All
people have a cultural and spiritual root that distinguishes them in
their faith or search of a superior being. From Christians, Buddhists,
Jews, Muslims, etc. in this context the Mayan people have their own way
to express the spiritual practice when they invokes T’zacol Bitol,
the Ixpiakok, and the Ajaw as roots of their spiritual beliefs. Indeed,
the origin for this spirituality is contained within their sacred book
the Pop Wuj, constituting an integral element of the Mayan inheritance.
During their long way resistance to keep their faith in their natural way of life, they suffered under despotic military government regimes those try to annihilate them. However, using their wisdom they were able to survive under hard living conditions to preserve their culture for generations to come. Those time keepers are called Ajq'ij or mayan priests.
Different paths
The
spirituality of the Mayan people of the past and that of today have
differences from the changes of society, but it is also a consequence
of the invasion that destroyed documents of the Mayan people. Diego
de Landa, due to his lack of understanding of the Mayan priests at
that time, accused them of satanic practices and wizardry. Those
that still do not understand the Mayan spirituality, continue to criticize
and condemn, as Landa did it.
The spiritual aspects of the Mayan people are
not the practices of a conventional or institutional religion. The
spirituality of the Mayan is to share feelings, respect to our brother’s
animals, plants, and the language. These aspects differ from the Christian
institutionalized religions. This spiritual consciousness also contains
the elements of the day, based on the Mayan Sacred calendar. Every
day contains an element that governs and orders it. Every one that
is born on a date within the calendar can determine their behavior
in the society and their function. This practice is handled by the
Mayan priest, who interpreting the elements contained within the sacred
calendar can spiritually guide newborns towards their future. The spiritual
then is not separated from one within the form of life of each Mayan,
but is an integral part of that one and maintains the inheritance of
the town that conserves and practices its own existential spirituality.
Rights of People
The Mayan people has the rights to practice their beliefs, as rights of the indigenous people. The Guatemalan government singed the United Nations and the Worker International Organization 169 agreement, to comply with the convention; however, the government doesn't comply with the convention yet.Everyday mayan indigenous still suffer racism to practice their spiritual life style on their sacred places. Sometimes, they receive threats from policeman when they want to go to sacred places. In other cases, government officials use mayan elders as tools to get international economic support, however, none is gone to indigenous communities.
Thereby, the Guatemalan government continue depriving access to Mayan to their sacred places. By doing it, Christian fundamentalism are spreading among population, using indoctrination method to convert Mayan to Christianize following the military doctrine to pacify the indigenous communities.
By Antonio Calan