans ,
melon, and squash follow which quickly provide ground cover in
conjunction with long cycle crops that
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