The Maya View of Heaven and How to Get There

Maya Cosmic Tree

The ancient Maya pictured a luxurious afterlife.  Those lucky enough to arrive there would not need to perform punishing work such as the typical cutting of terraced fields from mountainsides or thick jungle.  They could rest from the hunt or the long trading journeys they had made in their lifetimes.  They would find luxuriousness all around them and lie in the sweet shade provided by the cosmic tree.  When they were thirsty they could gather cacao beans to make chocolate drink.  Scenes such as these are commonly depicted in Mayan pottery and carved in pyramids and monuments.

Unfortunately for most, Maya traditions held that only a few lucky souls would be admitted to this heavenly realm.  Most souls were destined for the underworld where many grueling and terrifying tests awaited them. 

The Quiche Maya Popo Vuh (a type of Maya bible) tells the mythical accounts of the Hero twins.  It narrates the Twins’ decent to the underworld where they faced many tests and a ballgame to the death.  But the tests were stacked against the Twins.  The lords of the underworld had learned the proper names of the twins, and to the Maya, knowing ones proper name gives power over the individual.

Eventually the Twins defeat death and rise victorious to the heavens.  It was broadly believed that their triumph paved the way for those that came after them.

It was possible to ascend to heaven from the underworld, but only by defeating the dark lords.   If one was successful in this quest, the soul would emerge from the underworld in the appearance of a jaguar god and would be greeted by offerings.  Thereafter, death could not hold him.