The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

The Maya's are generally considered intellects of ancient Mexico. The culture begins at about 2600 BC and flourishes between 300 and 900 AD. With their knowledge of astronomy and mathematics they calculated the lunar cycle, predicted eclipes and other events with alot of precision and formulated a calendar more exact than the one we use today. However, the elite Mayans were obsessed with blood - both their own and their captives. Blood letting was carried out to feed and propitiate the 166 Gods. For the Maya, blood sacrifice was necessary for the survival of both Gods and people.

Was the Maya civilization a vampire community or did they only worship Gods that required blood sacrifices ?

I will start this discussion with some information I obtained from www.indians.org:

"The Maya filed their teeth, sometimes into a T shape and sometimes to a point.

In the basest sense, it seems as tho they were a "vampire" society. I believe I read something that the Mayan's believed that they derived their power from drinking the blood of their enemies, and often times blood was used in their religious rituals. Evidence was also found of human sacrificies in some tribes, how was the blood used there? IMO, if you look at the basic definition of "Vampire" and compare it the historical facts of the Mayan Empire, then yes, they were a vampiristic society who used blood for religious signifigance.

I don't think you could consider them a "vampire" society simply because of the fact that they used blood in their religious rituals.

I'd say that to be considered a vampire you need to partake of blood as part of your everyday routine, in fact, to crave it as a source of nourishment, without which, you would be unable to thrive.

Using blood as a sacrifice to placate admittedly very blood-thirsty dieties does NOT constitute vampirism. It's simply mankind's way of appeasing the will and temper of their gods.

I think this is very interesting... It could be true... maybe their Gods had blessed them with their gift and they shared the same fate... Then again, no one could possibly know if they were actual vampires... it was such a long time ago. Maybe they were blood thirsty cannibals as many other tribes and civilizations had been. The Mayans were very smart and wise in mathematics and their astronomy as well as other things. It's hard to say yes or no because there are a lot of possibilities...

I agree.

I believe they could be vampires infact.

It would make lots of since.

Researching more into this will be needed.

The Mayans would find reasons to use torture and human sacrifice throughout their culture. The young men painted themselves black until marriage. One of their gods had the head of a bat, Camazotz, a vampire deity depicted with a razor in one hand and a wilting victim in the other. Along with their sharpened teeth, they surely lived much as a vampire community but to say they were actual vampires I doubt.

According to www.civilization.ca the Mayan's drank blood.

Something interesting, if gruesome regarding Mayan blood drinking practices:

Besides interpreting external phenomena like stars, beans and bones, the Maya engaged in several consciousness-altering exercises to communicate with the gods and peer into the future. Principal among these was bloodletting. "Blood was the mortar of ancient Maya life," Linda Schele writes in The Blood of Kings. Schele is a major translator of Mayan hieroglyphics. Blood was a valuable commodity to the Maya. According to their view, the gods created humans to sustain and nourish them through the sacrificial offering of blood. Animals such as jaguars were ritually sacrificed on occasion, but most often human captives were the source of divine nutrition....

For divination, however, only the ruler's blood and that of his wife would do. Carvings of rulers show them with the sacrificial implements - an obsidian knife and a pouch full of sting ray spines. The male would extend his penis and slice or pierce it to allow a massive flow of blood (see picture #1). The female would pierce her tongue and draw a thorn-studded cord through it. The blood was collected in a bowl full of paper scraps which would then be burnt. The gods liked their offerings in smoke form.

These blood-lettings were often preceded by fasting and accompanied by elaborate ritual and the burning of great quantities of copal incense. The combination of food deprivation, ritual, smoke, pain and blood loss produced a shock effect that transported the blood-letter into a trance state. The direct correlation between blood-letting and seeing a vision is graphically depicted in Mayan art (see pictures #4 and #5). The smoke from the burning blood-soaked papers was imaged as a vision serpent, out of whose mouth a god or ancestor would appear to give advice. It was not for nothing that the rulers of Maya cities were called "blood lords." It was their duty, particularly on important occasions such as a new katun, to offer their blood to the gods for their people.

From here.

Which seems to imply that at least to this particular researcher, blood was necessary for divinatory purposes and ritual sacrifce, not for imbibing on a regular basis for nourishment. Unlike, say the Masai, who survived on the blood of their animals at times, and who we have already discussed in this forum and decided that no, they were not.

