Christine
OÕConnell
November 5, 2013
Legal Systems
Very Different from Ours
Prof. David
Friedman
First Draft
The Legal System of the
Ancient Maya
Contents
I. Introduction.......................................................................................................................2
II. Background........................................................................................................................3
III. Ancient
Mayan Society.....................................................................................................4
A. Trade
and Economy..............................................................................................4
B. Caste
System..........................................................................................................5
i. Elites...........................................................................................................5
ii. Commoners................................................................................................6
iii. Slaves..........................................................................................................6
C. Religious
and Cosmological Beliefs.....................................................................6
i. Cosmology..................................................................................................7
ii. Rituals
and Sacrifice.................................................................................9
IV. Political
and Legal Structure.........................................................................................12
A. Maya
Rulers.........................................................................................................13
i. Kings,
Nobles and the Royal Court.......................................................14
ii. Local
Government: the Maya Chieftains. ............................................17
B. The
Maya Legal System.....................................................................................19
i. Sources
of Law and the Legal Process..................................................19
ii. Property,
Contract and Estate Law......................................................20
iii. Criminal
Law..........................................................................................22
a. Homicide
and Other Serious Crimes........................................22
b. Theft.............................................................................................23
c. Adultery.......................................................................................23
iv. Family
Law and Marriage Customs.....................................................24
v. Foreign
Law and Warfare.....................................................................25
V. Conclusion......................................................................................................................27
The Legal System of the
Ancient Maya
This is the account of when all is still silent and placid. All is silent and calm. Hushed and empty is
the womb of the sky.
These, then, are the first words, the first
speech. There is no yet one person,
one animal, bird, fish, crab, tree, rock, hollow, canyon, meadow, or
forest. All alone the sky
exists. The face of the earth has
not yet appeared. Alone lies the
expanse of the sea, along with the womb of the sky. There is not yet anything gathered
together. All is rest. Nothing stirs. All is languid, at rest in the sky. There is not yet anything standing
erect. Only the expanse of the
water, only the tranquil sea lies alone.
There is not yet anything that might exist. All lies placid and silent in the
darkness, in the night.
All alone are the Framer and the Shaper,
Sovereign and Quetzal Serpent, They Who Have Borne Children and They Who Have
Begotten Sons. Luminous they are in
the water, wrapped in quetzal feathers and cotinga feathers. Thus they are called Quetzal
Serpent. In their essence, they are
great sages, great possessors of knowledge. Thus surely there is the sky. There is also Heart of Sky, which is
said to be the name of the god.
Tr.
Allen J. Christenson, Popol Vuh, Sacred
Book of the QuichŽ Maya People, (2003).
I. Introduction
ÒThese are the words of my ancient
fathers?Ó asked an awe-struck elder village member, clutching the unbound pages
of the manuscript copy after they were read to him by Allen J. Christenson.[[1]] ÒDo you know what you have done for
them?Ó[[2]] ÒYou make them live again by speaking
their words.Ó[[3]]
The power of the written word to preserve
a people may be taken for granted by the many of us who often feel inundated
with too many words, but the QuichŽ Maya of today would never take this for
granted. Today, these people, whose
lineage and ancestry has been so important to them for thousands of years,
cannot even read the words of their great ancestors. Today, these are a people of oral tradition
who cling to their wooden idols and trinkets that house the kÕux, or heart of their ancestors, who were stripped of their literacy
five hundred years ago when zealous Spanish Conquistadors systematically rooted
out and destroyed their scribes and priests, the keepers of the books and the
educators of the people. Recently,
intensive efforts have begun to decipher the hieroglyphs within the
meticulously maintained texts and temples that survived, in the hopes that
these people may one day know their ancestors again.
II. Background
The Mayan civilization dates back further
than that of even the Aztecs, to 2,600 B.C.[[1]]
and would continue for more than 2,000 years until the Spanish Conquest in the
16th century left their sacred texts slashed and burned, most of the
traces of their culture purged from the records of history in the name of
Christianity and greed.[[4]]
By 250 A.D. the Mayan
civilization spanned the whole of modern Mexico, Honduras and El Salvador to
Guatamala, Belize and Yucat‡n.[[5]] The conquistadors marveled at the glory
of their cities and the complexity of their society until they witnessed in
horror the ritual bloodletting and human sacrifice practiced by Mayan elites.[[6]]
Executing their priests, banning their divine rituals, burning their books and
the idols of their ÒheathenÓ gods the Spanish drove them into the highlands and
deep within the forests, converting those who remained.[[7]]
Buried beneath the ruins left by CortŽz and his conquistadors, hidden within
the dense forests and jungles of the Central Americas the ancient Mayan
civilization lay until efforts, only recently have been able to discover the
secrets of their hieroglyphic texts and temple murals, bringing to life the
ways of this great and terrifying civilization. Once puzzling in their haunting glory,
these massive edifices, together with the few sacred texts and oral tradition
that survived in the descendants of the ancient exodus provide the key to
unlocking the rich complexity of the Ancient Mayan civilization.
The history of the Mayans, like much of
history, doesnÕt follow a straight path; many cities and regions advanced and
fell with varying levels of power throughout their time. The middle, or classic period (250
– 900 A.D.) represented the height of Mayan civilization.[[8]] During this time, the Mayan people were
ruled by dynastic leaders, the population expanded rapidly while art and
culture flourished.[[9]] As the elite classes became more
entrenched, demands for tribute escalated with the wealth of their
civilization.[[10]] By the late or post-classic period,
Mayan kingdoms began to break off into smaller more independent states.[[11]] By the arrival of the Spanish, the
MayanÕs peak was long over. The
Yucatec Maya first encountered the Spanish in 1502 though the conquest didnÕt
officially begin until around 1530.[[12]] The Maya fought nobly until their eventual
defeat in 1542.[[13]]
It is through the rich oral and cultural
traditions of the surviving Maya civilizations coupled with the pained efforts
of expert archaeologists and anthropologists that we learn of their vast and
complex civilization.
