Mayan Ceremonies - V
Then the priests invoke the earth god Kawa Tzul Taka (Mountain-Valley), the principal deity of the K’ekchi Mayans.(4) Tzul Taka is one god, but there are also thirteen Tzul Taka’s which correspond to the thirteen major peaks in the K’ekchi Mayan area. The K’ekchis hold that these thirteen mountain gods communicate amongst themselves with flashes of lightning in the clouds. The priests call upon these mountains, and they also call for blessings from the other 166 sacred mountains and ceremonial sites in Guatemala: Uaxactun, Ceibal, Tikal, Aguateca, Chajompec, Pecmo, Beleju, Chicoy, Chiajxucub, etc. After the invocations are finished a handful of twenty small candles is given to each participant; and then the tower of candles in the center of the fireplace is lit by the client (the person who has commissioned the Mayan priests to perform the ceremony). The tower of candles will slowly burn down and eventually ignite the other candles, incense etc. laid out in the fire pit, creating a large blaze which dances in the breeze. The flames are regarded as being alive, as representing the presence of Tzul Taka, and as such the priests watch the fire very carefully for omens throughout the five-hour long ceremony. For example, when the tower of candles burns down and the cigar bound in its center falls over, the direction in which it falls is taken as a sign: if the cigar falls to the east (the daylight) then this shows that Tzul Taka is pleased and blessings will ensue; if it falls to the west (the darkness) then this is not so good. If the fire swirls around in a counterclockwise vortex, then this is a good omen; but if it swirls clockwise then it’s a bad omen. If the fire divides in two then it’s an omen that the present company will divide into factions and dispute. Similarly, the behavior of the fire in response to petitions (e.g. for health, or economic prosperity) made during the course of the ceremony is a sign of whether and how the wish will be granted.
The fact that the priests and participants have been awake all night lends an air of unreality to the proceedings; everything seems to be sharper and clearer, like in a dream. The fire especially seems to be alive and moves hypnotically in the breeze. Now and then during the ceremony one or another of the priests will dance around the fire sprinkling it with rum to feed it. After the fire is lit the head priest sacrifices a chicken (li toj, or payment). This payment is made to Tzul Taka to avoid illness and other troubles and to ask for blessings. The Mayans are very much convinced that if blessings are to be petitioned and obtained, then the requisite payment must be made. In the K’ekchi worldview, there is nothing free in the universe. The head priest first offers the chicken to the four cardinal directions (so that they know the payment is for them also), then he dances with it around the fire, with the chicken draped around his neck. Finally he kills it by hand by stretching the chicken’s neck until the head tears off. The head is placed in the fire as an offering to Tzul Taka. Then blood dripping from the chicken’s neck is sprinkled on the ground around the fire and on the four rocks delimiting the fireplace. The priest dips his hand in chicken blood and marks the forehead, neck, wrists and feet of the client and other principal participants so that the wind (Ik) will guide and protect them. Then the priest tears the chicken into pieces and places them in the fire.(5)
NOTES:
(4) Interestingly, even in Catholic and Evangelical Christian K’ekchi church services God is invoked as Dios loq’laj Tzul, Dios loq’laj Taka – God of the Mountain, God of the Valley – a seeming fusion of Tzul Taka and Jehovah. This deity is also sometimes referred to as Tepe-Gucumatz, two of the Creators – Formers. (5) At some Mayan ceremonies the beating heart of the sacrificial chicken is torn from its breast by the priest, who hands it to the client to make a wish on until the heart stops beating, at which time it is offered to the fire.
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