Chaac, the Ancient Mayan God of Rain

Chaac, the Ancient Mayan God of Rain Chaac (spelled variously Chac, Chaak, or Chaakh; and referred to in scholarly texts as God B) is the name of the rain god in the Maya religion. As with many Mesoamerican cultures that based their living on rain-dependent agriculture, the ancient Maya felt a particular devotion for the deities controlling rain. Rain gods or rain-related deities were worshiped beginning in very ancient times  and were known under many names among different Mesoamerican people. Identifying Chaac For example, the Mesoamerican rain god was known as Cocijo by the Late Formative period Zapotec of the Oaxaca Valley, as Tlaloc by the Late Postclassic Aztec people in Central Mexico; and of course as Chaac among the ancient Maya. Chaac was the Maya god of rain, lightning, and storms. He is often represented holding jade axes and snakes that he uses to throw at the clouds to produce rain. His actions assured the growth of maize and other crops in general as well as maintaining the natural cycles of life. Natural events of different intensities from the vivifying rain and wet season storms, to the more dangerous and destructive hailstorms and hurricanes, were considered manifestations of the god. Characteristics of the Mayan Rain God For the ancient Maya, the rain god had a particularly strong relationship with rulers, because- at least for the earlier periods of Maya history- rulers were considered rainmakers, and in later periods, were thought able to communicate and intercede with the gods. The alter-egos of Maya shamans and rulers roles often overlapped, especially in the Preclassic period. The pre-classic shaman-rulers were said to be able to reach the inaccessible places where the rain gods dwelled, and intercede with them for the people. These deities were believed to live on the tops of mountains and in high forests which were often hidden by clouds. These were the places where, in the rainy seasons, the clouds were hit by Chaac and his helpers and the rains were announced by thunder and lightning. Four Directions of the World According to Maya cosmology, Chaac was also linked to the four cardinal directions. Each world direction was connected with one aspect of Chaac and a specific color: Chaak Xib Chaac, was the Red Chaac of the EastSak Xib Chaac, the White Chaac of the NorthEx Xib Chaac, the Black Chaac of the West, andKan Xib Chaac, the Yellow Chaac of the South Collectively, these were called the Chaacs or Chaacob or Chaacs (plural for Chaac) and they were worshiped as deities themselves in many parts of the Maya area, especially in Yucatn. In a burner ritual reported in the Dresden and Madrid codexes and said to be conducted to ensure copious rains, the four Chaacs had different roles: one takes the fire, one begins the fire, one gives scope to the fire, and one puts out the fire. When the fire was lit, hearts of sacrificial animals were cast into it and the four Chaac priests poured jugs of water to put out the flames. This Chaac ritual was performed twice each year, once in the dry season, once in the wet. Chaac Iconography Even though Chaac is one of the most ancient of Maya deities, almost all of the known representations of the god are from the Classic and Postclassic periods (AD 200-1521). Most of the surviving images depicting the rain god are on Classic period painted vessels and Postclassic codexes. As with many Maya gods, Chaac is portrayed as a blend of human and animal characteristics. He has reptilian attributes and fish scales, a long curly nose, and a protruding lower lip. He holds the stone ax used to produce lightning and wears an elaborate headdress. Chaac masks are found protruding from Maya architecture at many Terminal Classic period Maya sites such as Mayapn and Chichen Itza. Mayapns ruins include the Hall of Chaac Masks (Building Q151), thought to have been commissioned by Chaac priests around AD 1300/1350. The earliest possible representation of a pre-classic Maya rain god Chaac recognized to date is carved into the face of Stela 1 at Izapa, and dated to the Terminal Preclassic Period about AD 200. Chaac Ceremonies Ceremonies in honor of the rain god were held in each Maya city and at different levels of society. Rituals to propitiate rain took place in the agricultural fields, as well as in more public settings such as plazas. Sacrifices of young boys and girls were carried out in especially dramatic periods, such as after a prolonged period of drought. In Yucatan, rituals asking for rains are documented for the Late Postclassic and Colonial periods. In the sacred cenote of Chichà ©n Itz, for example, people were thrown and left to drown there, accompanied by precious offerings of gold and jade. Evidence of other, less lavish ceremonies have also been documented by archaeologists in caves and karstic wells all over the Maya area. As part of the care of a cornfield, members of historic period Maya communities in the Yucatan peninsula today held rain ceremonies, in which all the local farmers participated. These ceremonies reference the chaacob, and the offerings included balche, or corn beer. Updated by K. Kris Hirst Sources Aveni AF. 2011. Maya Numerology. Cambridge Archaeological Journal 21(02):187-216.de Orellana M, Suderman M, Maldonado Mà ©ndez Ó, Galavitz R, Gonzlez Aktories S, Camacho Dà ­az G, Alegre Gonzlez L, Hadatty Mora Y, Maldonado Nà ºÃƒ ±ez P, Castelli C et al. 2006. Rituals of Corn. Artes de Mà ©xico(78):65-80.Estrada-Belli F. 2006. Lightning Sky, Rain, and the Maize God: The Ideology of Preclassic Maya Rulers at Ancient Mesoamerica 17:57-78.Cival, Peten, Guatemala.Milbrath S, and Lope CP. 2009. Survival and revival of Terminal Classic traditions at Postclassic Mayapn. Latin American Antiquity 20(4):581-606.Miller M and Taube KA. 1993. The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya: An Illustrated Dictionary of Mesoamerican Religion. Thames and Hudson: London.Pà ©rez de Heredia Puente EJ. 2008. Chen K’u: The Ceramic of the Sacred Cenote at Chichà ©n Itz. Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc. (FAMSI): Tulane, Louisiana.Sharer RJ and Traxler, LP . 2006. The Ancient Maya. Sixth Edition. Stanford University Press: Stanford, California.