III. Ancient Mayan Society
A. Trade
and Economy
The Mayan civilization was sustained
primarily through agriculture and partially through the craft production of
goods.[[14]] Despite using only stone age technology
and being located in what is characterized as an agriculturally low-productive
region, the Maya expertly adapted to and manipulated their environment to
sustain a system of agriculture that was able to feed between eight and ten million
people by the 8th century A.D..[[15]]
Through a series of
irrigation canals, wells, reservoirs, subterranean cisterns as well as using a
variety of techniques such as raised and drained farmlands and following a
strict cycle of field burning and crop rotation, the Maya were able to produce a
wide variety of cultivated food for their people.[[16]] The Maya grew subsistence crops such as
maize, beans, squashes, tomatoes and tropical fruit, and also trade crops such
as cacao, cotton, vanilla and tobacco.[[17]] Of these, the cacao beans were the most
prized[2],
used to make chocolate drinks for the elite nobles and used as currency in
marketplaces.[[18]]
The Maya also engaged in regional and
distant trade, exporting raw materials such as feathers, cacao beans, tobacco
and obsidian, as well as manufactured goods such as polychrome pottery, jade
jewelry, salt, and cotton textiles.[[19]] The Maya also had a system of distribution,
where goods would be brought to the capital city and distributed outward
amongst the smaller territories through local traders and markets.[[20]]
B. Caste
System
While Mayan polities were diverse, expansive
and de-centralized, a rigid caste system according to certain revered lineages
persisted across all of Ancient Mayan civilization. The caste system reflected who an
individualÕs ancestors were, dictated his occupation, eligibility for political
office and ultimately his role in Mayan society.
i. Elites
The elite classes of the Maya were
complex and specialized. Their
occupation and status passed down for generations through elite, jealously
guarded and often impersonated family lineages.[[21]] The social hierarchy within this class
was complex and its members served as rulers, government officials, tribute
collectors, military leaders, high priests, local administrators, cacao
plantation managers and trade expedition leaders.[[22]] Literate and wealthy, elite nobles often
lived within the central areas of the Mayan cities and modeled themselves and
their households after those of the palace and the king.[[23]] With all of their privilege, elites were
also held to incredibly high standards of conduct and when they engaged in
morally reprehensive or even criminal conduct, they were disciplined harshly to
make an example of them.[[24]]
ii. Commoners
Commoners, individuals who could not boast
of a distinguished lineage, occupied the roles of farmers, laborers and
servants within Mayan society.[[25]] Commoners lived outside of the major
city centers, serfs working communal plots of land owned by the local ruler or
nobles.[[26]] They were forbidden to wear certain
clothing or symbols of nobility and couldnÕt purchase or use luxury items.[[27]]
Many became quite wealthy through their specialized skills as artisans and
shrewd merchants and upward mobility was possible through service in the
military.[[28]]
iii. Slaves
The Maya had an active slave trade and
both commoners and elite class members purchased, sold and owned slaves.[[29]] The status of slavery was common and not
always permanent. In addition to
being captured as a prisoner of war, many members of society found themselves
enslaved as punishment for certain crimes or to pay back debts.[[30]] The poor would sell themselves or
members of their family into slavery.[[31]] While slave status was not passed on to
the children of slaves, unwanted orphans would become slaves and were often
sacrificed during religious ceremonies, and if a citizen married a slave he or
she became the slave of his or her spouseÕs owner.[[32]] Slaves were commonly sacrificed upon the
death of their owners so they could continue in their service in the afterlife.[[33]]
C. Religious
and Cosmological Beliefs
Despite the fact that the Ancient Mayan
civilization consisted of several de-centralized polities, basic religious
beliefs remained relatively constant across these independent states. Religious beliefs about the supernatural
powers that explained the cosmos and the MayanÕs lives and existence were the
basis for many of their traditions and their way of life. Because of the profound influence and
the persistence of religion in their society, an understanding of Mayan
religious and cosmological beliefs is important to appreciating their legal
system.
The Mayan religion was based on varying
beliefs about the supernatural powers that created and ordered their world.[[34]] Religious beliefs were devoutly held by
all in Maya society from kings to commoners.[[35]] Believed by the Spanish be heretics, during
the conquest the Mayan priests were summarily executed and citizens who did not
convert to Christianity fled to the hills, jungles and forests.[[36]] From these few surviving people and
texts[3]
comes our understanding of the MayanÕs rich religious tradition.
