General soul research-American Indian ‘s View of Death and Soul

阿倫

	General soul research-American Indian ‘s View of Death and Soul Author :Chang Kai-Chi  張開基 translation: 某君 (You are welcomed to share or reprint but please indicate the source and author) This chapter is an important material that can be used as a circumstantial evidence for the study of the "world's original national soul concept"; the author calls it "Comparative Soul Research" because "American Native Americans" are all from Asia. Their original beliefs are also derived from the "Asian Shaman Faith". Therefore, there are many gods' beliefs, shamanic witchcraft, cosmic trees, vaginal ideas, and even sacrificial instruments such as "Shaman uniform" and "drums"; Exalting, exorcising, and healing herbs are almost exactly the same as "Asian Shaman." The author has streamlined important relevant points from books and online materials, and compared them, researched and commented on them, and also obtained strong evidence at the time aspect: ……………………………… Indian mythology is divided into North American Indian mythology and South American Indian mythology, while South American Indian mythology is divided into three parts: "Mayan myth", "Inca myth" and "Aztec myth". Among them, North American Indian mythology is the myth and story of Native Americans. Because the aboriginal mythology is influenced by the shamanistic witchcraft culture, the main beliefs are quite close to the gods of nature. The worship of animal gods also derived the belief of totem worship. The South American Indian mythology is more complete than north America, and its popularity is more extensive. North American Indian mythology is the myth and story of Native Americans. Because the aboriginal mythology is influenced by the shamanistic witchcraft culture, the main beliefs are quite close to the gods of nature. Indians not only fear the gods, but also fear the nature. It is a grass and a tree that believes that even a plant has its own soul and therefore deserves respect. The worship of animal gods also derived the belief of totem worship. The religious beliefs of the Indians are more complicated. Before the invasion of the European colonialists, the Indians generally believed in the primitive religions, mainly the "Asian shaman beliefs" brought from the hometown in the process of great migration, including Nature worship, ghost worship, ancestor worship, totem worship, god worship, idolatry. In the sixteenth century, with the invasion of European colonists, Christianity began to be introduced to the Indians.                                 登錄/註冊後可看大圖 The American Indians were composed of multiple immigrants, in different era. Although their ethnicity, bloodlines, and DNA tests all point to the same source, Asia. The first batch was about 15,000 years ago from the Siberian Chukchi Peninsula. After arriving at the Bering Strait Land Bridge, Alaska in North America, and then immigrated south to Canada and the United States, but Indians from southern California, Central America and South America may be thousands of years late. It is caused by the sea-based "jumping by island" type of immigrants. Therefore, because the time gap between immigrants is very large, there was almost no communication with each other, and the culture brought about by them has been quite different. This can be seen from the Civilized relics left by different immigrant group. For example, the Indian community in North America, there are almost no large buildings, and the concept is relatively primitive; and the Indian ethnic groups in Central and South America, including Maya, Inca People and Aztecs have tall and majestic pyramid buildings, and they are also more progressive in life civilization and spiritual civilization; it is because of their original - "Asia", between 15,000 years ago and 5,000 years ago, during this 10,000 years, civilization was an era of rapid leap forward, especially the early Indians who migrated from the sea to Central and South America. They used to Hometown - "Asia" (most likely China), has been transitioning from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age, and even has mature farming techniques, as well basic hieroglyphics, and the beliefs have changed a lot. Therefore, with the immigrants The North American Indians brought about the early cultural level of the original hometown of Asia, 15,000 years ago. In the vast land of North America, there was no element added to their original culture, and even slow progress, still usually hunting and Nomadic life. For the general life style, there are temporary shelters in North America, and fixed stone houses in Central and South America, it can also be seen that early and late immigrants have very different cultural levels.) The historical process of the Indian community in North America: Ancient Indian period (12,000 to 8,000 years ago) Hunting nomadic period (8,000 years ago to AD 100) Period of agricultural formation (AD 100 to AD 1000) Classical period of urban development (1000-1500 AD) The North American Indians are the original inhabitants of the vast and fertile America, with many tribes. Like some ethnic minorities in northern China, they mostly live in border areas such as forests and prairies. Whether it is the Indians in the big forest or the Indians in the prairie zone, the tents they live in are almost exactly the same as the simple tents of the Oroqen people on the mountain slopes of northern China. Indian tents are usually sewed with seven wild cowhide. They are tall and spacious. The tent frame is supported by three wooden poles. After standing up, it is reinforced with some auxiliary wood poles. The cowhide is fixed on one of the wooden poles and then surrounds the entire frame with a mouth on it as a chimney. The most savvy design is that the wind does not enter the tent. Dig a shallow pit in the middle of the tent, which is used for cooking. The inner wall of the tent is covered with animal skin. Even in winter, it is a good cold shelter. The finished tent forms a circular triangular cone shape. The "Magic Pillar" where the Oroqen people lived was also made up of a five- or six-meter-long wooden pole made of a conical frame. The winter covered with suede and reed curtains, and the summer covered birch bark. There is a fire in the center of the "Magic Pillar". The iron is boiled on the iron pot, and the roof is also open to smoke and ventilate. This kind of round triangular pyramid tents, most of the nomadic fishing and hunting people in northern China, such as Daur and Hoche are similar, belonging to temporary