Understanding the Ninth Amendments Effect and History

Understanding the Ninth Amendments Effect and History The Ninth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution attempts to ensure that certain rights - while not specifically listed as being granted to the American people in the other sections of the Bill of Rights - should not be violated. The complete text of the Ninth Amendment states: â€Å"The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.† Over the years, the federal courts have interpreted the Ninth Amendment as confirming the existence of such implied or â€Å"unenumerated† rights outside those expressly protected by the Bill of Rights. Today, the Amendment is often cited in legal attempts to prevent the federal government from expanding the powers of Congress specifically granted to it under Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. The Ninth Amendment, included as part of the original 12 provisions of the Bill of Rights, was submitted to the states on September 5, 1789, and was ratified on December 15, 1791. Why This Amendment Exists When the then proposed U.S. Constitution was submitted to the states in 1787, it was still strongly opposed by the Anti-Federalist Party, Led by Patrick Henry. One of their main objection to the Constitution as submitted was its omission of a list of rights specifically granted to the people - a â€Å"bill of rights.† However, the Federalist Party, led by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, contended that it would be impossible for such a bill of rights to list all conceivable rights, and that a partial list would be dangerous because some might claim that because a given right was not specifically listed as protected, the government had the power to limit or even deny it. In an attempt to resolve the debate, the Virginia Ratifying Convention proposed a compromise in the form of a constitutional amendment stating that any future amendments limiting the powers of Congress should not be taken as justification for expanding those powers. This proposal led to the creation of the Ninth Amendment. Practical Effect Of all the amendments in the Bill of Rights, none is stranger or harder to interpret than the Ninth. At the time it was proposed, there was no mechanism by which the Bill of Rights could be enforced. The Supreme Court had not yet established the power to strike down unconstitutional legislation, and it was not widely expected to. The Bill of Rights was, in other words, unenforceable. So what would an enforceable Ninth Amendment look like? Strict Constructionism and the Ninth Amendment There are multiple schools of thought on this issue. Supreme Court justices who belong to the strict constructionist school of interpretation essentially say that the Ninth Amendment is too vague to have any binding authority. They push it aside as a historical curiosity, in much the same way that more modernist justices sometimes push the Second Amendment aside. Implicit Rights At the  Supreme Court level,  most justices do believe that the Ninth Amendment has binding authority, and they use it to protect implicit rights hinted at but not explicated elsewhere in the Constitution. Implicit rights include both the right to privacy outlined in  the landmark 1965 Supreme Court case of  Griswold v. Connecticut, but also basic unspecified rights such as the right to travel and the right to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.   Writing in the Court’s majority opinion Justice William O. Douglas stated that â€Å"specific guarantees in the Bill of Rights have penumbras, formed by emanations from those guarantees that help give them life and substance.† In a lengthy concurrence, Justice Arthur Goldberg added, â€Å"The language and history of the Ninth Amendment reveal that the Framers of the Constitution believed that there are additional fundamental rights, protected from governmental infringement, which exist alongside those fundamental rights specifically mentioned in the first eight constitutional amendments.† Updated by Robert Longley

