Ajmaq represents curiosity; it is a day when questions arrive, in which we can explore the mystery of our expressions as individuals. Number 3 stands for the results of our efforts. The spirit of inquiry that is manifested during this day allows you to explore and look for different encounters that will bring you knowledge and experience.
2 Tz’ikin – Today’s Maya Day Sign (Nawal)
Tz’ikin is the best day to ask for true love, for partners and friends. Number 2 represents union; its energy is favorable for improving relationships. Today is a good day to revolve around the energy of love, a day to do what you love and to love what you do, to love everyone, especially yourself. Light a red candle and ask 2 Tz’ikin for love to be present in every moment of your life.
SacredRoad Runner for September, 2014
SacredRoad Runner, September 2014 is here! We just sent out our latest newsletter, full of information about what is happening in the world of Saq’ Be’, including information on stories, the Cholq’ij calendar and ongoing/ upcoming efforts to keep living lineages vital. You can sign up to receive the newsletter on our site. You can also view it online (below). Here’s the intro:
You’ll want to read this!
Things have been getting very busy in the world of Saq’ Be’ lately. First, we had a fantastic visit here in Santa Fe by Lina and Denise (see photos here). This has catalyzed a number of happenings. Some highlights are here:
- Thanks to Denise, we are now posting a monthly Cholq’ij calendar as well as daily the meaning of the day (nawal).
- We posted a new article from Carlos Barrios on the Origins of Maya Prophecies
- We will soon have our first video to share, from young Ajq’ij Yamanik Pablo.
- We are developing and implementing new programs to keep Living Lineages vital, including a video documentation series in Guatemala that begins with a Maya Elder’s rare wisdom around traditional interpretation of pictographs and will continue onto topics such as pulse reading and calendrics.
- We are developing a program to empower Maya youth to acquire videography and editing skills in relation to documenting the elder’s wisdom in their communities. This would engage youth with their ancestral tradition, empower them with new skills (and equipment), and provide both their community and Saq’ Be’ with footage of the wisdom of this living tradition.
- We will be helping to coordinate support for a program in the Amazon village of Sarayaku in Ecuador to empower the community around natural health solutions in response to a hepatitis outbreak.
- Saq’ Be’ is preparing to partner with UNESCO on bringing Indigenous knowledge and wisdom to bear on water crisis, while protecting ancestral homelands and sacred places. This is possible thanks to Carlos Barrios being named Coordinator of the Spiritual Reserves of Humanity for Central America and Coordinator of the Water Project for Central America for UNESCO.
- We’ve started blogging, bridging the connection and relevancy of living lineages in modern times.
- We’re becoming more socially networked, now with a presence on Google+, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and more soon.
And all that is just the beginning!
All of this is made possible by our generous supporters, and as we begin to expand our efforts we hope that you might consider supporting us as well – through a financial donation, by helping to share the knowledge and wisdom, or in any other manner that you feel called to do. Some very exciting things are upon the horizon…
1 I’x – Today’s Maya Day Sign (Nawal)
I’x possesses the power to expand our mind and gives us the strength with which to reach high levels of consciousness; it signifies the creative forces of the universe. Number 1 represents the unity, the beginning; it is the force of creation. Today you are connected to the Universe, to everything that surrounds you, ask it for its strength, wisdom and the power to expand your mind, absorb its spiritual energies.
Modern Technology to Keep Maya Living Lineages Vital
What role can filmed documentation play in ensuring the living lineages of the Maya tradition remain vital? The tradition of the Maya has persevered for millennia through lineages of transmission that have endured conquest, colonization, war, globalization, evangelization and countless other, continued threats. We are in a moment in which Elders and Cofrades (traditional community leadership group) are open to share their wisdom and their vision with the world, willing to leave a filmed record to spread and preserve their culture.
We have the great opportunity of beginning this preservation project with the Elders Don Mariano, who is an expert calendarist and knowledgable of Maya epigraphy, Don Tomás who is a wise elder and part of the Indigenous mayorship of Chichicastenango, Don Manuel who a Cofrade member from the Cofradía of Chichicastenango and Don Juan Manuel from the Cofradía of the Ri Laj Mam (Maximon) of Santa Cruz in Santiago Atitlan. They are all willing to share about the tradition and their wisdom of their Maya cosmovision. Some of the knowledge they will be sharing with us includes Wach (Maya Writing) and the Cofradías.
Wach…Maya Writing of the New Dawn
For centuries after western civilization came to know the Maya civilization there was no idea about the meaning of Maya writing. It was not until the middle of the last century that Knorosov, a Russian scholar, made the first attempt and discovered that the Mayan glyphs were ideograms.
Maya grandfathers and grandmothers say that Maya writing is a living writing which they call Wach – this could be translated as “the eye in which a vision is found.” When you are in contact with this vision, it sees you and transmits ideas. For this reason, Maya writing is difficult to understand.