i. Cosmology
Maya concepts of life and the universe
are quite distinct from those of European civilizations. Instead of believing in the separate and
distinct supernatural realm and the earth, the Mayan believed that all animate
and inanimate things were part of a single existence, both visible and
invisible.[[37]] The Maya believed that everything in the
natural world was infused with sacred and unseen power of different degrees.[[38]] The Yucatec Maya called this essence the
kÕul[4],
meaning Òdivine sacredness.Ó[[39]] In animals and humans the kÕul was believed to dwell within the
blood, hence the prevalence of blood letting in sacred rituals.[[40]]
The Maya also manifested this
understanding in their concept of the way,
the co-essence or spirit companion they believed every human being possessed,
parallel to their own.[[41]] The Maya believed that every person had
a way whose destiny was intertwined
with theirs.[[42]] The most powerful of the way was the wayob, manifested in Mayan gods and deities.[[43]] Mayan deities took on varying forms,
some were visible, like the Mayan sun god, some invisible, like the rain god.[[44]] Both Mayan gods and wayob were represented by animal or human like entities, evidenced
by the hieroglyphs carved into their temples and their surviving idols.[[45]] The Maya believed that every person had
a spirit companion, a nagual, whose
life paralleled that of the individual.[[46]]
The Mayan believed that the cosmos had
three major planes, the Earth, Underworld and Heavens. The earth, the visible domain of man,
was the back of a huge reptile, often depicted as a caiman or turtle, that swam
in the primordial sea.[[47]]
The mountains the Mayans observed
about them were the scales or ridges on the back of this titan.[[48]]
Because of their great and obsessive fear
of death, the Mayans greatly feared Xibalba, the invisible realm of the spirit underworld.[[49]]
The Mayans believed that Xibalba
was represented by and that it could be accessed through caves and tunnels.[[50]]
Consequently, caves and tunnels
were regarded as both sacred and terrifying places to the Mayans and they
buried their dead in them as well.[[51]] Mayan temples had sacred doors to
represent these caves and access to the underworld, where priests and kings
would walk through in ceremonies to talk to the gods.[[52]]
Xibalba had nine layers, each presided
over by one of the BolontikÕu[5] gods
and corresponding to either suffering or rest.[[53]] Places of rest were where the spirits of
the kings went along with warriors who died in battle, women who died in
childbirth, those who committed suicide[6],
and sacrificial victims.[[54]]
In this layer of Xibalba, all
could rest in the shade of the Yaxche tree, free of work, with plenty of food
and drink.[[55]] Evil-doers were sent to the ninth layer,
Mitnal.[[56]] The lowest layer in Xibalba, Mitnal was a place of great and eternal
suffering.[[57]]
The third plane of the Maya cosmos, the
Heavens and sky above, were believed to be the invisible realm of the celestial
deities.[[58]] The skies had thirteen layers, each
presided over by one of the OxlahuntikÕu[7]
gods. The sun, kinich Ahau and Itzamna,
aged god, dominated this realm and the night sky was considered a window, revealing
all supernatural things.[[59]] Believing the sky would foretell future
events and reveal other important things, complex Mayan Astronomy details the
Maya belief that it was the intersection of the realms and all things was found
within it.[[60]]
The Maya modeled their cities and the
buildings within them according to the cosmos, with the palace representing the
core of the earth, the center of life, and the sacred funeral grounds of the
kings to the north, the heavens.[[61]] This gave the people the security of not
only living in a cosmologically ordered and structured society, but also provided
them with a daily reminder of the importance, divinity and the power of their
rulers.[[62]]
The Maya believed in cycles rather than
permanence, so activity that would be considered evil in one time, may be entirely
appropriate in another.[[63]] This was shown in the importance of the
life-cycle of maize and the Maize god as the model for the courtly life of the
nobles.[[64]] The Maya believed that there were
several worlds that existed before theirs, each inhabited by different beings,
each ended by a great flood and that theirs would eventually end in the same
manner.[8][[65]]
ii. Rituals
and Sacrifice
Because of the MayanÕs deeply held
spiritual beliefs, particularly those concerning the harmony and order of the
universe and preventing disasters or the end of the world, the Mayans felt the
deities had to be appeased through offerings.[[66]] The Maya referred to these offerings as nourishing
or ÒfeedingÓ the gods.[[67]] The Maya sustained their gods directly
by providing offerings of food, cacao beans and by burning incense, or
indirectly by devoting their time, energy and labor to them.[[68]]
The Maya believed all suffering was
caused by the anger of the gods and would perform either private rituals or
public ceremonies to appease them.[[69]] In this, the Maya believed they would
ensure both their individual and collective success as a people.[[70]] Public ceremonies were sponsored by the
king and state government and lasted several days and nights.[[71]]
These ceremonies also signified the
kingsÕ power and divine qualities.[[72]] The kings would often dress as gods
during these ceremonies and it was believed that they assumed supernatural
identities at the time.[[73]] In the direst of circumstances, the Maya
would offer blood, the kÕul,
believing it to be the most potent of offerings.[[74]]
While the ceremonies of various Maya
polities had varied nuances, for the most part they shared a common
format. The dates of ceremonies and
the nature of the offerings were foretold by the priests in advance through
their divination practices[9]
and in the days leading up to the ceremony, all Mayans would undergo a time of
fasting and abstinence, symbolizing their spiritual purification.[[75]] The ceremonies themselves would
incorporate divination, determining the gods to be appeased and what they
required, and included specific rituals to banish evil, music and processions,
burning incense and offerings of food or sacrifices of living things.[[76]]
The most notorious of these ceremonies
were the offerings of human sacrifice, reserved for the most grave of
circumstances or to sanctify major rituals, such as the designation of a new
heir to the throne, the dedication of a new temple or ball court, or in the case
of conquest of opposing foes.[[77]] The subjects would most often be
prisoners of war, slaves purchased for the purpose, or even the volunteered
children of townspeople.[[78]]
The subjects would be sacrificed in
a variety of ways, including disembowelment, death by arrows or even the
self-sacrifice of young women cutting their own throats or heart removal.[[79]]
As 16th century Spanish bishop
Diego de Landa recounts, the priests would paint the subject blue and adorn him
in a miter, conduct him about the town with great display, when the chacs[10]
would stretch him out by holding his limbs across a temple pillar.[[80]] Then a specialized priest would cut
across his torso and tear out his living heart, place it on a plate and hand it
to the priest, while he quickly smeared blood on the idolÕs face.[[81]] If the man were a great warrior, the
elites would then eat his flesh to gain his strength.[[82]]
The most dramatic example of human
sacrifice in the Maya civilization is in the case of the Well of Sacrifice at
ChichŽn Itza where the sacred gods of rain were thought to dwell.[[83]] In times of drought or famine, Mayans
would come from their respective polities all over the Yucat‡n where they would
stand over the sacred cenote and throw subjects 65 feet to the water below.[[84]] Spectators would throw their precious
jewelry and jade in as well.[[85]] At daybreak, the priests would attempt
divination by throwing children to the bottom and asking any who survived what
the gods had told them.[[86]] When the cenote was dredged in the late
19th century, more than 50 human skulls were recovered.[[87]]
Due to their belief in the potency of the
kÕul, Maya would also practice
self-sacrifice, or bloodletting.[[88]] In earlier Mayan civilizations kings
would draw their blood to ensure the continuity of the cosmos, elites, even the
wives of kings and noble women would pierce their tongues, bleeding into bark
paper that they would burn in a pottery vessel.[[89]] The men would ritualistically draw blood
from their genitals[11]
as an offer for fertility and great honor was given to the men who could endure
the most pain.[[90]]
It
is upon these deeply held spiritual beliefs and religious practices that their
legal system was based and their laws drawn.
