ki'ichpanil

Last week, I went to an ancient Mayan city that is about an hour away from the city of Campehce called Edzná. And on Saturday, I went on a trip to Calakmul, an ancient Mayan city in the southeast of the state of Campeche. My boss in the office of tourism took me with her and a group of people that were here for an assembly of Mexican cities that are World Cultural Heritages. I got back amazed after seeing all the Mayan constructions and hearing about their culture from a guy whose name is Yam Yam which means "si hay si hay" or "if there is if there is;" he is Mayan and he works in the National Institute of Archeology and History. So he knows a whole lot about this topic. We visited several Mayan cities: Becán, Chicanná, Xpuhil, Balamku, and Calakmul. Each and every one of them had amazing constructions and legends. Calakmul is probably the most shocking one. I really liked it not only because of the amazing pyramids, but also because it is biosphere reservoir; it's a huge jungle with many different kinds of flora and fauna.

(Chicanná)

I am truly amazed by the Mayan culture. First of all, their architecture. It is hard to believe that they could build such amazing structures with much less technology than what we have today. The pyramids are complex structures made with heavy materials. Despite popular belief, the Mayans were not helped by aliens--they built everything themselves. Not only they were smart enough to build all those pyramids back then, but they also studied astronomy and figured out how the universe worked. They would predict when eclipses were, and when other events affected by the alignment of planets would happen. They are highly spiritual people. They believe in several Gods of different things (corn, sun, ...). They value death as much as they value life. At least back then, it was an honor for them to go to their next stage (death). They have 7 cardinal points instead of 4: North, South, East, West, underworld, Supra world, Center. All their architecture was based on the cardinal points. Buildings are perfectly aligned so that the sun at a certain point is at the center of a building and reflects on another one. For example, this was used so that they could see the agriculture calendar (when was the time to cultivate, to let the land rest, to collect...).
Something that amazes me is their language and how they figured to create such a complex language (as far as the symbols go). The symbolism is formed of drawings and it looks so complex to me. Back then, about 1,200 years ago, they played a game of ball. Our guide told us something that surprised me. They didn't play to see who scored more; whoever dropped the ball was "the loser." The captain of the losing team, would be sacrificed. But in reality, both captains are winners because the one who wins gets to stay and be the governor of the town, and the one who "loses" gets to pass to the next stage, which is the underworld.

(Calakmul)

Today, there are Mayans who live in here and still embrace their culture. Some of them don't embrace it anymore. Most of the population of Campeche are "mestizos" which means that they are the product of the union of a Spaniard and an indigenous person. I was told that they have recently imposed a rule that says that indigenous people here have the right to speak their own language when they go to court, which surprised me and made me happy at the same time. Although Spanish is the language that is mostly spoken in Mexico, there are many other languages spoken in this country that are those of the different indigenous communities of the country (the biggest two are Maya and Aztecs). Campeche is land of Yucatec Mayans. I will never forget how I felt being in the Mayan cities. Over there it was quiet and calm but I could feel the energy coming from the vegetation and the ancient constructions. It's a feeling that is hard to explain. I truly recommend to anyone, even if you're not into archeology and anthropology, to visit an ancient Maya city once in your lifetime.

Thanks for reading!
SP