There have been many advances in understanding Maya mathematics and astronomy, mostly through the codices. However, there has not been much progress regarding the interpretation of the so-called glyphs. Two elders, Don Tomás, who inherited the knowledge of understanding the glyphs and who has an interpreter, Don Manuel, who can help him share this knowledge in Spanish. Don Tomás is an old man who is willing to leave his knowledge on record, it is therefore important to film him. Then there is a wise Maya scholar, Don Mariano, who is also an Ajq’ij (Maya spiritual guide), and may be one of the few calendarists who has deeply maintained the tradition. He is an heir and scholar of Maya writing, also willing to share his vision, which just like Don Tomás’, differs from the western academic understanding. The valuable vision and objective of Don Mariano is to make Wach understandable for any person.
The problem that both Don Mariano and Don Tomás see is that Western culture is trying to understand Maya writing based on the grammar taught at school. None of the scholars has learned a traditional Maya language. They have mainly adjusted to the contemporary understanding, without taking into account that today’s Maya language is different from pre-Columbian Maya language.
The Cofradia (Brotherhood), Shelter of Maya Spirituality
After the invasion and persecution from the Spaniards, especially from the inquisitor priests that came with the conquerors, there was a persecution and extermination of the spiritual guides of the Maya tradition.
Catholic priests brought the structure of the church through the Cofradias, which they had inherited from Arabia.
This structure came to Maya spiritual guides as the perfect way out of the persecution. The Cofradias allowed them to take the image of a saint to a member’s house, which served as the domicile through which their organization revolved. This was accepted by the priests, who thought the Mayas were being converted to Catholicism. It was also a source of income to the church, since the Cofradias had to pay donations and collect charity. The Confradias are composed of the Mayor or Council Ruler, scribes, principals and assistant Cofrades. They were the perfect shelter that kept the hierarchical order of what was left of the Maya royalty and the spiritual guides, or Ajq’ij.
For centuries the essence of Maya tradition and spirituality was preserved in the Cofradias. Until recently, Maya spirituality was persecuted and treated as sorcery. It was only in the mid 90’s that there was more receptiveness to the living Maya culture. It was then that the Great Circle of Elders started to spread the knowledge and make public Maya ceremonies that attracted the interest of the western world. During that time the President of Guatemala, Ramiro De León Carpio participated in a traditional Maya fire Ceremony, which was broadcast by the media. This brought respect and the freedom to publicly practice our tradition.
The Cofradia was the shelter that helped protect Maya spirituality for several centuries, but when the persecution was over and we could publicly practice our spirituality, the Cofradias attracted less people. For this reason it will most likely be lost. However, the Cofradía of the native saint of America, Ri Laj Mam (also known as Maximon), might be the only one to be persevere as it does not follow the church. Both its origins and essence form part of the spiritual organization of Maya Elders.
We believe it is important to make a filmed record of this institution, to preserve the secrets that were kept there up until today, and to understand the way in which a connection was made between Maya deities and the Catholic saints. It is also important to leave a record about the Cofradia of the Ri Laj Mam, its importance and value for Maya people. This is the first time that we will have the opportunity to have the Cofrades talk directly to us, without any intermediaries, about their vision.
Saq’ Be’ works to keep the living lineages of the Maya vital. To this end, we have raised funding to support the first of a series of filmed documentation efforts. An edit of this filming will be made available publicly, while a more complete version will be made available as an archive to Maya communities. This work is only possible through the financial support of readers like you. Please consider making a tax-exempt donation to Saq’ Be’, either online or contact us to discuss other means. Thank you for helping us to support the continued vibrancy of these rich and important traditions!
13 Aj – Today’s Nawal
Aj symbolizes the return to our home, to our place of origin, to the Tab’al or sacred Maya altar, to the place where higher energies converge and manifest. Number 13 contains strength and wisdom; it is a number that has gained the experience. This is a good day to work on your body, to gather energy and regain you inner strength; a day to respect your body, which is the physical home and altar of your spirit, remember that your soul has chosen the perfect altar to fulfill its life purpose.
12 E
E is the path that leads us to our precise destination. Your destiny is built by every step you take towards your personal path; move forward with firm steps, believe in yourself and what you can accomplish, today number 12 gives you the energy to materialize your dreams.
11 B’atz’
Number 11 stands for the cycles of life; it is the energy of learning through experience. B’atz’ is the thread of destiny; anything that has occurred to us in the past, anything that is happening now, and everything that will occur in our future. Make each moment count; understand that time passes at the perfect speed, whatever you wish to accomplish in life comes at the right moment… be patient, but take action.
10 Tz’i’
The energy of Tz’i’ relates to the written word, especially to sacred writings; it is the symbol of the great scribes. Number 10 symbolizes the ten cosmic energies connected to the fingers of the hands and the ten telluric energies connected to the toes. Today your creative side can receive the cosmic and telluric energies that can be transformed into written words.
Mayan Time, Prophecy and the Tzolk’in
Mayan Ajq’ij Gerardo Barrios discussed prophecy, the Mayan calendars, cosmology and more with interesting insights into the Maya cosmovision. This article is based upon an interview with him in 1998. Gerardo is the brother of Lina and Carlos, and sadly, passed away a few years ago. We are glad that some of his knowledge was passed on in the contents of this interview. Good Friday reading!