There were and are many civilizations that drink the blood of their enemies/kills and by one of the definitions of the word vampire that makes them vampires. That does not mean they were/are the fictional superhuman undead type of vampire. So if you use the definition "one who drinks blood" yes the Mayans were vampires.

You are correct Wolvie.As an Anthropology/Archology student I do agree 100%. There is alot of good research on this thread I am impressed.
KA
KA

Drakontion,

I think you need to read your own post to this thread again because you stated only the rulers blood was good enough for the sacrifices to the Gods and the human captives were the source of divine nutrition...

Actually what I copied from the site said that the ruler's blood was required for divinatory purposes, and the blood of everyday people was offered as ritual sacrifice.

So sorry, I'm not quite understanding what you're getting at there...

That Mayan's drank blood not just in sacrifices to their Gods, it was nutrition and a way of life.

What I said was:

Which seems to imply that at least to this particular researcher, blood was necessary for divinatory purposes and ritual sacrifce, not for imbibing on a regular basis for nourishment.

LMAO!!!! were did you get such an idiot idea my friend??? yes, mayas drinked blood, just like Aztecs, Celtics, Greeks and so many other old civilizations, it say that gods needed blood sacrifieces because they did not have, and in the blood of they enemies they finded they strength, but no... mayas were no vampires, why i am so sure? i am mexican, and i grew up been told storys about my people, maya and aztec, the spain people tought we were Demons at first, as we tought they were gods, but if some one came whit the stupid idea of vampires were the Spain soldiers. in short, no, mayas were no vampires. in any sence

No sense in insulting someone for creating a thread partaining to applicable knowledge.

Speculation once more regarding civilizations vs vampirism. No proof either way, considering only hollywood type vampires are undead. Vampires of history were not considered undead by any means. Tepesh himself was considered vampire as he did drink the blood of his enemies, consuming their power into him.

Or Bathory, who bathed in blood. Why not the Mayan or Incan? Who drank the same as Tepesh? Or even the Masai. If the act of blood consumption does indeed let one inherit the vampire rite, then so be it.

Does not mean they are. But hey, who am I to say who is or who is not?

then half of the world would have vampire blood on them, i am self am a desendent of the Aztecs who just as mayas drank blood, and in way more levels!!! mmmm, interesting...

i have a maya mexican brother inlaw which he has told stories to me that in there history that maya's were into cannibalism..

i beliave your brother in law was laughting at you... hardcore!!! come one people, mayas were not man eating people, or vampires, they just see the power in blood and the life that run whit in it, and give it to they gods, just as cristians drink the blood and body of Jesus in a simbolic way at church.

im sorry i just ask him and i was wrong about his kind eating humans but he says there were human sacrifice for the god of water..

Allegorically speaking of course with the symbolism of blood of the blood. We are conversing of the real thing.

If you tarry of the main topic, you would be considering religion to be vampiric. Which it most certainly is not. Civilizations of which drank the real deal, may have been mistaken for vampires, or perhaps even monsters.

Hell, they could very well have been considered cannibals for the surreal fact that they did cut out the hearts of the sacrificed and took a bit. Very painful ordeal.

This also brings in the Native Americans, who in fact cut their pray open and ate a piece of their insides as well. Thus symbolizing the coming of age.

All these ideas are grand, but when it comes to the consumption of blood, many cultures and civilizations perform this act.

Whether or not this is considered vampirism is the main topic is it not? But what is vampirism if not the consumption of the blood?

pain you are right he did laugh at me but he said he wanted to see your reaction, i should had checked out the info my self on the internet..

my brother in law is from japus.. i cant spell that very good but i try..

They also ate the hearts of their enemies...to gain their power and strength

No historical evidence would suggest that they were, if you were to compare them to what we know of vampires.