habitats, but also include some nomads in northern Siberia, such as The Eskimos of the Eskimos, the Chukchi, and the reindeer are farther away from the Nordic people of Scandinavia; and it is such a nomadic fishing and hunting nation that spans the Americas, Asia, and Northern Europe. It is also the belief in "primitive shamanism", so there is certainly a certain blood relationship between each other. The American Indian nation is immigrant from Asia. This is not only evidenced by history, and the latest DNA test confirms this. However, the Indian immigrants in North America are the earliest among America, they didn’t only bring the nomadic fishing and hunting lifestyle and a "Shaman belief", but also the triangular cones tent have been transplanted. They have not changed much for the later 10,000 years, and because of the Ice-Free Corridor Route on Bering strait has been disappeared. After the sinking of  Bering Land Bridge, a closed culture was formed in north America, they have NOT developed the the ability to build large-scale above-ground palaces. This is quite different from the lifestyles of the tall and majestic pyramids and stone houses in the Indian and Central American Indian communities.                                 登錄/註冊後可看大圖 (Note: At present, the academic community generally agrees that the ancestors of the Indians arrived in the Americas were from Asia across the Bering Strait. The Mongolian ethnic groups in Asia have a relationship with the American ancestors. In some time during the Quaternary, In the last ice age, the sea surface dropped by about 130-160 meters. The Bering Strait, which is only 50 ~ 80 meters deep, reveals a land bridge that connects the northeastern part of Asia and the northwestern part of the country, becoming the natural bridge of Asia and the United States. The Hunters in northeast Asia who were hunting for mammoths and deer at the time were likely to follow these animals through the Bering Strait Continental Bridge to the Americas and become the ancestor of the ancient civilizations of the Americas. In the past, the origins of the Native Americans were mostly explained by the phrase “from a single ethnic group in Asia”. Recently, scientists have discovered new discoveries. There are actually more than one batch of immigrants from 5,000 to 15,000 years ago. A total of three wave travelers have arrived in the American continent, and one of them is closely related to the Han Chinese. Archaeology generally believes that the ancestors of Native Americans should be from 15000 years ago, when the ice age is coming to an end, from Siberia through the Beringia land bridge to the American continent, they all belong to a single ethnic group. But Andres Ruiz-Linares, a human genetics expert at the University of London, analyzed the DNA of 52 Native Americans and 17 Siberian ethnic groups and found striking similarities and differences. The study pointed out that the first batch of immigrants should be the ancestors of the Algonquin family in Quebec, Canada, the Yaghan family in South America, and the Kaqchikel Maya family in Guatemala. Later, there were two waves of immigrants who came to the Americas by boat after the disappearance of the Bering Land Bridge. The genetic characteristics of the immigrants were the same as those of the Han nation of China. Some archaeologists and linguists still insist that Native Americans belong to a single ethnic origin, but Ruslinn insists that the new DNA analysis is based on a complete genome, and this finding is unquestionable. )

阿倫

	Similarly, although the Indian ethnic groups in North America, Central America, and South America are affected by the “Asian Shaman Faith,” there is no formal religion in North America, but there is in the Middle and South. The Americas have formal religious beliefs. Although they are obviously different from the original “Shaman Faith” of the original Asia in terms of form and belief, some ghosts and Gods conception share great commonality with Asia Shaman. If you don't divide the region, you can explore the beliefs of Indians in the Americas as a whole; in common, you can extract a synopsis from some relevant information on the Internet: There are two kinds of religious concepts in the primitive religion of the Indians. One is the concept that everything, including human, animal, and plants have soul, and mountains and rivers have souls. The other is the concept of witchcraft. People die, but the soul does not die; natural objects have no life but have souls. There is no distinction between high and low spirits in all kinds of souls, only the distinction between good and evil. The elves of the Indian faith are everywhere. The whole world is full of elves wandering around, and also finds the incarnation of the elves, thinking that the natural beings are the incarnation of the elves. Believing that there are elves, people have come up with some methods of begging for the protection of elves, which has produced certain prayer rituals and content, which is the earliest origin of religious rituals. The concept of witchcraft is produced along with the concept of all things. Therefore, all Indians who believe in animism must believe in witchcraft. Witchcraft is a primitive belief, a method by which primitive humans use evil spirits to ward off evil and pray for peace. The wizard acts as an intermediary between the human and the elf, implements spells, and seeks for people to seek help. When the wizards implement their own magic, they dress up as related elves and hold various magical tools. They either sing or dance, or drum or rattle, sometimes they also smoke a lot of tobacco, making them feel drunk and spirited. Disorder, indicating that you are inspired by the gods, has extraordinary ability.                                 登錄/註冊後可看大圖 "Ghost Worship" and "Ancestral Worship" have obvious inheritance relationship with the "Asian Shaman Faith".  