IV. Political
and Legal Structure
The Ancient Maya had a system of largely
de-centralized and independent polities that were constantly undergoing change
and restructuring, with the fate of each polity closely tied to the success or
failure of its particular king. At
their height, during the Classic Period there were as many as 60 polities
spanning across the Mayan world.[[91]]
The typical Classic Period Maya
polity was composed of a capital city ruled first by a particular dynastic king
and council of elites that then had a structured government down to the local
or community level.[[92]] Kingdoms were composed of a capital city
with an immediate neighborhood, surrounded by several lesser towns and
settlements.[[93]] The royal palace symbolized order to the
Maya people, surrounded by concentric circles of less-ordered space, radiating
out into the wild, undomesticated and morally ambiguous forests and jungles.[[94]]
Greater kingdoms would expand over
larger territories with multiple and subordinate ruling centers where the
kingÕs proxies, sajals, or other
appointed officials ruled over the subjects of smaller, tribute paying polities.[[95]] Despite this constant warfare and
systemic shifts of regional power, most of the Mayan kingdoms never disappeared
from the political scene until the 9th century A.D. saw the collapse
of the whole system.[[96]]
A. Mayan
Rulers
The foundations for Maya society lay in
ties of kinship, class and community that formed the leadership of their larger
independent polities.[[97]] The Maya civilization is quite odd in
that its people were never politically unified, instead, they were always
divided into independent polities.[[98]] The number of these polities would vary
at different periods according to military strife, the avarice and military
prowess of a particular king, or simply his lifespan and the efficiency of his
administration or the success of local farmers and the skills of artisans.[[99]]
The varying power and prosperity of
different polities within the Mayan world can be explained not only by the
success of their particular rulers, but also by their particular location,
access to important communication and trade routes or strategic military
positions, or by their rich natural resources.[[100]] For example, the polity of Dzibilchaltun
in the northern Yucatan had access to coastal salt and the Kaminaljuyu in the
Southern Highlands controlled the flow of obsidian.[[101]] Other polities enjoyed greater power
because of their cosmological or spiritual affiliations, for example, being an
eastern city associated with the rising sun, or a coastal town associated with
the watery depths of Xibalba.[[102]] Maya cities varied in size, some
covering as little as one square mile, others, over fifty.[[103]]
Across time, the Maya polities maintained
their political affiliations and interactions with each other, exchanging goods
and services, extracting tribute as well as visiting and arranging marriages
between lineages.[[104]] Typical social interaction occurred
regionally, between geographically close polities, however, the Maya did
occasionally travel great distances to arrange royal marriages or strengthen
alliances between great polities.[[105]]
i. Kings,
Nobles and the Royal Court
The Maya kings and their palaces
represented order and the divine epicenters of their polities. The Maya courts conformed with a Òcourt
paradigm,Ó with an emphasis on the centrality of the royal household and the
person of the king.[[106]]
Maya palaces were grand, with
throne rooms, temples, great halls and plazas.[[107]] The palaces were the places where
privileged nobles could approach the holy ruler, centers of diplomacy, where
matters would be settled and alliances formed with foreign polities, places where
aesthetic values of high culture were formed and disseminated, the
self-proclaimed centers of the social, moral and cosmic order of Maya society.[[108]] These palaces could be seen as a theatre
where rituals and other courtly performances were sponsored by the king, a
royal household where the king and his extended family of nobles resided and
provided a model to all of an ordered household, a school where young elites
were educated in the ways of the gods and nobility, and also as the source of
all things spiritual, the mouthpiece of the gods.[[109]] These royal courts were just as
politically driven and complex as those of European kingdoms with countless
courtiers and court members, high and low status officials without official
ranks who spent significant time inside or close to the royal palace, competing
with each other for political power.[[110]] Access and physical proximity to the
king, especially when the king claimed divine authority, were important factors
that would affect an individual familyÕs political power.[[111]]
The Maya court was ordered through the
use of titled positions, including the king, called the kÕuhul ajaw or kÕul Ahaw,
divine king.[[112]] The supreme ruler of the polity, all
things flowed to and from him, including land, office and title, economic resources
and territories.[[113]] The king was chosen from a specific
royal lineage and the position was most often hereditary, passing from father
to son, or brother to brother.[[114]] Later kings legitimized their authority
not only through claims of divinity, but in most cases by tracing their lineage
from successful and distinguished rulers within their lineage.[[115]] Kings would also earn additional titles
throughout their reign, through their various achievements, such as Òcaptor of,Ó
or their divine affiliations, Òsun-faced lord.Ó[[116]]
Mayan kings had to be not only
charismatic, forming political alliances with neighboring polities, but also a
successful commander in times of war and conquest, and a powerful religious
leader, channeling the gods to strike fear and awe into the hearts of their
subjects.[[117]]
Because the success of a polity was so closely tied to the acts of its
particular king, and for the purpose of ensuring loyalty from their nobles and
subjects, Mayan kings were consumed with advertising their achievements and did
so through the construction of various monuments, buildings, and texts that
emerged from this period.[[118]] Each elite lineage held title to
specific offices within the state hierarchy down to the lesser administrative
offices of the local communities.[[119]] The king would appoint his officials,
usually based on political ties or familial association, and those officials
