Contemporary Observances
Remnants of the Vision Serpent have survived until modern times. Around 1930, J.E.S. Thompson noted in San Antonio, Belize, that the Q'eqchi' Maya still performed a ritual very similar to the vision quest of the classic Maya, although in a different context. The ritual marked the initiation of a new shaman for the village. The participant came into direct contact with a giant serpent, Ochan (Och-Kan). It was through this experience that he completed his initiation rites and gained the knowledge that is needed to become a powerful shaman.
Read more about this topic: Vision Serpent
Famous quotes containing the words contemporary and/or observances:
“A sort of war of revenge on the intellect is what, for some reason, thrives in the contemporary social atmosphere.”
—Wyndham Lewis (18821957)
“... if it be true that death is annihilation, then the man who believes that he will certainly go straight to heaven when he dies, provided he has fulfilled certain simply observances in this life, has a cheap pleasure which will not be followed by the least disappointment.”
—Charles Sanders Peirce (18391914)