There was also the phenomenon of ghost worship in the primitive religion of the Indians. Ghost worship comes from the concept Animism, which believes that not only natural objects, animals and plants have souls, but also people have souls. After death, the soul becomes a ghost when it leaves the body. At the same time, the ghost is closely related to human beings, so it is sacrificed or worshipped. There is ghost worship among the Araugans. Death is not a natural phenomenon in their eyes. If a person is not killed in combat or in conflict, his death must be the result of witchcraft or demon injury. They think that there are ghosts after death, and that there is underworld for ghost. Ghosts live in the underworld just as human beings live in the present world. Therefore, when burying dead people, they must bury men’s weapons and women’s utensils. The Indians in the Chaco area believe that people have souls. After death, the soul leaves the body to live elsewhere. The elves in nature also include the elves from human, and they will fall to people to cause illness. After people got sick, they ask the wizard to expel the elf from the patient. The wizards used the beat bells, bracelets and anklets to circumvent the ritual dances to drive them away. At the same time, in some tribes, when a funeral ceremony is held, a ritual dance is also held for the sacrifice of the soul. Ancestor worship is a very common form of faith among Indians. Ancestor worship is a cult of people, and most of them are the originators of a tribal legend. The ancestor worship of the Indians has undergone several stages of change. The original ancestor worship is the worship of the common ancestors of the clan group, then the worship of the common ancestors within the tribe, and then the worship of the family or family ancestors. The ancestor in the worship are often considered to have supernatural powers, and the ancestors of worship are symbolized by the same people, thus forming a cohesive force. The basic characteristic of the Indian Shamanism is to believe that all things are invincible and the soul is immortal. They believe that the gods, human beings, and demons have their own lives, the gods bless, the devils are in trouble; believe that the clan and other shamans can protect the people, their agents. The incarnation of the shaman as a person and ghost god has a special character and supernatural powers, can help the family to fight for disasters, and generally have religious festivals and religious ceremonies that the whole clan participates in. The Indians in California have been known as the Shamanism. There are wizards in their tribes. The northern tribes are mainly women’s shamanry witchcraft, while other tribes have male and female shamans. Shaman’s main duty is to cure disease. In terms of the way of rickets, the shamans of most tribes can be divided into two categories. Some of them are only responsible for diagnosis and determining the cause. They are considered to be “weak mana” and unable to cure the illness. The other part is considered to be "stronger", not only to identify the cause, but also to cure the disease. They believe that the disease is caused by something invaded by the body called "pain". Therefore, the "pain" should be excluded from the human body and the disease can be cured. At the same time, they believe that this so-called "pain" can became a normal person to a shaman. (The author's commentary: This is exactly the same as the "shaman qualification" of Northeast China, Inner Mongolia, and some Siberian minorities. In Asia's "Shamanism", it is often because of the inexplicable birth of a long-term slumbering disease, and then It became a "Shaman wizard", which is called "Shaman disease.") South American Indian mythology is composed of Maya, Aztec and Inca. On the whole, the three mythological systems are evolved from their local civilization. The Feathered Serpent and the Sun God are the main gods they worship, and the specific myths are different and distinctive. Among them, Maya mythology focuses on prophecy. Aztec mythology likes to express people's respect for God. Inca mythology regards the sun god as the only supreme and calls itself the descendant of the sun god. Maya's belief and soul view The history of the Maya began in 1500 BC and perished in the sixteenth century. The Maya are centered on the universe in thought, and each block of the universe has different gods, but in general, the universe is interlocking. The world in which people live, heaven and hell are a collection of the universe. In the universe, any force is only one of them, and power belongs to the universe itself. The Maya believe that each block of the universe has different gods, and these blocks can be individually controlled by different gods. But the Mayans did not cut the universe. They believed that the gods in charge of the districts continued to move in a continuous and inseparable space. The universe can unify these contiguous blocks, and time and space will flow in it. The source of this continuous movement is the universe itself.                                 登錄/註冊後可看大圖 This ritual is based on the legend that if no human heart is used to continually sacrifice the gods, the power of God will be greatly reduced, so they must kill the foreigners and take their hearts to keep God strong. The sacrificed person will be taken to the top of the pyramid, and the whole body will be covered with blue paint. The main priest will cut the chest with an obsidian knife to remove the heart and put the blood of the heart on the face of the god, and then sacrifice. The body of the corpse kicked down the pyramid, and the lower priests peeled the body and put the human skin on the main priest. If the sacrifice is a warrior who is brave and warlike, his body will be dismantled and enjoyed by the nobility and the masses. If it is a prisoner, the bones that have been eaten will be left to the people who caught him as a commemoration. Under the help of legends, the human sacrifice has become an indispensable existence of the Mayan civilization. The masses believe that by alienating the body, they can inherit the spirit of this person. This concept can be found in the murals on the images of the Maya battlefield. In the absence of sacrifices, the Mayans even deliberately provoke a war with other people to obtain the source of the sacrifice. The Mayans believed that life was insignificant, and in turn made their attitude towards death inclusive and fearless. The dead companions on the battlefield and the corpses that divide them have become symbols of their brave spirit. In addition, it is these rituals that make it possible for the Maya children who have been involved in childhood to be instilled and glory for the death of God. Death is not enough to fear. When you fall on the battlefield, it is still standing. The brave symbol of the soldiers. (The author's commentary: about eating the meat, internal organs, or drinking blood of an enemy or even a companion, you can transfer his "power", especially "courage" and "the energy of the soul" to increase your energy, which is many in the world. The primitive peoples have such ideas and customs, such as the cannibals of "Papua New Guinea" or the primitive peoples of some islands in Indonesia.)

