1. Age

The first Mayan town was created 12000 years BJC. The development was slow and it was a agricultural society. From 2000 years BJC, they started to construct cities and the agriculture ecological was boosted. They started to create new languages Mayas, until then was only spoken the Nab’ee Maya’ Tziij.

2. territory

The territory Maya represents 323 000 km2, from the rivers Lema and Panuco in Mexico to El Salvador, including Guatemala, Belize and Honduras. But 85% of the Mayan population is regrouped in Guatemala.

3. languages

Actually, there are 30 languages Mayas which are spoken. 21 of them are spoken in Guatemala like k’iche’, Q’echi’, Mam, Kaqchikel and Ixil.

4. Scientific creation

The grand fathers and grand mothers Mayas were the first one to create and use the concept mathematic of the zero; there were too the creators of the system of the calendar (ritual, civil or solar), of the astronomy, of a preventive y curative medicine (utilisation of medicine plants, vapour bath, …), of the writing system (started to document the knowledge more than 2000 years ago), politic y philosophy.

5. philosophy

It’s to say that the knowledge Maya is the origin of the life and the relation of the people with The Creator, with the cosmos and with the elements of the nature.

6. the Cosmo vision

It’s the form the Mayan are in relation with the universe, the land, the nature, the people, the animals, the plants and all the others elements that exist.

La Cosmo vision Maya is present when you can hear, see or feel phrases or situations like following:

• Quate’Ulew! Quate’Ixim! To say: Mother Nature! Mother Land!
• Loq’alaj Kajulew, or Holy Universe
• Loq’alaj Jay, to say, the house is sacred
• Tetata’, to say, respectable old man
• Wach’alal, which means, you’re my brother
• Nutz’aqat, which means, you’re my second part as I’m yours
• Ri ya’k’o ru nawal, which means, the water have a nawal guardian.

7. the values

That means the oriented ideas y attitudes which contribute at the realization human and to live better, between us:

• The respect of the nature, the people and all the human being.
• The relation of complementarily between men and women
• The look for the unity in the diversity
• The knowledge that exist strong cosmic creators, which are mentioned in different ways, like Tz’aqol and B’itol
• The respect of the young and old generations
• Unity between the spiritual, material and daily life
• The gratitude
• The responsibility and solidarity, between other values.  

8. the spirituality

It’s in the spirituality Maya that are transported the materials, mostly via ceremonies, called like kotz’i’j’ (flower), xukulem, or toj (gratitude).

In the Mayan ceremonies, they are talking to the Creator, to the grand fathers and mothers, to the Nawales (gods) of the mountains, valleys, rivers, lakes, animals, plants. They are offering drinks and the communication is done through the wind or fire.

The town Maya has a big spirituality, and the spirits are taking different forms in the daily life. 

IXIM, EL GRANO SAGRADO

The corn is one of the fundamental elements in the culture Maya because it’s the past and the present, and it’s the physical and spiritual alimentation of the population.

Physical, because its grain full of nutriments is the base of the alimentation of the Mayan towns. That’s why we’re talking of women and men of the corn.

Spiritual, because for the Mayas the corn is not only a material aliment but too an element spiritual and philosophic. The corn is considered as a sacred grain and this is taught from generation to generation through educative situations like:

• When seeing a grain of corn, it is taught to the kids to pick it up and not walk on it, because it’s like walking on your own body.
• “Cha Kowij le awa”, or blessing the first tortilla before to eat it.
• During the ceremony to dry the corn, it is handled with care and respect. The corn is put down carefully for its spirit not to be angry. There are four colours of corn and they are disposed in the patio depending of the orientation of the Mayan philosophy: red at the west, black at the east, white at the north and yellow at the south.

1. origins of the corn

The corn was closed in a big rock, but some grains escaped through a small hole. A crow came regularly to eat the grains which escaped from the rock, and let some fall into the sky. Came a cat that ate the grains the crow forgot.
The others animals were surprised that the cat was eating something new and that he was fine. So they forced him to tell them where he found the grains. So they went where the corn was and asked the crow to give them more grains. But the crow told them that he was eating the ones falling from the rock because he couldn’t open it. They realised they should ask the help of the carpenter bird.

The animals offered the bird a new dress if he would help them. So the bird tried to open the rock but didn’t succeed. So the animals sent him to the God of Sun to ask him to destroy the rock.

The God of the Sun destroyed the rock and from the rock came lots of grains of white corn, but some became black and some others yellow because of the heat.

Later when the men heard what the animals did, they went to look for corn. The history was told across the country. The men from the coast heard the story later and went to look for the corn. But they met a leprous woman and they thought that it was the spirit of the corn so left it. It’s why the corn of the coast is ready first in the country.

2. the spirits of the corn

In a very remote time, arrived in town 4 beautiful women. These women came from the coast. In the place where they lived, they were suffering from bad treatments they received from everybody. That’s why they decided to leave their house and go to a new place.

When they came to the town, they went through Soloma. They were looking for a place to stay but nobody wanted to accommodate them for this night. The four women went to knock to different houses and then decided to go on walking.

They arrived to Santa Cruz Barillas and started looking for a place to stay. But this time again nobody wanted to accommodate them. The four women, very sad, decided to go back to their land. They passed again by Soloma but didn’t try to knock on doors.

And kept walking until their home. But nobody knew that these four women were Spixan Ixim Ixim, the spirits of the corn. One was white, and represented the white corn. One was yellow and represented the yellow corn. One was red and represented the red corn. And the last was black and represented the black corn. If these four women would have found a place to stay in Soloma, there would be a big production of corn there.

3. Alimentation, strength and identity

But the corn is not only science or legend; the more important from a biological and economical point is the proteins it has, giving food to the Mayan population and its animals.

But the corn is not only an aliment, energy and strength of work, it’s too a pillar of the identity and culture of the Mayan society.

In other occasions, the word Ixim, this means corn in the languages Mayas, has become the name of many organizations and groups cultural or politic. Actually, lots of Maya organizations go on with this tradition cultural, like the Project of Development of Santiago (PRODESSA) which edits a magazine cultural denominated Na’oj Ixim or the thinking of the corn.