Maya, Aztec, Inca Current Event
HISTORICAL FICTION
You are a Maya, Aztec, or Inca; based on your studies on these Ancient Americans, create a current event related to the events that may have gone on at that time. Here is your chance to be creative and write historical fiction!
Required: 2 paragraphs; minimum of 7-10 sentences each paragraph
See Example:
Maya Current Event Example
Today is the day! It is 2 (••) Jaguar and all of the preparations have been made! Today is the end of the 52 year cycle of the current sun and, unless our priests feed Kinich Ahau, the sun god, sufficiently, our world will end as we know it! We Maya are a proud people and have lived in the Yucatan peninsula for hundreds of years. We have built a great city here in Copan. Our leader Pical took the throne at age 12 and has ruled for the last 50 years. He is a great leader and has provided well for us. Now the entire kingdom is on edge! Will a new sun arise for another 52 years or will it stay dark forever and end the world as we know it?
Our main priest, Xitckl, has lit the fires on the top of the temple of the sun and has burned incense to prepare for the ceremony. Fifteen “flowers”
have been assembled and prepared for sacrifice. Their bodies have been washed and painted blue using plant pollen, water, and clay. Without these ritual sacrifices the gods would surely die, our whole world would be destroyed, and the Earth would be plunged into darkness. Luckily our priests know how to appease the gods and keep them fed so that our world can continue. Also, in honor of the event, 2 ceremonial teams have been chosen to play Pok ol Pok, a ball game using a rubber ball and two hoops. Everyone has gathered around the ball court and is excited for the game to begin. This is one of the most exciting and scary days in the entire kingdom of Copan!
Inca Current Event Example
Waking up with the sun, I, an Inca chasqui, head to a Tambo (relay station). Waiting for the sound of a pututu so I can run on the next message. As I wait at the Tambo with my pututu and my quipu I rested so I would be ready for my turn to run on a message. I would have to run from 10-50 miles. Across rope bridges and purpose-built roads all the way to the next Tambo. Right before I would arrive at the Tambo I need to blow my pututu so the resting chasqui knows they need to prepare. All of the sudden I hear it! The pututu! My turn is almost up! Now I need the get ready to deliver the next message.
The other chasqui comes and tells me the message. I now have to memorize this and run on to the next Tambo. I take off on my journey to deliver this message. Running across bridges and all through the Andes Mountains. A chinchilla runs through the path and I almost trip. A few feet away some llamas are grazing on some grass and the road is filled with droppings from the spectacled bear. I repeat the message in my head so I can tell the next runner the correct message. A condor bird flies high up in the sky and I continue my journey. After a couple of hours, I see the next Tambo. I stop to blow my pututu. I know the next runner heard me and is preparing for the message and his run. As I arrive at the Tambo I tell the runner the message and then he is off. My work here is done. Being an Inca chasqui sure is a great job.
HISTORICAL FICTION
You are a Maya, Aztec, or Inca; based on your studies on these Ancient Americans, create a current event related to the events that may have gone on at that time. Here is your chance to be creative and write historical fiction!
Required: 2 paragraphs; minimum of 7-10 sentences each paragraph
See Example:
Maya Current Event Example
Today is the day! It is 2 (••) Jaguar and all of the preparations have been made! Today is the end of the 52 year cycle of the current sun and, unless our priests feed Kinich Ahau, the sun god, sufficiently, our world will end as we know it! We Maya are a proud people and have lived in the Yucatan peninsula for hundreds of years. We have built a great city here in Copan. Our leader Pical took the throne at age 12 and has ruled for the last 50 years. He is a great leader and has provided well for us. Now the entire kingdom is on edge! Will a new sun arise for another 52 years or will it stay dark forever and end the world as we know it?
Our main priest, Xitckl, has lit the fires on the top of the temple of the sun and has burned incense to prepare for the ceremony. Fifteen “flowers”
have been assembled and prepared for sacrifice. Their bodies have been washed and painted blue using plant pollen, water, and clay. Without these ritual sacrifices the gods would surely die, our whole world would be destroyed, and the Earth would be plunged into darkness. Luckily our priests know how to appease the gods and keep them fed so that our world can continue. Also, in honor of the event, 2 ceremonial teams have been chosen to play Pok ol Pok, a ball game using a rubber ball and two hoops. Everyone has gathered around the ball court and is excited for the game to begin. This is one of the most exciting and scary days in the entire kingdom of Copan!
Inca Current Event Example
Waking up with the sun, I, an Inca chasqui, head to a Tambo (relay station). Waiting for the sound of a pututu so I can run on the next message. As I wait at the Tambo with my pututu and my quipu I rested so I would be ready for my turn to run on a message. I would have to run from 10-50 miles. Across rope bridges and purpose-built roads all the way to the next Tambo. Right before I would arrive at the Tambo I need to blow my pututu so the resting chasqui knows they need to prepare. All of the sudden I hear it! The pututu! My turn is almost up! Now I need the get ready to deliver the next message.
The other chasqui comes and tells me the message. I now have to memorize this and run on to the next Tambo. I take off on my journey to deliver this message. Running across bridges and all through the Andes Mountains. A chinchilla runs through the path and I almost trip. A few feet away some llamas are grazing on some grass and the road is filled with droppings from the spectacled bear. I repeat the message in my head so I can tell the next runner the correct message. A condor bird flies high up in the sky and I continue my journey. After a couple of hours, I see the next Tambo. I stop to blow my pututu. I know the next runner heard me and is preparing for the message and his run. As I arrive at the Tambo I tell the runner the message and then he is off. My work here is done. Being an Inca chasqui sure is a great job.
maya_aztec_inca_current_event.pdf | |
File Size: | 334 kb |
File Type: |