JADE MAYAN CULTURE AND TRADITION!

Ancient civilizations involve a set of traditions and cultures that define who they were in the past. Their important contributions are transmitted through the years to the existing civilizations, enriching our history and identity, and building certain aspects of our society today. Thanks to their ancient legacy, these civilizations have their own cultural identity.

Among these ancient civilizations is the Mayan. Their history dates back more than 3000 years, and includes regions now known as Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico. Their culture was framed in the construction of great religious cities and temples, hieroglyphic writing and astrology.

The Mayan society was organized by social stratification, governed by the nobility, who had the power and the political and religious authority; and to distinguish themselves from the rest of the people, they wore jewelry made of stones, including jade stones.

Jade is a mineral that comes in different colors, and it has different meanings according to each color. White jade is strong and pure. Green jades are the most popular types of jade, and they represent nature. Dark green with stripes were used as good luck amulets, and black ones were used in religious ceremonies. Light green was used for witchcraft, medicine and esoteric purposes; and bright green represented the aristocracy, and it was also used in ornaments for monarchs and leaders.

For the Mayas, this stone represented fertility, and its hardness represented immortality, eternity, heaven, and encouragement. For them, jade was sacred; it was a symbol of veneration. Their leaders were buried with jade masks, so they could be recognized as leaders after death. One of the most famous masks is K’inich J’anaab Pakal’s. Pakal was an ancient Mayan leader, and when he died, he was buried with all his jade ornaments.

The Mayas appreciated this stone so much that when the Spanish conquistadors arrived and asked for an offering, they gave them some jade stones, which Hernan Cortez rejected and discarded, because they did not appreciate the value of this stone, considering that they wanted gold. Now, only diamonds are more valuable than jade stones. Besides, this stone is scares, there are only deposits in Guatemala and Burma, and Guatemala’s is listed as the best in the world.

This is how the ancient Mayan civilizations incorporated the beautiful jade stone in their society and traditions, and made it part of their cultural past, representing their immortality and eternity. This stone has transcended millions of years, and it’ still considered the Mayas sacred stone.