Axes Mundi: Ritual Complexes in Mesoamerica and the Book of Mormon
Keywords
Book of Moron, ritual, axes mundi, Mesoamerica
Abstract
Places are made sacred through manifestations of the divine or ritual activity. The occurrence of a theophany or hierophany or the performance of particular rituals can conceptually transform a place into an axis mundi, or the center of the world. A variety of such axes mundi are known from the archaeological record of Mesoamerica and the text of the Book of Mormon. I compare and contrast several distinctive types of such ritual complexes from Mesoamerica and the Book of Mormon and argue that they served functionally and ideologically similar purposes.
Original Publication Citation
Axes Mundi: Ritual Complexes in Mesoamerica and the Book of Mormon. In Temple Insights, William J. Hamblin and David Rolph Seely, eds. Provo, UT: The Interpreter Foundation and Eborn Books. (2014): 187-202.
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Wright, Mark Alan, "Axes Mundi: Ritual Complexes in Mesoamerica and the Book of Mormon" (2014). Faculty Publications. 4319.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/4319
Document Type
Peer-Reviewed Article
Publication Date
2014
Permanent URL
http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/7127
Publisher
Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture
Language
English
College
Religious Education
Department
Ancient Scripture
Copyright Status
© 2014 The Interpreter Foundation. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Copyright Use Information
http://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/