GUATEMALA 4-24
An approach to its Cultures and Ethnic Groups
A Social Science essay in 6 sections
By Darío Morán
http://galeriadecultura.hi5.com

Continuation Section 1 Introduction
The Maya
…including the Tzolkín calendar

Heaven, Humankind and the Underworld for the Maya mean Time, and time is life and death. Beginning and end of everything.
Operating some complicated calculations Maya make both calendars connect each other and mark equinoxes and solstices perfectly and following the long count of their ways they know what they have to know to rule their daily lives spiritually,socially , economically and in many other aspects.

Each kin(day) of each month of the Tzolkín brings its own protector god, deity or protector animal spirit, animal spirits are always represented by the sacred animals like jaguars,deers,monkeys,snakes,bats and other.
These tell the person why and how to believe and pray, which profession to study and which offerings to present in altars on top of the sacred mountains:all mountains, inside colonial Catholic churches like in Chichicastenango and in their ancient cities ,now archaeological sites which for them still are sacred places, where people,spirits,gods,deities and animals are invoked thru the invisible- but not for them , tiny and with optical fiber thick lines between different dimensions.
Protector animal spirits are called NAWALES.

Many people say the Maya dissapeared but I argue this because there still are many Maya now, I think the ones who dissapeared were the great astronomers,mathematicians,architects and outstanding artists.

I do not say actual Maya are not intelligent enough to achieve great goals, but times are different and unfortunately Mayas now are not in the same position than the one of their ancestors.

Maya of the old times populated an area named Mesoamerica by the anthropologyst John Kirshoff, an extension of land of 324,000 square kilometers region where the ancient cultures and civilizations lived, live and flourished; actually territory of five countries : Guatemala, Belize,México,Honduras and El Salvador.The largest population of Maya is now concentrated in Guatemala and México.

Posibles noticias relacionadas:

• Guatemala se declara neutral en la guerra
• No hay dictadura suave ni democracia dura
• Jorge Ubico
• Condición humana de los indígenas
• Miguel Ángel Asturias

GUATEMALA 4-24
An Approach to its Cultures and Ethnic Groups
Social Sciences Essay in 6 Sections
By Darío Morán
http://galeriadecultura.hi5.com
Continuation Section 1 Introduction

…known as ethnic groups…
Most of them live in the west highlands of Guatemala though some live in other regions, all Maya descendance ethnic groups work in agriculture, most of the fertile land is cultivated by Maya farmers.
But it is important to mention that the K´iché Maya and the Cackchiquel Maya groups besides working as farmers are also present in all market places in the whole country working on the second activity of their ancestors : trade.

Religious Maya leaders are also rescuing the basis of their ancient religion and studying and publishing two Mayan calendars one of the tasks in which they are involved in their rescue. Time for the Maya was part of their religion,being watchers of natural phenomenae they had to control the time and know how to manage it in order to live a syncronized life with Nature changes.

Actually only two calendars are known but their ancestors developed more than ten.
They measure and distributed time as whole in many periods, for they daily lives they count the time of human and animal existence using their Haab or Ab Sun calendar year which consists of 18 months of 20 days each =360 days to which they added 5 more days for meditation and profound rituals performed to call the protection and energies from their gods,deities and protector spirits of animals, all this, to control strong and not benign charges these days bring, people of some groups specially the K´ekchí Maya call these 5 days period the Guayeb or Guayep.

They combine the Haab with their moon calendar year the Tzolkín or Cholquij which is formed by 13 months of 20 days each to make a complete moon year of 260 days.

When they reach the day 260th new Ajkijab (Shamans) are ordained and together start a new agricultural cycle which also represents the beginning and the end of a new year, the day 260th becomes an important festivity for all Maya called the WAJXAQIB BATZ or the EIGHT MONKEY festivity which is then connected with the symbol of the cotton thread, the same cotton thread, sometimes agave, which holds the flying kites which reach heavens after crossing the skies.

Heaven, Humankind and the Underworld are the three stages of the Maya Religion. In Santiago and Sumpango Satepequez municipalities, both of them Cackchiquel Maya ;giant kites made of China paper are flown during All Saints day to send messages to the souls of their departed relatives, to their gods and deities and to complete the connection of the three stages. Some actual kites are decorated with sacred motif including the Tzolkin calendar…will continue

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• Guatemala se declara neutral en la guerra
• No hay dictadura suave ni democracia dura
• Jorge Ubico
• Condición humana de los indígenas
• Miguel Ángel Asturias

GUATEMALA 4-24
An approach to its Cultures and Ethnic Groups
Social Sciences Essay in Six Sections
By Darío Morán
danzatradicion@hotmai.com

Section 1 : Introduction

Guatemala in Central América is a marvellous country where 4 peoples together act and live dynamically making the country to be alive.
The four peoples living in an area of 108,889 square kilometers are the Maya,the Garífuna, the Xinca and the Ladino.

Although Mayas today have some physical, ethnic and ethnographical features of some Mexican peoples due to invasions, active trade and family links, remnants of life during the Post Classic period-before and after the Spanish conquest, they have kept some of their great cultural inheritance from their for parents the Great Maya of the Classic Period (300-900 A.C) when they reached their complete flourishment in many fields of knowledge.

Today the Mayas in Guatemala are trying to rescue their proper identity and values linked to their own culture: there are some representatives in the Congress and many other occupy positions as Majors in different City Halls of the 333 municipalities which form the 22 departments of the country.

We have two Nobel Prize winners in Guatemala, one, Miguel Angel Asturias, lawyer and writer who obtained in 1967 the Prize of Literature with his social political novel Mr. President.

The second, Mrs. Rigoberta Menchú Tum who in 1992 obtained the Prize of Peace for the fulfillment of the right observance and respect of human rights of all indigenous peoples in the American continent and the world.
Both Guatemalan Nobel Prize winners are Maya descendants and belong to the K´iché Maya group, the major of all, living in the west highlands in the country.

The Maya people also forms other groups like the Maya Cackchiqueles,the Maya K´ekchí, the Maya Tzutuhil, the Maya Pocomam and other to count 21 groups also know as Mayan ethnic groups.

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HISTORIA DE GUATEMALA
La Música
Por Darío Morán

UN DÍA COMO HOY 27 MAYO sólo que del año 1966
Murió el compositor Quetzalteco RICARDO CASTILLO.

Posibles noticias relacionadas:

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• Condición humana de los indígenas
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HISTORIA DE GUATEMALA
Un Día como Hoy : 20 de mayo pero de 1814
Por Darío Morán

Posibles noticias relacionadas:

• Guatemala se declara neutral en la guerra
• No hay dictadura suave ni democracia dura
• Jorge Ubico
• Condición humana de los indígenas
• Miguel Ángel Asturias