World-building questions.
I am a writer, and I am working on a fantasy world that involves lots of real world cultures. In short, the different nations in my stories come from groups of people who were teleported there at different points in history. There’s a region inhabited by people of Mayan descent, from the Yucatec peninsula to be specific. These people were transported a long while before the arrival of European explorers. Because of this, it’s hard to get good information about them, as I’m looking for Mayans, not Mexicans. (if that makes sense).
Anyway, I was wondering if y’all had any answers to some of the questions I have:
I’m not sure how the naming of regions works in the Yucatec Mayan language. I think the name of the country would translate to something like “low land” as it’s surrounded by plateaus and mountains. What name would they use for it?
What holidays or other celebrations would they have? It can be especially hard to find information on this since many of their holidays were fused with Spanish ones.
What would their accents sound like if they learned to speak English? You can’t find audio examples of this since modern day Mayan speakers typically have Mexican accents, which are affected more so by Spanish than Maya.
What would their government and politics be like? Would they have a figurehead, if so who would it be?
How would their culture change if they had to rethink their religious beliefs? This is important as the new world has magic and ours does not.
Those are the only questions I have at the moment, if y’all know anything I’d really appreciate any input.