阿倫

	The Maya was a nation of "multi-god beliefs". Their daily lives are deeply influenced by religion from birth, death, agricultural activities, four-season records, astronomy and even architecture. There are quite a few gods in Maya. The main ones are: Itzama, Chac, God of Creation, Corn God, Death, Polaris, Black God, War, Death, Sacrifice God, Wind God, Flood, Textile, pregnancy, luna, suicide Gods. The worship of the rain god shows that Maya was an agricultural society; for the Maya, anything and animals and plants have souls. Therefore, when cutting trees or burrowing holes in the ground, worship the tree gods or the earth gods and ask for understanding. Unlike Westerners who believe in salvation for the sake of salvation, the Mayans pray not to avoid disasters or to obtain eternal life. Their prayers only hope that the rain will be timely and appropriate, so that they have a good harvest. The Maya also have the sayings of "paradise" and "hell." In heaven, the king of heaven is the king of Istar; in the underground, there is hell (called Mitt), ruled by the devil and the god of death. The fate of the Maya after his death depends mainly on the social status of the deceased before his death (for example, the third heaven after the sacrifice), depending in part on the way of death. The paradise in the Mayan thought is only the place for short-term happiness, and the warriors, priests, sacred people, women who are dead due to dystocia, and suicides are the ones who can enter heaven. In the Mayan view, suicide requires considerable courage, and they voluntarily deliver themselves to the gods, so the Mayans do not despise suicide. Based on the Mayan worship of reproduction, women who die from dystocia should be in heaven. People living in Western Christian civilization and Eastern Hindu civilization; may wonder why suicides and dying women are in the parade to heaven, but for the Maya, they voluntarily entrust themselves to God and die for production. Women, as if they died of war, are generally worthy of respect. The Maya’s view of death is a bit special. Among the gods they worship, there is an important god Ixtab. This is a suicide god rarely seen in other civilizations, usually portrayed as a goddess with a rope around its neck. The Maya believe that suicide, especially suicide, is a glorious way of dying. The Mayans are convinced that heaven is on the other side of suicide, and the goddess Ixtab will accompany such dead to heaven. In addition to suicide, death as a sacrifice and death due to complications of childbirth are noble ways of death, so that the dead can go directly to heaven. Sin and the devil will suffer forever in Xibalba.                                 登錄/註冊後可看大圖 (The author's commentary: The "suicide goddess" is a unique belief of the Maya. Maybe the modern people will feel incredible and even have a negative or skeptical attitude. However, the author believes we should understand it from a macroscopic view of the historical era and the world's religious history. We must understand that American Indians migrated from Asia in various ways and settled in North America, Central and South America more than 10,000 years ago, and then for a long time because the "Bering Strait Land Bridge" disappeared again. There is almost no chance to have close exchanges with Asian culture. At the same time, before the so-called "Columbus Discovered New World", there has been no longer any time with European culture. Therefore, the "Hinduism, Buddhism" in the East originated three thousand years ago. The claim that the "reporting reincarnation" and the "suicide" will suffer in "hell" or "death city" will only affect later Asian countries and form conceptual constraints. How may it affect the Americas? What about the Di'an people? Similarly, the origin of Western Judaism is roughly three thousand years, and thus the resulting Christ Catholicism, Islam, although it is also an unforgivable felony for the Lord to commit suicide, it will certainly be a tortured doctrine of hell. This kind of doctrine of course cannot affect the Americas of the original period; therefore, for "suicide" The views are very different. We can't succumb to the historical and religious culture. We misunderstand the mainstream religious views of Asia and Europe to examine the life view of the American Indian nation. Moreover, we are all Asian countries. In fact, it is also an optimistic and open-minded concept of "life and death". It has always been considered as "born as a workhorse, and death as a rest". He believes that after death, he is going to another world to reunite with his ancestors, although he does not emphasize "suicide". Equally, the "suicide" is at least always sympathetic or contemptuous, so the suicided souls were not blocked for “back home”.  The Hell conception was introduced to China by the Buddhism two thousand years ago. The tragic and cruel concept, and then the later introduction of Christianity and Catholicism, emphasized the doctrine that "the suicide will go to hell." Chinese’s sorrow and understanding of the "suicides" were from "Asian Shaman Faith". Therefore, let's take a look at the Maya legend about the "suicide" after death and the "suicide goddess" Obviously not unreasonable, and it is also a mentality of compassion and understanding. This may even be closer to the fact of "spirituality". if the Maya believe that the soul of the "suicide" will be accepted and protected by the "suicide goddess". The "death of the suicide" that I have seen through deep meditation have been taken care by enthusiastic volunteer" in the spiritual world， have really similar situations as described in Maya culture. The relevant content has been detailed in the author's book "The Suicide of the Spiritual World", published in 1996) However, the Maya worldview is pessimistic; they believe: "The residents of the first world are very small. They built many tall buildings, but they turned into stones when the sun rises, and finally their world was destroyed by the flood called HAIYOCOCAB. The inhabitants of the Second World are known as ZOLAB, meaning the aggressors, but their world is still destroyed by the Great Flood. The third world was the Maya itself, and the result was still destroyed by the flood. The fourth world is the remnant of the first three worlds, and the ending is the same as the first three worlds. The Maya believe that the world is divided into four parts. However, in the end these four worlds are destroyed. This shows that the Maya believe that no matter how beautiful the world is, it will eventually perish. But conversely, this does not mean that the Maya have a difficult tolerance and an open mind for the destruction of the world. The religious rituals that reflect the insignificance of life have long allowed the Maya to face a deadly state of mind. (The author's commentary: pessimistic worldview or cosmology is not necessarily wrong.  Be realistic, the Maya are even more pragmatic than our modern people; because of the development of modern astronomy, it has been discovered that the planet will be born and will die. Even the entire solar system and the Milky Way may get old and dead or destroyed and reborn because of mutual engulfment, or some scientists even advocate that the entire universe expands to the limit and then collapses inward.) The modern Maya religious view follows their ancestors' views on the universe and believes that the universe can be divided into three parts: heaven, city, and hell. That is, heaven, earth, and underground world, and these three are made up of a huge one. The cosmic tree is strung together. In the understanding of the Maya, the earth we live in is a rectangular plane space, and in this rectangular space is divided into four quadrants, representing the east, west, south, and north, and they understand the earth and the living environment, just like The back of a tortoise or crocodile floating on the water; they believe that there are many gods in the world, and they can witness the facts of the existence of the gods by humanizing the process of animals or plants. We can often combine the images of humans, animals and plants in the Mayan religious rituals, and the ancestors' creation myths are integrated into their worldviews. From this point, we can see that the cultural heritage of the Maya people has been since ancient times. It has been consistent so far. (The author's commentary: The original cosmology of the earth carried by a huge tortoise, could be seen in both China and India culture, and India also added an elephant to the turtle's back.) The traditional shamanic shamans have a lofty status and are also religious leaders in the tribe. They have the power to perform rituals and bless the gods. They will burn incense, recite spells, and dance with music accompaniment during the ritual process; commonly used instruments Including drums, harp and guitar, the supplies used include flowers and incense; these items are important throughout the religious ceremony. The Mayans believed that the smoke after burning incense could allow the gods to enjoy and lead the gods to the present; the shamans of the shamanism as religious leaders must have a good understanding of nature's movements and plants, and they often wear hats with ribbons. Go into the forest to find herbs to treat people. In order to divination or hold a healing ritual, the wizard classifies the collected plants and then uses some symbolic things, such as seeds, crystals or corn kernels, to supplement the incense and the curse. He himself enters a state similar to hypnosis, in which he can receive messages from gods or ancestors; the wizard can also be transformed into other animal attributes in his own life traits if he can be transformed into a leopard or snake that is usually recognized as his spiritual power is relatively high. (The author's commentary: The Indian "Shaman Wizard" use of spells and intense spin dances to help  get rapid entranced or “be entranced” , or even use the strong tobacco and some hallucinogenic herbs, such as coca leaves, similar to the marijuana plant and the strongest "Brazilian mushroom", which work even better than the artificial LSD.

