The Social organization of the Maya Was based on the existence of very recognizable figures. The Mayas , As a civilization, is one of the most recognized pre-Columbian cultures of Mesoamerica .
His model of social classes was very difficult to move since the one who took charge of the state was the figure of the hereditary King, or also called Ahau.
The other members of the society also maintained little vertical mobility, or possibilities to achieve improvement in the ladder. Moreover, in most cases, men were limited to the same occupation of their parents.
On the other hand, women could be involved in government, economy and religion, as well as being responsible for the home, the home, and the children. However, Maya women could not marry outside their social class.
The pyramidal form in which Maya society was organized was through a rigid caste system, since for those born in a social position it was almost impossible to abandon it. Even marriages were to be with people of their own caste.
Social distribution of the Maya
The dome of this system was composed of rulers, nobles and priests. Then there were the businessmen, merchants and soldiers, while in the lower part of society were the peasants and slaves.
Within the lower ladder, one could see that slaves were not even considered a part of the social system. These people worked for the upper class to carry out their daily work that society considered unimportant.
Slaves had virtually no rights, power and authority and were forced to lead a miserable life. Most were bought servants who were treated like animals. They only had to work under the orders of their owners.
Unlike other figures, the status of slavery was not passed on to the children of slaves. However, unwanted orphans were converted into slaves, being sacrificed during religious rituals.
In case the owner died, the slaves were generally sacrificed so they could continue their service after death. If a man married a slave girl, he became the slave of the woman's owner. This was also the case for women who married male slaves.
For their part, the peasants did most of the hard work, providing the food they grew. They probably composed a large part of the Mayan army as well.
Each city had a reigning family, who were accustomed to live a life of luxury. During religious ceremonies, the rulers carried luxurious.
Power was inherited, and the only way a new ruling family could take it was through war. This is one of the reasons why the struggles and wars between Mayan cities were common.
This structure worked for this society since the lower and middle classes believed that the upper class had been given the right to govern by the gods . In fact, they probably believed that the nobles were somehow descended from the gods.
Being a society with high religious values, the most powerful people of the old Mayan empire were the priests, since they received tributes or gifts and were provided with free labor for what they needed. The peasants did these because they believed that the priests could talk to the gods.
Maya priest
The priests lived a life of luxury with servants and assistants. They usually lived away from ordinary people. Except in the great festivals, the people who supported the priests rarely saw them.
The other members of the high dome of this society were the priests and nobles, who were the only people who could read and write.
Noble people were free to pay taxes. They did not need to produce anything, although some had jobs. Those who wanted them received jobs in the public administration, such as military leaders or business entrepreneurs. Most nobles had a lot of free time and lived luxurious lives.
Traders, for their part, were a fundamental part of the empire, since they had business relations with people from different cities. The Maya were consummate traders. They traveled by sea, river and well-constructed roads to trade with other city-states.
The craftsmen were in charge of making works in ceramics and designed buildings and temples.
For artisans who were peasants, his life was a little more comfortable than for the rest of his fellow guildmen, but they could not act like or dress like a nobleman. They were peasants and if they forgot about that, they risked death penalty.
The middle class also played an important role in Mayan society, of which they were expected to provide a certain amount of free labor to the upper class, and tended to form the intermediate ranks in the Mayan army.
Mayan Social Organization of Justice
Mayan King of San Jose
The form of organization that the Ahaw and its council maintained, was to issue and to carry out several laws, besides practicing force when this regulation was broken.
The most important cases of infractions of the law were always directed by the royal council formed by the Batab and led by the Ahaw, while minor cases were directed by local judges.
Murder, rape, incest and acts that would offend the gods were punished by death. Slavery, several fines, and on rare occasions (since Maya had no prisons), imprisonment, were considered as minor offenses.
Thus, the Maya were commonly merciful in punishment and even a citizen convicted of murder could be punished with a mere fine.
References
- Maya Social Structure. Retrieved from mayas.mrdonn.org.
- Maya social classes. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org.
- Ancient Mayan Social Hierarchy. Retrieved from hierarchystructure.com.
- Project History Teacher. Retrieved at projecthistoryteacher.com.
- Tarlton Law Library. Retrieved at: tarlton.law.utexas.edu.
- Mayan Social Structure. Retrieved from docs.google.com.
- Rethinking Ancient Maya Social Organization: Replacing"Lineage"with"House". Retrieved from jstor.org.