Mayan Ceremonies - II
This article will describe a particular Mayan ceremony from start to finish; but comments and observations on Mayan rituals in general will be offered where appropriate. The photographs accompanying this article were taken at a gathering of the K’ekchi Mayan priests’ organization, Consejo Regional de Guias Espirituales Releb Saqué, which was held at the ancient Mayan city of Tikal. They are filed in the Tikal Ceremony Photos folder at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MagicalAlmanac/files/Mayan%20Calendar%20and%20Shamanism/Tikal%20Ceremony%20Photos/. Glyphs for the twenty naguals of the Chol Qij are filed in the same folder.
Mayan ceremonies are by no means solemn occasions (although they are serious in intent). On the contrary they are light and joyous. The marimba music is lively and animated. The son dance around the fire is a slow dance but is carried out with élan and verve. The Mayan spirits are joyous, and they love it when people remember them and perform ceremonies to honor them; they shower blessings down upon all participants.
The Mayan priests – the members of the Consejo – are extremely impressive men and women. Meeting them it is obvious they have been chosen by the spirits to serve their people and to carry on the traditions of their forefathers. They have a commanding presence and yet are completely humble and self-effacing. To be a candle burner is a true vocation and a tremendous responsibility. Among the K’ekchi Mayans of Alta Verapaz and Peten there is nothing like the complex hierarchy of priest-shamans and the rich calendar of ceremonial observances characteristic of the Kiché Mayans in Momostenango described by Barbara Tedlock. It can be said that the K’ekchi Mayans are barely holding on to what’s left of their culture against an onslaught of Catholic and Evangelical Christian persecution. The symbolism of the Chol Qij is derived from Mayan legend, which can be read in the Popul Vuh, or book of the nation. This is a creation myth cum history-genealogy of the Kiché Mayan people, which was discovered by a Catholic priest in the late seventeenth century. It was written in the Kiché language using Latin characters, and it apparently was copied from memory from an ancient book which guided the Kiché kings, but which was destroyed by the Spanish conquerors when they burned the Kiché capital in 1524. The Popul Vuh is not a completely accurate record of the original, destroyed Mayan bible since it contains obvious Christian motifs which must have been interpolated later. E.g. parts of the creation story are taken directly from Genesis; and the parting of the sea to permit the people to cross into their land is obviously taken from Exodus. The central tale in the Popul Vuh tells the story of twin brothers who defeated the lords of the underworld and cleared the way for the creation of the human race. The night before a ceremony the participants gather in the home of the client – the priests, relatives, invited friends and neighbors – anyone who feels in need of a blessing. The principal participants in the ceremony (the priests and client and his relatives) had to purify themselves by abstaining from sexual relations for a period of thirteen days prior to the ceremony.
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