Gillespie- Nastacio

It was interesting to see how the Mayans personified the house. Not only did they compare the physical aspects of a house to a human body but they also incorporated the spiritual aspects of a person into the house as well. This brings up the question of what happens if a family moves to a different house? Do these spirits remain a part of the house or do they migrate as well? It seemed as if the Mayans thought of the house as a superior being who contained the spirits of their ancestors. Every aspect of the house had a symbolic meaning, including the materials used to build the house and the dimensions that correlated to the terrain. The Mayans defined the house as belonging to a multifamily group and not only included the physical house, but also the crops, trees and fences. This article introduces the concept that the house is a frame of daily activity. There are many aspects of the Mayan ideal of a house that are different from modern ideals for example, ancestors and their spirits were thought to stay in the house. However, a similarity still remains that the house is the center for a family- no matter where family members spend their time, at the end of the day they will always return to the home.