阿倫

	The Maya family concept is very strong, so the past culture can be passed down without being left behind. At home, they often hold religious ceremonies to worship their ancestors. Central America now holds the distinctive "Day of the Dead" from the end of October to the beginning of November every year. It is the activity of the Maya to worship their ancestors. They placed flowers and offerings on the graves of the deceased and on the altar of the family. They believe that the deceased will come back to enjoy reunite with their families during that time. Central American mythology has some common features, one of which is the formation of the universe. The Mayans believed that the universe was supported by four holy trees in four directions: east, south, west, and north. Each orientation is represented by four colors of red, yellow, black and white. At the center of the universe is the green world tree called Kapok. The birds and creatures on each tree are the same color as the tree. Like the Aztecs, the Maya also divided the universe into three layers: "Heavenly Kingdom", "Humanity", and "Ground House". The difference is that the Mayan kingdom is the place where the perpetrators of the dead are dead. The government is divided into 13 layers according to the cause of death. Each floor is managed by a god, called Bacabs. The victims such as "living people's sacrifices", the prostitutes, and the war dead are attributed to different levels. The altar and the altar are located at the top of the pyramid, and religious ceremonies are held in the place closest to the kingdom of heaven. The Maya's flat-top pyramid is different from the Egyptian spire pyramid, the former is the place to worship the gods, and the latter is purely the emperor's mausoleum. The bottom of the Mayan universe is the sinister land (Xibalba, meaning "land of terror"), divided into nine layers, controlled by the god of the land, Muan. The Maya believe that most of the people who go to the ground house after death. They must overcome the death god by wisdom, if they want to go to the heaven. The ground house is not a place of punishment. The situation after death has nothing to do with the good and evil of life. That is, there is no concept of Christian "doomsday trial" and Buddhism "karma" The burial of the pyramid of the king and the priest is a symbol of the nine floors. (The author's commentary: In fact, the Maya concept of the lower bound is still closer to the Chinese concept of "Yin Cao Di Fu(underworld)", rather than the kind of "devil hell" brought about by the introduction of Indian Buddhism. The nature of Indian Buddhism, especially the so-called hell is to duffer all kinds of cruel torture after evil life. The concept “the land is divided into nine layers” may also be influenced by the Chinese concept of "Nine fountain in the underground", But in any case, it is not a place to punish criminals.) In Maya’s culture, the universe is divided to three worlds, the upper level heaven, middle human world, and the underworld (Xibalba). There were 13 levels in heaven, and 9 levels in Xibalba. There is the central axis for the three worlds, a tree, which Maya people call it Itzam-ye. All the energy of the universe is flowing around the tree. The life tree locates in the center of the universe. It starts from the lowest level of the Xibalba, across the human world, and end the highest level of the heaven. Each level has its own ruler. In addition to the world tree, the Maya also believe that we can enter the lower level from the cave or the well.                                 登錄/註冊後可看大圖 Xibalba is controlled by the specter of death and disease. Its name means "land of horror" or "land of ghosts." Its entrance is a cave near Cobán in Guatemala. In the Guatemalan Jewish people's holy book Popol Vuh, the world below this surface is depicted. According to Popol Vuh, Xibalba is a city or area below the ground. They are usually depicted as having a human form. Xibalba is a place that is closely linked to death and is run by twelve gods or lords. The first two are Hun-Came ("One Death") and Vucub-Came ("Seven Death"), he remaining ten Lords are often referred to as demons and are given commission and domain over various forms of human suffering: to cause sickness, starvation, fear, destitution, pain, and ultimately death. The remaining residents of Xibalba are thought to have fallen under the dominion of one of these Lords, going about the face of the Earth to carry out their listed duties. At the bottom of Xibalba is Metnal, the darkest and most horrible of the nine underground worlds. The ruler of Metnal. is Ah Puch, usually he is represented by skeleton. At the ceremony, people sang prayers and exiled the disease to Metnal. There are at least six death houses in Xibalba that test visitors. The first is the dark house, the five fingers cannot be seen; the second is the cold house, the visitors have to endure the bitter cold and the large hail; the third is the Jaguar house, which is full of hungry jaguar; the fourth is the Bat House, the house is full of dangerous bats; the fifth is a knife house, full of moving blades. In the other part of Popol Vuh, the sixth house of death is also depicted, which is a hot house full of fire and heat. The purpose of the house of death is to kill or humiliate those who break into Xibalba, and only with wisdom can they survive these tests. The second picture on the previous page is a line drawing of the bone sculpture unearthed by Tikal, filled with strange creatures. In fact, the front and rear are the gods of the paddler. The hieroglyph in front is the meaning of "dark night". The hieroglyph in the back is the meaning of “the day”, suggesting day and night. The passenger in the middle is the corn god, the god of two paddlers carrying the corn god through the waters of Hell (lower bound). Of course, the god of the paddler has a more complex religious content.