would in turn appoint lesser officials whose positions were then passed down to
later generations.[[120]] Important positions within the Mayan royal
court were those of the Sajal, ajkÕuhuun,
Yajaw kÕahk, the TiÕhuun and TiÕsakhuun and the un-deciphered symbol,
the Òbanded-bird.Ó[[121]] Just like the king, titled elites were
inducted into their positions through an accession process called chum, seating, headband tying called kÕalhuun or encircling.[[122]] This accession process indicated the
strength of the bond between the king and his nobles.[[123]]
The sajal
position, read as Òregional governor,Ó Òwar captain,Ó and Òfeared one,Ó was the
most common title amongst the nobles.[[124]] The ajkÕ
uhuun, Òhe of the books,Ó or Òhe of the temples,Ó served the function of a
royal priest.[[125]]
This royal priest interpreted the days for festivals and ceremonies and
foretold auspicious events for the king and his the kingdom.[[126]] The high priests were responsible for
keeping the knowledge of the people, everything from the cure to diseases to
the history of the kingdom and imparting this knowledge on the local priests
before they took office.[[127]] They also gave advice to the lords and
answered their questions.[128]
The Yajaw
kÕahk, or Òlord of the fire,Ó was a highly specialized and scarcely understood
position, that of a military or religious official, possibly one related to
fire rituals.[[129]]
The TiÕhuun and TiÕsakhuun
served in charge of the movement of time, may have spoken for the king, or
could possibly have been the spokesmen for the deities of Xibalba.[[130]] The last position, that of the
un-deciphered Mayan symbol, the Òbanded bird,Ó was that of a highly skilled
scribe or artisan.[[131]]
The Maya kings ruled with an growing
reliance on an advisory council, as time went on, these councils would gain
increasing authority and importance, sometimes to the complete exclusion of the
kingÕs power, as some polities were ruled solely by advisory councils,
comprised of the heads of major elite lineages within the state.[[132]] Foundations for the power held by the
elites were reinforced in the rigid social and economic class distinctions
flowing from lineage.[[133]]
An overriding characteristic of Mayan
state administration was reliance on kinship that radiated out from the king to
his elite council, down to the local community.[[134]] The ruler and elites provided security
and protection for their subjects and reinforced their authority through the
religious beliefs that the prosperity and health of their subjects was closely
tied to the harmony of the cosmos facilitated through obedience to the king and
his officials.[[135]] Political power was less based on actual
physical power of the kings to harm subjects, and based more on threats of
religious and economic sanctions, or coercive force exacted through the local
laws, courts and police.[[136]]
ii. The
Local Government: the Maya Chieftains.
The Maya local government paralleled that
of the great royal courts, only on a smaller community level. Chieftainship was not always hereditary
but was only considered legitimate when it was confined to certain families of
elite lineage.[[137]]
Each of the smaller polities was
ruled by a single lord, the halach uinic,
or Òtrue man,Ó who ruled with the help of an advisory council.[[138]] Of elite lineage, the halac uinic governed major cities and
provinces and was the highest religious authority in his district.[[139]] The halach
uinic collected tribute[12]
from his subjects, consisting of grain, fowl, game, cotton cloth, and precious
stones or sometimes slaves.[[140]] In times of war, the halach uinic would demand a quota of
fighting men from his subordinate leaders.[[141]] While the halac uinicÕs power was certainly the highest held by an individual
in his division, the halach uinicÕs
power was far from absolute, as he would consult with his advisory council before
deciding complex foreign and domestic issues.[[142]]
Each halach uinic in turn appointed a
batab, a town and village overseer,
usually a member of his close kin.[[143]]
The batabob[13]
oversaw each subdivision within the state, reported to the halach uinic and were usually based in an outlying town where they
held administrative, judicial and military authority.[[144]] The batabob
fulfilled a local position of extreme importance to the community and were
revered and feared above even the local priests.[[145]] The batabob
were tasked with ensuring that all subjects paid tribute to the halac uinic and that town was kept
clean, all buildings were repaired and that farmers cut and burned their fields
within proper cycles.[[146]] As judicial officer the batab arbitrated disputes and decided
both civil and criminal matters, sentencing criminals appropriately, awarding
damages, and always consulting with the halach
uinic before deciding more serious matters.[[147]]
The batabÕs
decisions were not always arbitrary; they were often influenced through
pressure from various factions within the community.[148] The batab
was assisted by two or three officials, called al kulebob, who accompanied him everywhere, fulfilling his orders.[[149]] He also presided over a local council
comprised of al cuch cabob, who were
the heads of the next level in the local government hierarchy.[[150]] The al
cuch cabob, often prominent members of the community, also functioned as
advisors who could veto some of the batabÕs
decisions.[[151]] Under the batab, each town also had constables, called tupiles, tasked with keeping the peace and enforcing the batabÕs orders.[[152]] The batab
also served the functions of a lesser military commander, rallying the
appropriate quota of troops demanded by the halac
uinic in times of conflict and leading them into the fray.[[153]] During times of war, all batabob served under a single commander,
the nacom.[[154]]
The nacom
was supreme military commander and his position was not based on kinship,
rather, he was elected[14]
by the council to serve a three-year term or to serve as commander during a
particular war.[[155]]
As he formulated the war strategy
and commanded the batabob who led
their troops to battle, the nacom was
revered as god-like.[[156]]
Each town also had local priests, the ahkinob, Òthey of the sun,Ó subordinate
to the high priest of the kingdom.[[157]]
The ahkinob priests conducted and
orated at public rituals and they received the hearts of sacrificial victims