They sharpen their teeth to a point, drank blood, performed blood letting rituals and made sacrifices to Gods who demanded blood for nutrition. If they were not vampires, no one could be classified as a vampire.

hmm let me put my 2 cents in, Doku in answer to the sharpening of the mayans teeth, think of this, when you see a bat the teeth are sharp, well the mayans had a bat like god, what is to say they sharpened their teeth to be in the likes of their god.
Now as for the blood drinking and human scarifices and such, back in early civilizations, they all used blood in their rituals, and even drank blood and such be it an animal or human. It was believed that they would take in the power and energy of said animal or human. This in no way is concidered vampirism.

per Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampirism
it states; "Vampires are mythological or folkloric creatures, described as undead beings who feed by draining the blood of humans. Although vampiric entities have been recorded in most cultures, the term vampire was not popularised until the early 18th century, after an influx of vampire folklore into Western Europe from the Balkans and Eastern Europe.[1] Folkloric vampires were depicted as revenants who visited loved ones and caused mischief or deaths in the neighbourhoods they inhabited when they were alive. They wore shrouds and were often described as bloated and of ruddy or dark countenance, markedly different from today's fanged vampire."

There is a medical term for vampirism but I have yet to find it but I know that it does exhist.

The reality is that more things exist than we are willing to admit. Maybe belief makes someone a vampire, just as belief makes some a christian.

If you look throughout history. Most of the older Gods demanded Blood Sacrifice. Even the God of the Jews and Christians. For a Time even the Catholic Church was looked on with apprehension because only the members were allowed to take communion. And the last words some would hear as they were escorted out of the church was, "Gather around and let us partake of the Blood and the Body."
Pain has made valid points. Several cultures from around the world have all performed rituals that involved Blood letting and drinking as part of thier daily life and religion. Does that mean the the human race is the decendants of some previous Vampire Race? No. It means times change and values change. That does not make our ancestors Vampires.
Mayan or Otherwise.

Doru

good topic

but the thing you said about them sharping there teeth,, has nothing to do with vamprism tribes today in africa and south america still practice this today sharping there teeth,, many mails in the amazon do this as a right into man hood,, is what our brizlian forange student told us way back

The activities of a culture describes the nature of that society, thus by all conclusions, the Mayan's had every vampire quality, except the "Hollywood" description of being undead. Walk like a vampire, talk like a vampire, you are a vampire...

i also forgot in some cultures it considreid beautiful for a woman to sharpin there teeth many men will offer up to 10 cows for a woman who dose that,, and still has nothing to do with vamprism

i do not think they were a race of vampires but i do think they did have a understanding of blood magic in truth that is the oldest form of magic they say the life is in the blood then what better to use to get the best results?

Very good post, facts that i have not seen before, mayas was a culture that believed in killing for pleasing the gods of their time, and to say they could have vampire society. ponder ponder, maybe a good point to say, yet many in history have been vampires yet to the knowledge out there they did not partake in drinking blodd only the use of it in their rituals.

The Mayan’s did not consume blood themselves, they only worshiped Gods that required the blood because the Gods could not produce their own (blood), thus requiring blood sacrifices to maintain their existence and the existence of all.

The sharpened teeth were only a ‘fashion statement’. The sharper the teeth, the more desired the person was; just like they would flatten their children’s faces to beautify them in adulthood.

Bah, I need to wake up... Let me correct that... To clarify, they did consume blood, but for ceremonial purposes only; to imbue strength, to connect with the Gods, as a final ritual to overcome their enemies, etc. In some cases warriors did eat the flesh of their enemies for the same reasons I previously mentioned. (As did some Native American tribes). But did that make them Vampires? No, they did not even know the sense of the word. However, if Yucatán still thrived today… Maybe, because the perception of the word has changed. They consumed blood, in ‘rituals‘, just as modern day Vampires consume blood in ‘rituals‘ be it sexual, or otherwise. However, the did it to rejuvenate their Gods and to connect with their Gods… Modern day Vampires, do not. The only similarity I see here is the consumption of blood; but for different reasons!

i found something bout The Vampires of Maya hope its a little bit of a help and u will find also the link too where i found this info for you, and maybe u will find it useful info.

The vampire legend was not unknown or lost to ancient Meso-American cultures, such as the Maya and Aztec. The vampire of the Maya, known as Camazotz, was a full fledged god, and was central for the Maya agriculture, but was not respected.

LINK:

http://www.bigmamasrecipes.com/historyofvampire

I don't think that the Mayans were a vampiric culture...they did make blood sacrifices of all their deeated enemies...which only says that they were blood thirsty and cruel...but they didn't use the blood as their prime source of physical nourishment...

