The Mayans of North America and the Aborigines of Australia seem nearly incomparable is some regards. The Mayans were an accomplished civilization thriving in the arts, sciences, and mathematics, as well as farming, trade and culture. The aborigines were a nomadic people scattered across a huge continent. One area where these two societies are comparable is their religious beliefs and practices. This essay will present the similarities and differences of the religious and spiritual practices of the Mayan civilization and the Australian aborigines.
             A stark contrast between Mayan and Aboriginal beliefs is the gods. Mayan religion is governed by a set of gods. These gods control everything and need to be honored to make everything work correctly (Beck 18). The Aborigines have many religious customs, but not all are to honor the gods. Also, the Aborigines have different myths and customs between different parts of Australia, whereas the Mayans had the same customs through out the Yucatan (Isaacs 52).
             A similarity of the Mayans and Aborigines were they both had specialized people for religion. The Mayans had a hierarchy of religious figures. The highest rank in the hierarchy was the Head High Priest. The Head High Priest was also most likely the ruler of the city. Other high priests existed under the management of the Head High Priest. These men were important and powerful. They were the thinkers – the astronomers, mathematicians, keepers of the calendars, and astrologists. From there, the next step in the hierarchy is the Chilams and Nacoms. The Chilams were the prophets, and the Nacoms performed the ritualistic human sacrifices. The lesser priests were witch doctors, musicians, and local chiefs (Beck 17-18).
             The Aborigines form of a priest was the shaman. The shaman communed with the gods, and the tribe would go to the shaman for guidance. A god could enter a shaman if the shaman inhaled the smoke from the corr...