Bibliography of the history of the world football cup Annotated

Of the history of the world football cup - Annotated Bibliography Example The first world cup was held in Uruguay in 1930. Since it was a turbulent period in international politics, many countries which initially planned to participate could not do so. Austria, for example was set to play the world cup, but it was annexed into Germany. The first trophy was called the Jules Rimet Cup. It was awarded to Brazil after they won the competition three times (the trophy was stolen in 1983 and has never been found since). Since 1930 the world cup has been held 19 times. Italy has won the competition four times, Germany thrice and Argentina twice. Brazil have won it a record 5 times. Spain, France, England and Uruguay have all won the world cup once. The 1974 Holland team is often cited as their best. Johan Cruyff, their star player, was one of the greatest in the history of football. He put into practice â€Å"Total Football†, which back then was a novel philosophy of playing football. This style is still practiced by some teams (notably, FC Barcelona). In 1978 the same core of players that impressed the world in 1974, put on a great show once again. That year they also showed the ability to threaten their opponents with some dangerous long shots, and this skill won them a lot of success. The 1978 team beat an excellent Austrian side by the decisive margin of 5-1, owing mainly to superb performances from their star wingers Rob Rensenbrink and Johnny Rep. The author believes that performance was one of the finest he has ever seen at a world cup. Similarly in 1994 (in the US) they would have performed a lot better.... The 1974 Holland team is often cited as their best. Johan Cruyff, their star player, was one of the greatest in the history of football. He put into practice â€Å"Total Football†, which back then was a novel philosophy of playing football. This style is still practiced by some teams (notably, FC Barcelona). In 1978 the same core of players that impressed the world in 1974, put on a great show once again. That year they also showed the ability to threaten their opponents with some dangerous long shots, and this skill won them a lot of success. The 1978 team beat an excellent Austrian side by the decisive margin of 5-1, owing mainly to superb performances from their star wingers Rob Rensenbrink and Johnny Rep. The author believes that performance was one of the finest he has ever seen at a world cup. Clearly, the absence of Johan Cruyff from their side in Argentina contributed to their failure to win the cup. In 1988 they again failed to win in Italy. The author believes that h ad they used the services of the 37-year-old Arnold Muhren, the graceful, talented midfielder, their team would have performed a lot better. Similarly in 1994 (in the US) they would have performed a lot better (and might have come back from 2-0 down against Brazil) if their star player Ruud Gullit was part of the squad. It is worth noting that Brazil’s second goal was clearly the result of an offside, which the linesman failed to spot. However, the author feels, the most unfortunate incident in Holland’s world cup history was their elimination in the 1998 world cup in France. They had strikers like Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Kluvert. In midfield they had the likes of Edgar Davids, Ronald de Boer, Phillip Cocu and Wim Jonk. Ronald’s penalty

