Childhood in Maya society

The role of the children in the Maya society was first and foremost to help their elders. Once children turned five or six they were expected to contribute to the family. They were treated as young adults and received more responsibilities as they grew older. Young girls were expected to perform household duties, while young boys were to help their fathers in farming. Mostly women raised the children, but “When a boy was about four or five … his father began the training of his son” (Sharer, 482). When adolescents turned 15, they were expected to be independent. Most adolescents had no childhood. The family was still there to help them, but for the most part they were on their own to provide for themselves. Today, this tradition of work ethic still applies to adolescents.

The Maya desired some unnatural physical characteristics for their children. For instance, at a very young age boards were pressed on babies' foreheads to create a flattened surface. This process was widespread among the upper class. Another practice was to cross babies' eyes. To do this, objects were dangled in front of a newborn’s eyes, until the newborn’s eyes were completely and permanently crossed. In addition, there were a few unique customs regarding children. For example, most Maya children were named according to the day they were born. Every day of the year had a specific name for both boys and girls and parents were expected to follow that practice. Also a “puberty ceremony” was held when boys and girls reached a certain age, and at the conclusion of the procession the child was available for marriage. This ritual was an important occurrence, and afterward a big feast was held for everyone who attended.

Most burial sites for children were not as elaborate as adult burial sites. “Infants/toddlers generally lacked offerings… for [children] who died before reaching the age of five, the only elaboration or special treatment consisted of inclusion within a probable family group…” ( Ardren, 67). However, some burial sites for children did contain more gifts than other youngsters. This suggests that the family had a great deal of remorse, and/or the child had high standings in society.

Several values were stressed to Maya children. Not only was a strong work ethic desirable, but working for the betterment of the community was necessary. Families were extremely important to the Mayan culture, and respecting the leaders in one’s family was imperative. “A sense of responsibility is another important quality which children have to learn. This includes independence, self-confidence and the ability to make decisions” (Heckt, 325). It is believed that the most important quality for children to have was common sense, and they received this by shadowing their parents and observing them. The adults in the family were accountable for teaching the children everyday knowledge, which would allow their children to one day act independently.

Punishments for children ranged from threats to physical punishments. The most widely used reprimand was “verbal action”. Rewards were given as encouragement for younger children to act well. Whether Maya used physical abuse as punishment or not is questionable, and there are many conflicting resources that dispute this topic.^{[citation needed]}

More on contemporary Mayan children

Current parental ideas or ethnotheories about child development and related rearing practices as well as children's culture among the Maya had been rarely investigated until anthropologists, developmental psychologists and other social scientists began questioning the absence of children as co-participants in their development as well as agents of cultural change and continuity. As a result, there are a number of published studies that document and analyze how Mayan children are constructed. Regarding children's punishment, Redfield and Villa Rojas' ethnography and Gaskin (1999) and my own field observations support the view that Yucatec Mayan parents rely on threatening rather than on physical punishment. As years have passed whether this holds true or not needs to be investigated.

Among Yucatec Maya parents, the ceremony called hetsmek' (also meaning the customary manner of carrying young children astride the hip) is still practiced even among professionals living in Merida, the capital city of the State of Yucatán, and migrants to the US. Even though the more complex ceremonies are performed in Eastern Yucatan, the basic rationality remains the same everywhere. This practice as well as ideas on development are documented in Cervera (2006, 2007, 2008) as well as in Gaskins (2003). Similarly, change and continuity of ideas on rain among children are documented in Mendez (2009).

See more references of studies on contemporary Mayan children

References

• Ardren, Traci and Scott R. Hutson; (2006) The Social Experience of Childhood in Ancient Mesoamerica, University Press of Colorado

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• Goncu, Artin; (1999) Children’s Engagement in the World, University of Cambridge Press.
• Sharer, Robert; (1994) The Ancient Maya, Stanford.
• Heckt, Meike; (1999) "Mayan Education In Guatemala: A Pedagogical Model and Its Political Context" in International Review of Education Volume 45, Number 3-4, pp.321–337.

Cervera, M. D. (2007). El hetsmek' como expresión simbólica de la construcción de los niños mayas yucatecos como personas. Pueblos y Fronteras Digital "La noción de persona en México y Centroamérica", 4, http://www.pueblosyfronteras.unam.mx/a07n04/art_09.html.

Cervera, M. D. (2008). La construcción cultural de los niños mayas de Yucatán. In J. Lizama (Ed.), Escuela y proceso cultural. Ensayos sobre la educación formal dirigida a los mayas (pp. 57-88). México, DF: CIESAS.

Cervera, M. D., & Méndez, R. M. (2006). Temperament and ecological context among Yucatec Mayan children. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 30, 326-337.

de León, L. (2001). "¿Cómo construir un niño zinacanteco?": Conceptos espaciales y lengua materna en la adquisición del tzotzil. In C. Rojas & L. de León (Eds.), La adquisición de la lengua materna: español, lenguas mayas, euskera (pp. 99-124). México, DF: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México y Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social.

de León, L. (2005). La llegada del alma: Lenguaje, infancia y socialización entre los mayas de Zinacantán. México, DF: Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia y Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social.

Euán, R. G., & Cervera, M. D. (2009). Amarras lo que aprendes en la escuela y en la casa: Etnoteorías parentales y rezago educativo. In J. C. Mijangos (Ed.), La lucha contra el rezago educativo. El caso de los mayas de Yucatán (pp. 167-186). Mérida, Yucatán: Unas Letras.

Gaskins, S. (1996). How Mayan parental theories come into play. In C. M. Super & S. Harkness (Eds.), Parents' cultural belief systems: Their origins, expressions, and consequences (pp. 345-363). New York: Guilford.

Gaskins, S. (1999). Children's Daily Lives in a Mayan village: A Case Study of Culturally Constructed Roles and Activities. In A. Göncü (Ed.), Children's Engagement in the World: Sociocultural Perspectives (pp. 25-61). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Gaskins, S. (2000). Children's Daily Activities in a Mayan Village: A Culturally Grounded Description. Cross-Cultural Research, 34, 375-389.

Gaskins, S. (2003). From corn to cash: Change and continuity within Mayan families. Ethos, 31, 248-273.

Méndez, R.C. (2009). Concepciones infantiles sobre la lluvia y su relación con la milpa en una comunidad maya. Master’s thesis. Maestría en Ciencias en la especialidad de Ecología Humana. Departamento de Ecología Humana. CINVESTAV. IPN. Unidad Mérida, Mérida, México, http://www.mda.cinvestav.mx/ecohum/tesis_estudiantes/TesisRMendez09.pdf

Redfield, R., & Villa Rojas, A. (1990). Chan Kom: A Maya village. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland.