SOCIAL LIFE IN ANCIENT MEXICO Every person born in MEXICO was considered to be independent by birth . However, slavery was one of special features of the ancient society of MEXICO . But it was not hereditary , as son of a slave was not treated as a slave as such . They had right to keep personal properties and sometimes even to keep their own slaves as such . There were different types of slaves existed in the ancient MAXICAN society : 1. WAR PRISONERS USED AS A SLAVE TILL THEY WERE SACRIFICED TO THE SUN GOD ; 2. ANY ACCUSED TILL THE DECISION WAS PENDING FOR PUNISHMENT ; 3. A PERSON INDEBTED . But treatment with slaves were quite human and they were not sold and purchased as such as we used to see in the ancient GREEK society . MEXICAN were very civilized persons . They were truth loving people like Ancient INDIANS . Their cities were well established and organized . Military establishments were well decorated and numerous in numbers . Magistrates , appointed for the purpose of maintaining orders in the society , functioned as judges also . Rules for governance were made as per the needs of the local people . There existed traders and businessmen in the ancient MEXICAN society as we see in the ancient INDIAN society . Like ancient INDIAN people , they were free to choose their GURU ( TEACHERS ) . Their marriages were quite similar to that of the ancient INDIAN marriages . They , like ancient INDIANS , celebrated festivals of different types . Moreover, they did not have a gender discrimination as such . Respect for women was total which is one of the characteristics of a civilized society . So , the MAYA people were well organized , and had all the characteristics to be called a civilized society to a considerable extent .
MEXICO CITY MEXICO CITY was located on a big island of a lake . There was a bridge connecting this ancient city with the mainland in which there existed , at least , underpasses at three places for crossing boats . The roads of the cities were straight crossing each other on ninety degrees . They resembled to the roads that of the cities of INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION like HARAPPA & MOHUNJODERO . Along both sides of the roads there existed buildings of stones mostly of a single storey . However , somewhere double storey buildings also existed which showed that those were the buildings of the affluent people of the society of the then MEXICO . Like buildings of the ancient INDIAN villages , there existed courtyards even in the small buildings as such . Markets were in open space . Orchards/gardens along side of the roads on some distances were the special features of the city . Dry fruits , nuts and green vegetables were grown in the lake around the city itself . For that farmers used to make a floating wooden big boat like structure of more than two hundred feet long and three to four feet wide full of alluvial soil and grasses . Even farmers hut also existed on that big boat like structure who through a big bamboo could drive that big boat from one place to others in the lake .
KING’S PALACE THE KING’S PALACE , according to HERMAN CORTES , was so grand and big that CORTES , the conquistador of MEXICO in 1519 , wrote that no Palace similar to that existed in SPAIN at all at that time . The roof of the palace , built of aromatic wood , was so large that , at least , thirty horsemen could do practices on that at a time . The doors of the palace were well decorated with different precious stones . In one side of the palace was an armory and in the other side was a zoo . The zoo was full of so many animals and birds that thee hundreds of men were deployed for their caretaking . For wild animals living in the zoo , at least , five hundred animals were killed daily for their foods . Besides these animals even people of peculiar shape and size were also put in the zoo . And their inhabitation was kept separate to these animals as such . And the fencing walls of the zoo , surrounded by gardens having different varieties of trees and plants of flowers , were covered with herbs of different types . So , one can understand from the above descriptions that the how much affluent the King of the time was . FOODS OF THE KING The King Generally used to have bread and meats of different animals/birds of different types like chickens , pigeons , deers , pigs and rabbits . Each and every day , at least , three hundred foods of different types were prepared and all were put on three big dining tables covered with cloths quite clean . The King used to sit on a wooden coat while dining . Pin-drop silence was anyhow maintained during the dining of the King . No body was allowed to be there while the King was taking his grubs except four young ladies for washing the hands of the King before and after the diet . Curtains of the dining hall were kept down while the King was eating ; so that no body could see the King eating with evil eyes as such . After bread and meats the King was served first with sweets , then with dry fruits and still then with wine symbolically as the King disliked wine . So , as per tradition , he used to taste honey kept in a golden bowl with the golden spoon . Then he was offered tobacco which he used to smoke after meals and when smoke started coming out his nose all the serving four ladies presumed that the King was about to sleep so they used to leave the room where King was sleeping . As like Ancient INDIANS the King never used to take foods without taking a bath . All the pots in which the King used to have were made of black earthen soil and all the pots once used were thrown away or never reused as such . Even cloths once used couldn’t be reused at all . And the King never changed dress in a day time as it was going to be thrown the next day . So , this was the lifestyle of the King of ancient MEXICO .
NOTE : SOURCES OF THE BLOG IS TEXT BOOKS .
TO BE CONTINUE …… ………
ARBIND KUMAR BLOG 