Mayan Ceremonies - VIII
Noj is the Lord of intelligence and wisdom. This day is chosen to meet in council to unite ideas, seek knowledge, and to find good paths for social betterment. The head priest asks this Lord to bless his client with wisdom and divine guidance. Kawa Noj is also asked to bless children who are studying in the ladino school system: at this point in the ceremony the children come forward and the priest blesses them by touching them with candles on the head (where ideas are born) and hands (with which they write), and then he throws the candles into the fire. Then the priest counts hun Noj, kwib Noj, oxib Noj, to oshlahu Noj. Tihash represents the obsidian blade, and it is the Lord of danger. This Lord is petitioned to cut off people’s problems and to defend them from evil. This day is used for rituals to avoid evil influences for people and sickness in domestic animals, and to remove curses. On the other hand, sorcerers use Tihash to perform witchcraft. After calling upon this nagual to protect his client from injury, the head priest counts to thirteen Tihash.
Kawok is the thunder. Its power is fire; its lightning illuminates the darkness. The head priest now invokes the three gods of the lightning: Nimlikakulha is the lightning that blazes across the heavens; Rashikakulha is the lightning that strikes the earth and kills; Chipikakulha is the lightning that jumps from one cloud to another or flashes within the clouds. In the Popul Vuh the names are: Caculhá Huracán, Raxa-Caculhá, and Chipi-Caculhá. These three lightning gods form a trinity which together makes up the Heart of Heaven. They are always in the background directing and guiding the creation story. This day is used for ceremonies to cure sickness and to overcome conflicts and difficulties. The priest prays to the three lightning gods not to hurt the great-grandchildren, but to strengthen their spirit; then he counts to thirteen Kawok. Ajpu is the sun. This Lord represents Hunajpu in the Popul Vuh creation myth, which the head priest briefly recounts: the hero twins Hunajpu and Ishbalankej journey to the underworld Shibalba (the Caverns of Candelaria, located just north of present-day Cobán, Guatemala) to avenge the murder of their father by the Lords of Shibalba. There they face many trials, even dying in a fire, but their cleverness and magic restore them to life each time. In the end they disguise themselves as impoverished dancers and perform a dance in which they cut men, and even each other, to pieces; and then they bring the dead one back to life again. The Lords of Shibalba are delighted by this performance, and ask the twins to do the same to them. The boys cut the Lords to pieces but don’t restore them to life, thus they defeat their enemies and avenge their father’s death. They then ascend into Heaven where Hunajpu becomes the sun and Ishbalankej becomes the moon. The priest prays to this Lord to overcome sorrows – all the tribulations which the Mayan people have suffered at the hands of their conquerors – and trials like Hunajpu did. This is the day created by the ancestors to make a balance between the good and the evil; their teachings show us that good will always triumph over evil. Rituals done on this day are as powerful as the sun in banishing evil, sickness, and personal problems. Then the priest counts to thirteen Ajpu.
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