阿倫

	Faith of Inca The history of the Incas began in the eleventh century and died in the sixteenth century. From the beginning to the end, the Inca Empire, including Inca king, and the ordinary people respected the sun as the only main god and worshipped him through various forms.  The Inca royal family and all the people who having the last name of Inca called him "the sun my father", and they think they inherit the authority from Sun. The son of the gods is in charge of the worldly affairs; he built temples and built gold foils for him, offering various sacrifices for him, contributing a large number of gold and silver jewels to thank him for his gift. One third of the food from arable land are given to these poor people, so that there is no one who is hungry and beggar in the empire. They built a deep secret house for him to live with his wife (the sun virgin) who is always virgin. In addition to the sun, they also worshiped Pachacamac from the heart as a supreme god that they did not know, and respected him more than the sun; but did not sacrifice sacrifices for him or build temples, they did not see him, he never showed up, but they believed in his existence. In short, the Inca kings do not worship other gods except the one who can see and the two invisible gods. Viracocha, the son of the Sun, was regarded as a new god after showing many holy sites in the middle of the Inca Empire, and the level was slightly higher than the Inca kings. In addition, wind, thunder and lightning are regarded as the servants of the sun and are accompanied by sacrifices. The moon is regarded as the wife and sister of the sun and the mother of the Inca king. The stars are courtesy of the maids in the moon and the sun. All of these have passed through the law to tell the whole empire, so that these myths go deep into all aspects of life, from political life to external expeditions and even ordinary people's lives. The myth intertwined with historical reality and it is difficult to distinguish. The Inca people’s centuries-old history was spent in mythology until it perished in the shadow of God’s curse and revelation.                                 登錄/註冊後可看大圖 Beliefs and soul view of Astecs The history of the Aztecs began in the eleventh century and died in the sixteenth century. Religion occupies an important place in the life of the Aztecs. Residents believe that the soul will last forever and believe in the supremacy of the rule. They worship the natural god, the main god Huizzilopochtli is regarded as the god of the sun and the god of war. Other gods mainly include creation god Tloque-Nahuaque, the sun god Tonatinh, rain god Tláloc, corn god Xilonen, Plumed Serpent God Quetzalcóatl, and the two-headed god Ometecuhtli And his wife, Omecíhuatl, etc., the kings were seen as the incarnation of God. They kill Captive for sacrifice. One of his specific customs is to kill living people for sacrifice, thousands of people are sacrificed every year. The samurai is proud of his dedication (be killed) to the altar. Among the gods of the Aztec worship, the great god of the entire Central American civilization, Plumed Serpent God Quetzalcóatl has an extraordinary influence. It is said that Quetzalcóatl is a religious leader. His religion emphasizes light and knowledge, emphasizing the creation of a harmony and balance between man and nature. The Aztecs are very concerned about the Post-mortem world and the situation after their death. They believe that the soul of the war dead, the dead for sacrifice, and the merchant who was killed on the way to doing business can ascend to heaven, and the woman who died in the first birth will become a saint. The souls of the rest of the people descended to the bottom of the desert and eventually turned into nothing. kapok tree, also known as the World Tree or Tree of Life, is a legend of the mysterious cosmology that prevailed in Central America during the pre-Columbian period, related to local creation legends and graphic studies. The world tree is not a tree, but consists of many trees. In addition to a pillar in the center that connects the heavens, the earth, and the underworld, there are four other trees in each of the four directions that represent the central tree. It symbolizes life and is at the center of the universe. World trees are often portrayed as having birds on branches, while tree roots are deep into the earth and water. In the myths and legends of Central America, the symbol of the underworld is a water monster, so the world tree goes deep into the "soil and water", in fact, it also goes into the meaning of "land".                                 登錄/註冊後可看大圖 Aztec's god of the underworld Mictlantecuhtli means the lord of Mictlan, in the myth of Aztec, is the king of death and the king of Mictlan (Chicunauhimictlan), which is the northernmost part of the bottom of the underground world. He is one of the main gods of Aztec and one of the seven most important gods of the underworld. Sometimes worship of him is related to the ritual of eating of living people in the temple. Mictlantecuhtli looks like a blood-stained scorpion, or a person with a convex head. In the world of Aztec, the image of skeleton is a symbol of richness, health, and prosperity, and it reflects the relationship between death and life. He often wears sandals, which symbolizes his ranking in the top of the Seven Gods in the Underworld. His arm often makes an attacking posture, indicating that he is ready to tear them when the dead enters his territory. His wife is "Mictecacihuatl", who is said to have lived together in a windowless house in the underworld. Mictlantecuhtli is associated with spiders, owls, and bats. He lives in the north of the eleven o'clock direction, which is the country of dea, Mictlampa. He is one of the few gods who can manage three kinds of souls at the same time. The Aztecs divide the souls of normal deaths into three types, including the so-called normal death or old death, heroic death (such as war, sacrifice or death during childbirth), and non-heroic deaths. The road to the other shore The Maya burial chamber sometimes has a thin "mind passage" to the outside world. The Pakal Tomb in the Palenque Temple is the best example. Its function is not to ventilate as in the Egyptian tomb. Because Maya's tomb is not very deep, and it is convenient to enter and exit during the building. It exists in order to escape the soul of the dead. The premise of seeing this small passage as a soul passage is that the soul is The Maya concept is a flowing gas, and it will go out of this road after the body was buried, flow into the air and ascend to heaven. Similar imaginations exist in many cultures, such as in ancient Egypt. (author’s comment: For example, the "burial" found in the "Fei Li Gang Tombs" in China deliberately made a hole, which is the same function and meaning.) Most of the tombs are painted red with cinnabar and hematite, because red is the color of blood. This color symbol is not only cross-cultural, but also existed as early as the Paleolithic era. The first place to go after death is the underworld. Among the various funerary objects prepared by the living for the deceased, there are often various kinds of beverages and foods prepared for the undead as a dry food for the journey. There were also human, and animal buried with the deceased. These men and animal may serve the owner of the tomb after reach to the underworld. On the burial pottery, there are often pictures of the temple of the Underworld, which has a large number of people living in it, that is to say, those who have accompanied the kings and undead on the road will also serve him here. The time of the death journey began a few days after the death of the deceased. Among the peoples of Central America, not only the Maya have this indigenous vision of the other side of the world. Bernardino de Sahagún, a Franciscan who arrived in the 16th century, used Aztec to record the culture of the Aztec Indians who lived before the colonial era, with illustrations. There are also a lot of information in this regard. Imaginations about the death journey are also found in other ancient cultures of the world, such as ancient Egypt and Greece. It reveals the notion that the shore and the other shore are two separate worlds, and that there is a certain distance to pass from that side, and there are different ways to enter:

