ship practices in Cofrada San Nicols until it was stolen by Catholics. (Carlsen 95).Another Christian concept that has deep roots for the Maya is the resurrection, or the creation of new life from death. Just as the Bible tells the story of Christs death and rebirth, the Popol Vuhthe Maya creation taleis abundant with images of resurrection. In the underworld and in a state of death, one of the Hero Twinsin the form of a skull on a treeimpregnates a woman by spitting into her hand (Carlsen 57). She then moves to the earths surface and gives birth to twins; the Hero Twins later in the tale die and are reborn in their grandmothers garden as maize (Carlsen 57-59). This "recycling of life," or jalog kexoj, remains integral to Mayan life in a number of forms: anthropomorphized life cycles of plants; the belief that a person is complete only when they have children; the naming of children after grandparents; and the cofrada prayers of Santiago Atitln that portray people as the fruit and flowers of the earth (Carlsen 54-56).In the Popul Vuh, the Mayan World Tree forms the shape of a cross, thus providing another point of reference between Indian and Christian religious practices. Christianitys cross is a major, if not the most important religious icon as a representation of the Christ story. The World Tree, a central icon in Palenques Temple of the Foliated Cross, serves traditional Mayan beliefs in much the same way. It sprouts the skulls of deities and leaves, a symbol of generations (Carlsen 61). The tree itself grows out of a "sacred flowering mountain" (Fash), a symbol that repeatedly surfaces in Mesoamerican spirituality, from the birthplace of Huitzilopochtli to the great temples of Teotihuacn and El Mirador.The concept of journey through time and spacehistorically expressed through the cyclical nature of the ritual calendars or the Popul Vuhis an important Mesoamerican theme that found a voice in modern Mayan society through the pilgri...