and offered them to the gods.[[158]] Below these priests were specialized
priests for sacrifices, who were held in low esteem.[[159]] They performed the function of opening
the chests and removing the hearts of sacrificial subjects while they anointed
the idolsÕ faces with blood.[[160]] Each town also had local shaman, the
priest most in touch with the people and still in existence among the modern
Maya. The shaman is today called
the ahmen, Òhe who understands,Ó and people
go to him to cure illness and listened to his prophecies foretold through his
divination practices.[[161]]
The Maya chieftains were also regularly
examined through a process scholars refer to as Òthe interrogation of the
chiefs.Ó[[162]] This questioning took place regularly at
the start of each kÕatun,[15] and
was conducted by the halach uinic.[[163]]
It was used as a process to
weed out the upstarts and pretenders who claimed title through false pretenses
from the legitimate rulers.[[164]] It functioned as sort of a civil service
examination and most of the questions were trivial, but the more pressing
questions corresponded to proof of legitimacy and asked of certain occult
knowledge that would be possessed by legitimate rulers, as it would have been
passed down from father to son in certain lineages.[[165]]
B. The
Mayan Legal System
i. Sources
of Law and the Legal Process
Because the MayaÕs civilization peaked
before the Spanish Conquest and due to the ensuing destruction, primary
material from the Mayan legal system is limited. Spanish priests destroyed the majority of
Mayan manuscripts and codices once they witnessed their Òheresy,Ó however a few
codices do remain and following the conquest, some Maya scribes authored
various books chronicling the origin of their civilizations, religious
traditions and some legal material.[16]
The remaining information on this civilization comes from recent efforts in
deciphering hieroglyphics on monuments, pottery and paintings as well as
anthropological studies of the modern Maya.[[166]]
The laws governing the various Maya
states were issued by the halach uinic and
his council, or in the absence of a halach
uinic, by the council alone.[[167]] The batabob
were responsible for carrying out the laws and serving as judges and
administrators to their smaller towns.[[168]] Trials were generally conducted swiftly
in public meeting houses called popilna
and judicial proceedings were conducted orally, no written records were
maintained.[[169]] Witnesses were required to testify under
oath and evidence exists to suggest that parties may have been represented by
individuals who functioned as attorneys.[[170]] The batab
would review the evidence, evaluate the merits of the case, determine if the
offense was accidental or deliberate and prescribe the appropriate punishment.[[171]] While the batabÕs decision was final and no appeal was available, the victim
or their family could pardon the accused, thereby reducing the defendantÕs
punishment.[[172]]
The Maya didnÕt have prisons[17]and
punishment was immediately carried out by the tupiles.[[173]] If a crime occurred or a case arose that
affected parties from other towns, the respective batabob would work together to resolve the case agreeably.[[174]] While the batabob functioned largely independently, in severe cases they
would consult with the halach uinic
before rendering judgment.[[175]]
ii. Property,
Contract and Estate Law
Communal lands were owned by the nobles
and the ruling class and were worked by the commoners.[[176]] Commoners were permitted to own small
parcels of land solely for subsistence farming.[[177]] They had to pay tribute to their local
leaders as well in the form of goods, offerings, portions of their harvests as
well as provide public labor when the need arose, such as in the construction
of a temple, causeway or palace.[[178]]
The Maya had a currency system based on
cacao beans, gold, copper bells, jade and oyster shell beads used as coinage.[[179]] Counterfeiting was a common problem as
parties would remove the flesh of cacao beans and replace it with dirt or
avocado rinds.[[180]] Business was also conducted on a barter
system.[[181]] The Maya even had forms of legally
recognized contracts, formalized when the parties drank balchŽ.[18] Interest was not charged on loans and
there were no criminal penalties for going into debt, however the debtor would
become a slave of the people they owed if they failed to pay back the debt in
timely fashion, and if a debtor died, his spouse and family would assume
responsibility for his debts or his friends might help them pay it back.[[182]]
Upon death, property would pass to the
subjectÕs sons; women had no legal right to inherit property but could inherit
the familyÕs debt or slavery status, or would inherit as a matter of good will
or favor, in which case they would only receive a smaller portion, with the
rest divided amongst the sons, or proportionately if one of the sons had
contributed more the familyÕs accumulation of wealth.[[183]] If a man died without sons, his property
would pass to his brothers, cousins or male next of kin.[[184]] If a son were too young to inherit when his
father died, a trustee or conservator would be appointed to manage his inheritance
and use the proceeds to support the son and his family.[[185]]
Once he reached adulthood he would get the remaining property, less what was
spent on his care.[[186]] The transfer of property would be done
in the presence of available rulers or the batab
and it was considered a great dishonor to have squandered the sonÕs inheritance
or to refuse him any of what he was due.[[187]] Sons would not receive the profits that
had accumulated or been produced from their farmlands as this was considered
payment to the trustee for the labor involved in maintaining the lands.[[188]]
Official title and offices passed in this
way as well, from father to son, or if no son or too young a son, then to
either the eldest or most capable brother until the son came of age.[[189]] While the fatherless boy was growing up,
he would be removed from his mother to his uncles and instructed in everything
he needed to know about the position.[[190]] Even after he took office, the brothers
would commonly influence his affairs.[[191]] If there were no suitable heirs to an
office, the council or priests would choose the next official.[[192]]
iii. Criminal
Law
Violations of Mayan criminal law were met
with severe and swift punishment.