阿倫

	1) Enter the other side by dancing The scenes of dance appear frequently in pottery. A picture of the outer wall of the pottery cup unearthed in the No. 96 tomb of a young woman was buried in "The Sacrifice City". This cup is not from the local but is taken as a gift from the outside. The unearthed workers speculated that this was a funeral object given by a foreigner who came to the funeral. It is difficult to judge from the picture whether the dance performed really happened in the journey of death and where the connection between it and death is. But the fact that dance is related to death can indeed find evidence in text and picture materials.                                 登錄/註冊後可看大圖 2) Enter the other side by riding horse Although the European colonists did not have any beasts in their lives before the horses were brought into the area, the phrase "riding into the other side" sounded a bit bizarre, but they seemed to have enough imagination to conceive riding on the back of a deer or on the back of a wild boar. The picture of this death journey appears on a series of pottery. I think that after a person dies, he can ride a deer to the other side. 3) Enter the other side by boat Another form of the Mayan death journey is to take a boat trip to the other side. In Tikal's Tomb No. 116, the tomb of King Ah Kkw buried under the No. 1 pyramid, a large number of finely carved sculptures with words were unearthed. From this we know that the king was sitting in a large canoe, and the two gods help him to row, and accompany the big lizards, monkeys, parrots and dogs that mourn for him to the other side. The theme of this picture and the ancient Greek mythology have striking similarities both in structure and in specific plots. The deceased in Greek mythology was accompanied by the Hermitian Hermes, who was carried by the boatman Charon to cross the Strait of Styx, and also had a dog in the same boat. In addition, Vikings living in northern Europe have similar customs. The dividing line between life and death The Mayan death journey is to enter the underworld. The water surface is the area separating the two sides of life and death. It is called ek'naabnal in hieroglyphics, meaning "black water." Another area that enters the underworld is the cave, called Akul Tunil in hieroglyphics. But the two concepts are actually connected, because the cave is also the place to save groundwater, especially in the Maya area, there are many limestone caves that store water. So the Maya people's so-called separation of life and death is not the water in the Caribbean Sea surrounded by the Yucatan Peninsula on three sides, but the groundwater flowing over the dark river in the cave. For this reason, the term "black water" refers not to the black color of water, but to the black secluded bottomless abyss hidden in the dark. However, the word "black" here may also have the symbolic meaning of metaphor, suggesting the meanings of "dangerous" and "unknown". There is also a concept that sees the turtle's body as the gateway to the underworld. It is not surprising to use turtles to compare the ground. This kind of imagination is found in many ethnic groups. In the Maya, when you step into the underworld, you need to pass through a cracked tortoise shell. All of this goes into the entrance to the underworld and is also the exit for the underworld. Scholars have speculated that, like Orpheus in Greek mythology, it can be two-way on the road connecting life and death. The Maya life and death road are also two-way and expresses itself in the picture. However, in the text material, it has not yet been able to find a record of going out of the underworld. There is only one place that can provide more credible evidence. In the stone carvings on the side of the stone plaque of Pakal, Palenque, there are scenes of the ancestors of the deceased from the cracked ground, and the branches of the fruit trees are on the head. This woman is the mother of King Pakal). The theme of the branches and the plants that sprouted on the ground and germinated upwards can only be resurrected here.                                 登錄/註冊後可看大圖 From the perspective of the place, although the surface of the water and the ground are different in our conception, they are the same in the underground. It seems that the underworld should be underground. The above two views are different theological interpretations made by Maya scholars based on the same information. One thinks that the concept of travel on the other side is one, but it combines various transfer stations and methods of travel; the other thinks that each type of excess means represents the different destinations after death based on the performance of the deceased. The latter can also be found in the detailed records of the later Indians living in central Mexico on the other side of the world, that is, the way of the deceased to the other side depends on his status, merits and causes of death, in death. The country, the deceased will go to their ancestors to reunite with them. From the information of Iasi Quran and the title of the underworld obtained by the dead kings, it can be speculated that they will become a way after death and become the protector of their own city-state, they will join many ways of living in the underworld. Go among the ranks. Some of the kings can indeed enjoy such treatment. The most obvious example is the picture of Palenque's Pakal sarcophagus murals about his ancestors drilling through the cracked ground into the germinated fruit trees. This concept of resurrection in plants is reflected in the religions of India, the myths of Mexican origins, and Christian ideas. On the cover, the dead Pakal himself will also come out of the underworld (the mouth of the beast) and ascend to the world. A tree grows from him, and a bird symbolizing the kingdom of heaven sits on the treetop. In addition, the "divineness" (ch'u) of Maya King is often mentioned in hieroglyphics, so they are likely to step into heaven after death. ……………………………… There are several key points in this article: First, the concept of "soul" and "ghost": This is the common concept shared by the Indian peoples of North America, Central America and South America. It is also the origin of the "original" Asian "Shaman faith". Second, the concepts of "undercast" and "underground kingdom" are also very similar. However, "underworld" is