Paper short abstract:

This paper employs tools from the Digital Humanities to uncover the presence of the Passion among the colonial Yucatec Maya.

Paper long abstract:

The Passion of Christ—his punishment, death, and burial for humanity—became a central point of doctrine for Christianity. Sermons, plays, and procession commemorating the event sprung up all over Europe and subsequently accompanied Christianity across the Atlantic to the Americas. The impact of the Passion among the Nahuas (Aztecs) of central Mexico has received some scholarly attention examining plays, sermons, and a variety of visual evidence. Yet the Passion among the Yucatec Maya remains in general obscurity. Did the Maya also employ plays, sermons, and processions to commemorate the Passion? Do their churches contain the visual markers of the Passion’s impact like those in central Mexico and Yucatan? This paper employs tools of the Digital Humanities to begin answering these questions. Indeed, OCR scans of early accounts, enhanced digital images of manuscripts, and even Google Maps all contribute to this study’s hunt for the Passion among the colonial Yucatec Maya. In the end, these tools uncover the various ways the Passion appeared in Yucatan including murals, narratives, and even a theatrical sermon.