As de Landa explains, the batab
would bring the accused before him and if the aggressor refused him there would
be more trouble.[[193]] The batab
would order that damages or satisfaction was given to the wronged party or his
family and if the defendant couldnÕt pay, his family or friends would help him,
or he would become a slave of the victim.[[194]]
a. Homicide
and Other Serious Crimes
The Maya law distinguished between
accidental and intentional homicide, or acts committed with malice. In the case of involuntary homicide, the
punishment would be death at the hands of the victimÕs relatives unless the
defendant could pay them off to receive their pardon, another typical
resolution was that the defendant would sell one of his slaves to the family.[[195]]
If offenses were committed with
malice, the punishment was beating.[[196]]
In the case of malicious or
intentional homicide, or more serious crimes that offended the gods, such as
rape, incest, treachery and arson, the punishment was immediate death.[[197]] In the case of accidental crimes, such
as causing a spouse to commit suicide, causing a house or field to be burned,
etc., the punishment would typically be reparations made to the victims, or if
the defendant was insolvent or a minor, he would be ordered into slavery.[[198]]
b. Theft
Theft, no matter how small or petty, was
punished by the defendant being ordered to pay restitution to the victim, additionally
being ordered into temporary slavery, and his punishments passed on to his
family members as well.[[199]] Mayan homes, because they didnÕt
typically have doors, were especially protected, and thieves who entered a
personÕs home to injure an occupant or do damage to the property were summarily
executed.[[200]] In the case of nobles or officials,
punishment was particularly severe, if found guilty of theft, the noble would
be gathered in front of the townspeople where his face would be tattooed or his
flesh would be cut off from both sides of his face as a permanent sign of his
crime and a badge of great dishonor.[[201]]
c. Adultery
Adultery was a criminal offense and occurring
commonly, was severely punished by the Maya. If adultery was committed by a married
woman she was publicly shamed and her lover was executed.[[202]] If convicted, the womanÕs lover would be
tied to a piece of wood and brought to the womanÕs husbandÕs house.[[203]] The offended husband could either choose
to pardon the wife and her lover, in which case the lover would be sent free,
or he could choose to leave the marriage and seek a new wife.[[204]] If the husband didnÕt pardon them, the
wifeÕs lover would be executed in front of him, by dropping a large stone on
his head.[[205]] Married men who committed adultery were
sentenced to death unless the woman they had slept with was unmarried.[[206]]
iv. Family
Law and Marriage Customs
Maya family law was based on the customs
and norms of the time. In the
Classic period, Mayans typically married around the age of twenty, with the
bride sometimes being as young as 16 or 17.[[207]] By the time of the conquest, marriages
were entered into at much earlier ages, sometimes around 12 or 13.[[208]] The father of the groom had to approve
the match and they would take great care to assure that the marriages were to
brides of equal rank and status, most commonly enlisting matchmakers.[[209]] It was considered undignified for a man
to seek a wife for himself and equally undignified for the parents of a woman
to make advances.[[210]] Additionally, the bride and groom had to
have different surnames to assure they came from different lineages on their
fatherÕs side, as incest was a capital crime.[[211]] Marriage between a man and his stepmother,
or his wifeÕs sisters or motherÕs sisters was considered wrong, but all other
kinsmen on their motherÕs side, including first cousins were appropriate
matches.[[212]]
It was also ill advised to marry
the widow of a dead brother.[[213]] Dowries of clothing and goods were paid
by the groomÕs family to contribute to the new coupleÕs household.[[214]]
Marriages were performed by a priest in
the home of the brideÕs father and were concluded with a banquet and
celebration.[[215]] In the case of a second marriage, no
dowry was offered, nor festival or ceremony performed; the marriage was simply
finalized by the groom eating a meal in the home of the brideÕs father.[[216]] After marriage the new couple would live
with the brideÕs parents for about 6 or 7 years, with the husband required to
work for her father as a form of payment for receiving his wife.[[217]] After this period, the couple would
build a permanent home next to the groomÕs family.[[218]]
Children were cherished and provided with
moral and practical education by their parents in the home and required to go
through various religious rituals at birth and puberty.[[219]] After puberty, girls stayed at home until
marriage while boys were sent to live in community dormitories and returned
each day to work with their fathers.[[220]]
With the exception of nobles and elites,
Maya marriages were typically monogamous, however divorce was frequent and
typically occurred when one spouse was infertile or not fulfilling their
obligations, such as a groom failing to work for the brideÕs father.[[221]] There were no formal divorce proceedings,
simply the husband leaving his wife and children accomplished a divorce[[222]]
and as de Landa describes, Òthey did this with no concern that others might
take them as wives.Ó[[223]] In the case of divorce, all young
children and girls would stay with their mother, while mature sons would remain
at the dormitory and continue to work with their fathers.[[224]] Some young men were selected out of the
dormitories based on lineage or special abilities to be formally trained as
apprentices for certain jobs (scribes, priests, artists or masons).[[225]]
v. Foreign
Law and Warfare
Amongst the Ancient Maya, battle was
commonplace, resulting in frequent political restructuring. Smaller skirmishes and raids were
conducted frequently to gain sacrificial victims for various upcoming
ceremonies.[[226]] As a part of their coronation ceremony,
kings were required to provide captive enemies to sacrifice in order to
legitimize their power.[[227]] Other times, longer wars and skirmishes