a rather primitive general term. It comes from the primitive yin and yang dualism of the Asian nation. The "yang" is the living space of the living people, and yin is the living space of the deceased . It must be specially noted; "The underworld" is not the same as the "spiritual world." Third, the Indian nationals in North America did not have the concept of "Underground". However, the Indian peoples in Central and South America have a very clear concept of " Underground ", which is because their immigration time was too far apart. In the early Indian people who migrated to Alaska via the Bering Strait land bridge and then dispersed to Canada and the United States, because of the early local native "Asian Sacrificial Faith", this early belief has "Heaven or the gods" and "the ancestral world" (the concept of the ancestral spirit), there is no "hell" or sinful spirit must be tortured by the king and the ghosts of the commanding, even the whole world after death is more happy and beautiful. of. However, the Indian nationalities in Central and South America belong to the late immigrants, and even successively migrated through the sea, constantly bringing in new civilization techniques, and also bringing in some new "faith ideas" to the earliest statehood. The "Mayan" was already 3,500 years ago. At that time, China was a Shang Dynasty. It was a dynasty that worshipped ghosts and gods. It naturally renewed some primitive beliefs. The status of "the wizard" is more noble and important. It has been possible (for wizard) to predict the national transport and even intervene in the political affairs. On the many objects of the Maya, Inca and Aztec civilizations, the shadows of the bronze wares of the Shang Dynasty can be seen, even almost identical. The Inca and Aztec civilizations were built later, less than a thousand years ago. It is not impossible to be influenced by the "land view" of the "Chinese civilization yin and yang theory" in Asia. However, before the Columbus discovering the New World and the influx of Europeans into the Americas, the American Indians’ ethnic groups’ beliefs were independent, and the North American Indians remained unchanged for more than 10000 years. They maintained the concept of "Asian Sacrifice" believes in "all things are animistic", and they believe "heaven" and "ancestor worship". They believe that "savage wizards" can cure diseases and exorcise ghosts, and can also communicate with ghosts and gods. It can entrance or be entranced(occupied by other ghost/god) ", but there is no concept of "hell torture" and "King of underworld". The Indians in Central and South America have the concept of " underworld " and the horror of "the gods". However, there is no "hell torture" and "the king of the hell"; and the "underworld" is not a review of good and evil before the death. Therefore, it can be said that Indian in America is totally different than China and India that have been in existence for 3,000 years since then, in the post-mortem world, are conceptually inconspicuous; there is no such thing as karma or a reincarnation. From this different concept, we can see all the Indian ethnic groups from North America to Central and South America; their "soul view" and "post-death world view" are almost exactly the same as "Asian Sacrificial Faith" at least 3,000 years ago. The traditional concept is even more similar to the traditional Chinese concept; if it is straightforward; all the "dead souls" after death are free, without any shackles and constraint from artificial religious. They are not particularly emphasized about whether the soul is good or evil before death. In the old saying of the Chinese, the debt is invalid after the man dead. There is also another old saying that living people need suffer all the constraint, but ghost is totally free. Basically, as long as the person dies, all kinds of grievances and substantial debts are written off before the death, and there is no death after death. It is necessary to repay the good and evil before the death, except for the "loyalty and filial piety". There is no karma for the evildoers. At most, it is only a compensatory curse that he "The evil ancestors will cause his descendant bad luck". Because the American Indian and Asian nationalities have blood relations and common primitive cultural traditions, but because they are not influenced by the late Hinduism and Buddhism teachings, we can get a powerful comparative sample. The relatively clear positioning began in the 12,000 to 15,000 years of immigration to North America via the "Bering Strait Land Bridge". At that time, the "Asia" and "North America" in the original township had only "animism"; only the "God of Heaven" and "ancestral Heaven" "Worship" has only a vague "concealed concept", but there is no concept of "spiritual world", "the paradise of the people" and "hell". This is an important indicator in time. Fourth, regarding the concept of "Sty River", this point undoubtedly has a wonderful universality of the world; from Egypt, Greece, and China, there is a concept of "Sty River", and all need to be ferried by "boatman" to survive. "The Styx" goes to "the other side." In the post-mortem world view of the South American Indian community, the concept of "Sty River" has also appeared. However, the isolation of the sea is hard to imagine that this is through cultural and religious exchanges. Why do people share this conception and idea? Regarding this question, the author will elaborate on the chapter "Sty River".                                 登錄/註冊後可看大圖

阿倫

	Fifth, the Cosmic Tree ("World Tree", "Tree of Life", "God Tree", "Holy Tree") can penetrate the concept of heaven, man and land, and the physical illustration of specific shapes, are almost worshiped by all Asia shaman belief. You could find the similar shapes, trees made of different materials, paintings in the Northeast China, Inner Mongolia, Siberia, Northern Europe, and South China Sanxingdui Ruins. This concept and physical evidence are also available in the system from Egypt, Assyria to India; the concept of "cosmic tree" or "spiritual tree" from "the belief in northern China" has developed into the religion of "ladder" (knife ladder). The ceremony was circulated to the Taoist ceremonies in southern China. In the culture of minority of south of china, you could see the ceremonies of the sorcerers climbing the knife ladder.                                 登錄/註冊後可看大圖 In the picture, you can see the relevant similarities and connections. Moreover, the common saying that the "cosmetic tree" can penetrate the three realms may also explain the commonality of human beings in the "soul concept", because the human body is bound to die, but only the "soul" can grow long after death. Whether it is rising to "Heaven" to become a god, or staying in human world, or going down to underworld, or reuniting with all ancestors, regardless of the situation, soul is like living a few thousand years, which is more long-lasting than the physical life. Therefore, whether it is called Cosmic Tree, World Tree, Tree of Life, God Tree or Holy Tree, on the one hand, it describes the long life of soul life, on the other hand, it describes the soul is free to go anywhere as like. The knife ladder climbing ceremony is also to show the sorcerer could reach to souls, to get all kinds of blessing.                                 登錄/註冊後可看大圖