I thought all the cultures back then were the same ie making blood sacafises etc. I didnt think they were a vampire race so to speak

didnt a lot of civilizations back then make blood scrafices in there rituals?

sacrifice that is. lol sorry about the typo

very good post doru in some sense they may seem vampiric but in the way i see it they were more then that they sacrificed blood to higher powers which vampires do not do and the sharpening of teeth well i think they might of done that to be able to eat food especially meat was really tough at that time period

the only what to really no is to ask the maya's them selfs and if alot of them come back with an answer it should become fact..right..?

in a myth i heard they did it the flesh of there enimies but sence i have a inlaw that is a maya indian i will get more info from him in his culture..

so far he has said sacrifises were taken for there gods

no they arent!
They knew the power of blood and used it in their rituals and as gifts to their Gods gave them blood.
They didnt eat human either.

In my first post on this subject I doubted the possibility but as I read on I am beginning to think otherwise. There have been other instances where people in history were considered likened to vampires with less proof. The only thing missing is the bite itself in the theatrical sense.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcYfyUnwIi8

that video says alot right there. but didnt see any one eat any thing or dring any thing.... just sacrifice..

Question is, do you believe everything you see on the telly if it is not a documentary??

It was not uncommon for neolithic cultures to use blood sacrifice, as did the Mayan. The records indicate they sacrificed many of those captured in battle by removal of the heart upin a stone altar at the top of a pyramid.
It was also not uncommon to take your enemies head, eat their liver, and drink their blood in many cultures, both in the New World and the Old.
If "drinking human blood" was the only criteria for being a vampire, then the Maya and other cultures were vampires. But as post modern folklore definitions go, they do not fit the description we use for vampire.

i have read the posts and in a way why cant it be a vampiric culture and use it for religious purposes. I mean look at christians and catholics the have things blessed so on so forth so why couldnt the Mayans do the same thing sacrafice hense blessing thier own nurishment for everyday life who knows it is a question that unless someone wroter it down we might never know.

It seems to me like the blue colored friends of the sacrificed one, didnt like the sacrifice of their friend.

It seems like their faces speak of how all that is childish and in vain.

Seems like it is a painfull, stressfull experience for them to witness, like they do not believe in their god so much anyway.


It is a funny video.

I think mayans were a funny "culture".

The sacrificed one is unafraid and willing, but it seems like he took something really strong, halucinogenious.


But I do find the skillfull net catch of the sacrifices rolling head entertaining, and the long way it went down.

And the beheaded body it self, the way it moves down the numerous count of steps.

And the manner in wich the crowd grabs the beheaded body after it reaches it final position.

an Ritualistic picture indeed.


Still, I am wondering, how a strange funny way it is, to try to please a god.

I bet that one was a god of laughter?

Or was that really meant to shake off some demons?

From what i have been reading the Maya's weren't that big into sacrificing people, it was mainly animals. The main culprits seem to have been the Aztec's, they sacficed almost everyone they captured in war and drank their blood in cermonies plus i've seen a calender showing their festivals which require blood sacrifice and they span almost all of the year put together. If there was ever a vampric culture, it could be that one.

P.S here's a good website for the info:

http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/CIVAMRCA/AZTECS.HTM

A lot of cultures back then did the same thing, sacafise, drink blood, etc etc etc. It was all done to appease their gods. Really it all boils down to who was the more bloody thorsty and they more more feared.

A very good question Rogue, it's up to the historians and archeologists to answer that one as we don't seem to have a TARDIS about, Lol

my brother knows some maya mexicans and i will ask them the sam question what there history was about .. this is a neet question

We all know that blood does help with restoring our vitality, Science has proven that any culture that uses blood for this reason is a confirmed vampiric community.

True charkiss, but wer'e they using blood to restore their vitality or using it to 'appease' their gods??? Seems to be a critical question

i believe that if there are ufo's that the mayas are probably them people

Thanks everyone for all of your psots and information on the Maya's.

No, don’t believe that the Mayans where a vampire culture. There is a big difference between blood letting sacrifices and vampire culture.

They had a "Vampire" GOD that lived in a cave and drank blood. The Mayan Culture was aware of vampires.

Mayan were considered among the most blood thirty cultures in the ancient world but you also have to consider that blood ritual were used very often and considered the most powerful among all the rituals and depending on the god they were worshiping they would choose their sacrsfice

no I dont think they were a vampires