SEX AS CRIME 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

SEX AS CRIME 2 - Essay Example The essay will also explore the different situations in which women might find themselves in which predispose them to rape. The sex industry is a large sector where acts of rape are perpetrated and the victims have no means of seeking legal action. In this regard, the essay seeks to bring into perspective the policies that have been put in place to combat sexual offences such as rape. In the essay, challenges that the government, the law enforcement officers and social services officers encounter in assisting victims of sexual violence are explored. Rape is forced sex. It involves forcing an individual to engage in sexual activity without their consent. It may involve penetration through various body openings and using various objects. Rape mostly occurs because of the social inequalities between men and women, or the inequalities related to age and position at the workplace. The most type of rape is date rape, which is done by a familiar person. Marital rape also occurs in marriage- like settings. Sexual violence allows men to control women (Brown miller, 1975). In her analysis of rape, Miller points out that rape is not a crime of irrational impulse or an uncontrollable act, but a deliberate violent, hostile act of degradation possessions on the part of the would be conqueror. According to Miller, rape is designed to intimidate and inspire fear. This explains why many rape cases go unreported and are tolerated in silence by victims. The silence of the society is equated as the silence of the victims. According to a 2005 report by the Sanders, many people believe that a woman bears the responsibility of her rape, either partially or completely, in case she demonstrated flirty behavior. A small percentage of the people interviewed expressed the opinion that a woman is partly to blame if she is raped and she has worn revealing attire or is under the influence of drugs (Sanders, 2005). These reasons do little to shed light on the low number of convicted criminals of sexual violence. Around 14% of the reported cases find their way in a court house, while almost 10% of these are termed as faulty allegations on the suspects. Majority of these are cases that involve women and girls from the age of 16 to 25. Some of these cases are later withdrawn for the victims fear that they are not believed, while others are dismissed on the grounds of insufficient evidence. The above mentioned reasons explain why very few cases are reported by rape victims. The public exudes no confidence in the justice system when it comes to handling sexual violence victims. Vulnerability of rape victims varies with different people. Different situations expose individuals to sexual assault. Adolescents make up the largest and most vulnerable group of individuals most susceptible to rape. They are most vulnerable because of their age. Assailants instill fear in them and they do not report cases of sexual assault until it is too late. On the other hand, teenagers are easily manipulated but their assailants as they are offered gifts and money in return for their sexual services (Phoenix, 2001). These are gifts that are very appealing to the teens as they make them stand out from their peers. Another group that is very vulnerable to rape is that of individuals whose mental health is problematic or unstable. Sexual violence also occurs as part of domestic violence. Studies show that almost 50% of women and 35%

Everyone Has a Dream :: miscellaneous

Most people have some kind of hopes or dreams. Hopes are â€Å"desires accompanied by expectations of fulfillment, they are one that give promises to the future.† ( The Merriam Webster Dictionary, page 367). Dreams are â€Å"notable for their beauty, excellence, and/or enjoyable quality.† ( The Merriam Webster Dictionary, pages 234-235). However, these dreams are many times thwarted by many obstacles along the way, as happens to George and Lennie’s in John Steinback’s novel, Of Mice and Men. George promises Lennie’s aunt Clara, right before she dies, that he will take care of Lennie, and that they will always be together. During the 1930’s, people like Lennie, who has a mental handicap, and black’s, such as Crooks, the stable man, are discriminated. During this time, also known as the Great Depression, barn workers like George and Lennie would go around looking for work at a ranch. Very few Americans owned land, and only rarely did they have any freedom. George and Lennie want to buy a piece of land. To George this symbolizes his freedom, he will then be able to control his destiny, yet to Lennie, it means he will be able to tend the rabbits, and therefor pet them as much as he likes. Steinback expresses some of man’s hopes and dreams through the main characters actions. George and Lennie live in hope that their own, very particular dream, will one day come true. They hope they will work enough to earn the sufficient amount of money needed for their piece of land. The land is important to them because it symbolizes their liberty, their independence. From the moment they buy the land and on, they become independent human beings. They stop depending on whether they have a job, on whether they have enough food amongst other things. They dream of building a small house on this land, and on having a small farm with chickens and rabbits and cows. Lennie’s greatest dream is being able to tend the rabbits. Whenever Lennie does anything wrong, instead of thinking of the consequences that may follow, he only thinks of not being able to tend the rabbits when they acquire their new home. Lennie tries not upset George, because when he does, George threatens not to let him tend the rabbits. George, on the other hand, dreams on living a self sufficient life off the money and food they can make off the land and the animals.