were initiated for economic gain, subjugating smaller polities in order to
collect tribute or secure trade routes.[[228]] For this reason, the Maya sensibly did
not destroy the rival state, but would instead suppress the conquered state by
humiliating their rulers, battle banners or patron gods and requiring that the
subjects construct public monuments depicting their defeat as a daily reminder
of their subordination.[[229]] Sometimes the conquered ruler and his
government would be left intact as a subsidiary territory, provided they
supplied regular tribute and soldiers in time of war.[[230]] Other times, conquering kings would displace
the ruler, holding him captive or torturing and executing him as part of a
great ritual and installing a noble of the conquerorÕs lineage in his place.[[231]] Wars of destruction were not entered
into lightly and would require prior intense divination to ascertain their
celestial necessity.[[232]] Wars of this nature often occurred only
in the case of an economic or political rival and the Maya would completely
destroy the city, executing all leaders, driving off its people and burning its
buildings to the ground.[[233]]
In times of greater wars, the Mayan council
would appoint a gifted warrior, the nacom,
who would be attributed divine qualities and revered as a god to formulate
military strategies and give orders to the batabob
who would eventually lead their smaller troops into battle.[[234]] Conscription was also practiced when the
need arose or as a form of tribute, and commoners would march into battle armed
with sticks and rocks to attack their foes.[[235]] Military prowess and distinction was the
only way for commoners to advance in social status.[[236]]
It is unclear whether or not the
Maya kings would fight or join in battle, their role may have been detached and
more akin to that of the United States President, as dignitary ÒCommander in Chief,Ó although they
never missed the opportunity to attribute any military success to their expertise.[[237]]
Very little is known about foreign
relations amongst the Maya and surrounding nations but it is clear that they
commonly traded with the Aztecs.[[238]] It may have been that nobles functioned
as ambassadors, traveling to foreign nations to secure alliances and broker
trade and what is fairly certain[19]
is that nobles did engage in trade over great distances(at least 1,000 miles).[[239]]
What is clear is that at varying times, the Aztec collected tribute from
certain Mayan polities, so invariably there was somewhat extensive interaction
between their cultures.[[240]]
V.
Conclusion
Flourishing for thousands of years, the
Mayan civilization advanced devout religious beliefs and practices, thrived
with booming trade and agriculture and developed a complex system of government
and legal practices based on kinship and family ties, enforced through a strict
class of elites. While the people
that survive today preserve many of their ancestorÕs ways, much more can be
done to unlock the secrets of this great, at times terrifying and fascinating
culture.
[1] If as argued, they were a continuation
of the Olmecs.
[2] Although maize was the most spiritually
prized, having itÕs own deity and its life cycle influenced their spiritual
beliefs concerning time.
[3] one of which is the Popol Vuh, sacred book of the QuichŽ Maya.
[4] or chÕu
in many highland languages
[5] translated as ÒnineÓ
[6] Suicide was honored, particularly when
committed by hanging and was even watched over by a special deity, Ixtab, Òthe
hanging woman.Ó Ixtab was portrayed
hanging from a rope and supposedly accompanied suicides to paradise where she
would watch over them.
de Landa, a depiction of Ixtab is found in the Dresden Codex.
[7] translated as ÒthirteenÓ
[8] December 21, 2012 may sound familiar.
[9] Divination, or talking to the gods and
spirits, was one of the prime responsibilities of Maya priests and often
enjoyed their own special ceremonies and rituals. During Divination rituals the priests
and shamans would consume mind altering hallucinogens reserved for this
occassion, including mushrooms, highly potent raw tobacco leaves rolled into
cigars and an alcoholic drink called balchŽ,
made from the bark of the balchŽ tree fermented with honey. Foster at 164.
[10] specially appointed men to take part in
these ceremonies
[11] If you are interested, although a word
of caution, this is quite graphic: the men would pierce their penises, often with
a stingray barb and then as de Landa recounts, a group of men would stand
together forming a semi-circle and thread cord through each of their penises,
stringing themselves together in a circle and collectively bleeding onto an
idol. The man who could withstand
the most of this would be revered as greatly honorable and devout.
[12] tribute was characterized as relatively
light and not oppressive
[13] plural for batab
[14] presumably this was based on merit
[15] a unit of time in the Maya calendar,
equivalent to 7,200 days, little over 19 years.
[16] The Popol Vuh, the Books of Chilam Balam, are some examples.
[17] Although they may have had holding cells
for the convicted awaiting death.
[18] BalchŽ was a drink made from bark from
the balchŽ tree and fermented with honey, it was a highly potent alcoholic
beverage.
[19] Pottery depicts travelling traders adorned in clothing and jewelry that only nobles would have been permitted to wear.
[[4]]Lloyd Duhaime, Law and Justice in the
Mayan and Aztec Empires (2,600 B.C. to 1500 A.D.), (2009), Available at http://www.duhaime.org/LawMuseum/LawArticle-642/Law-and-Justice-in-the-Mayan-and-Aztec-Empires-2600-BC-1500-AD.aspx.
[[8]] Tarlton Law Library, Maya Law, p.
1, (University of Texas School of
Law). Available at http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/exhibits/aztec/maya_about.html
.
[[80]] Diego de Landa, tr. William Gates, Yucatan
Before and After the Conquest, Sec. XXVII, (1937). Available at www.sacred-texts.com.
[[109]]
Sarah E. Jackson, Politics
of the Maya Court: Hierarchy and Change in the Late Classic Period, at p. 11 (University of Oklahoma Press,
2013).
[[110]] Takesha Inomata, Stephen D. Houston, Royal
Courts of the Ancient Maya, Vol. I,
at p. 27-28, (Westview Press 2001).
[[137]] Tr. Ralph Roys, The Book of Chilam
Balam of Chumayel, at Appendix E
(1933). Available at www.sacred-texts.com.