Differences Between Fact and Value

The words fact and value have always been used interchangeably. The disputes between these two words have always been an issue, sometimes unresolved. Even though, these two words are different, they are still often used to have the same meaning. Due to the differences that existed between these words they often creates some problems, which require clarity. The word fact simply means truth about a statement, life, the world in which we live.In addition, it could mean an objective actuality, which can be subjected to test, verified by appealing to authority (science, books). For instance, in economics it is believed that the higher the price, the lower the quantity demanded. In addition, according to the law of gravity â€Å"everything that goes up must come down†. These two statements are fact. The answer to these is either wrong or right. If proved right then it is a fact. Fact is basically, what is. While, value refers to word that have some features of subjective statement.T hese are statement, which ask questions, this usually comes in the form of what should to be or ought to be and not what is. For instance, this statement gives a clear picture of the word value. Who is the better president, George Bush or Bill Clinton? This study is important to the sociologist because they research and they have to be able to differentiate between issues like this. They should be inclined and therefore, they should be up to date. In conclusion, this study is important to the sociologist.

Listen-Up.Com Case-Operations Management - 1865 Words

Operations Management Listen-Up.com Case introduction Mai Chen, fresh from business school, has been hired by Listen-Up.com, a small, start-up manufacturer of hearing aids, to resolve the difficulties within its customer service group. The company’s products are sold over the Internet or phoned in using the company’s toll-free telephone lines, but telephone orders is the main and growing sales channel. During its three years of existence the company has experienced rapid growth with the number of units produced more than doubling each year, but now faces a problem, scheduling its customer service staff and to optimize its toll free line capacity, in order to satisfy customers. The issue is that during the peak period of 7:30 am†¦show more content†¦* FCFS If no CSR is available, the caller waits as the call is placed in a queue for the next available CSR on a â€Å"first-come, first-serve basis. * Single Phase Although 6 call types are mentioned in the case, there is no specific sequence for answering those questions and customers may ask only one type of question. Therefore it is single service. Formula: 5. What is the expected number of people waiting in the queue? The expected number of people waiting in the queue is Lq = 0.0677 * * Look up the table and find the result is about 0.059 However, we don’t think it is accurate. * We stimulate these calculations of the Queuing Models on excel, which is called Q.xls. Finally, we get a more accurate Lq. 6. What is the average number of callers in the system? The average callers in the system not only contain the customers who are on the call, but also include those customers who are waiting in the queue. So the average number of callers can be calculated by adding the expected number of people waiting in the queue and the average utilization of the employee. * = 0.0677 + 112.39 / 27.55 = 4.1472 7. What is the average total time in the system? The average total time in the system can be divided into two aspects, the waiting time and the serving time. For the average waiting time, we should use the expected number of people waiting in the queue to be divided by the arrival rate.Show MoreRelatedInstructor Manual37126 Words   |  149 PagesINSTRUCTOR’S RESOURCE MANUAL to accompany Operations and Supply Management – The Core Second Edition Prepared by F. Robert Jacobs ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am indebted to all of my colleagues who have contributed to this manual. Very few of the ideas contained in here are totally original. Thanks much to all of you for spending so much time discussing how you do things in class and allowing me to share your ideas in this manual. F. Robert Jacobs i TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Videos