Anecdotes of the Maya

In Mani, a small Mayan village in the central part of the state, on the Convent Route, with a population of some 5,000 residents, Manuel Jesus Vazquez Garcia has rescued the memories of the adults – the majority of which are the grandparents –Mayan ancestral tradition that could very well be part of the “marvellous real” by Alejo Carpentier.

To tell stories in our lands of the Americas, reality and dreams, reason, and imagination, history and fable, and life and death are interwoven to form a wonderful, magical, happy, conceptual and at times, cultural weaving.

And it turns out that for Carpentier the mavellous in HispanicAmerica was found everywhere: just around every corner, in chaos, in the picturesqueness of its cities, village and its people, in nature and also in their history.  

Don Chucho, as Manuel Jesus Vazquez Garcia was fondly known as, gives faith to this. Within him there is an abundance of this wonder that is so ours. A nature lover and gardeners, he was also a writer who wrote The Narration of our Ancestors.

And now, with not futher ado,  Moon Eclipe, the first of the thirteen stories in this volumne tells us:

Oh my God, today is the moon eclipse! Children, go get the old balde, the conch shell, the old bottle, and one of you, go by the dry tree and grab the katun (stone mortor) and bang it. Ah! And you, Chocolin, go tell the neighbors….

“You, tie up the dog, because if you don’t do it, it will turn into a monster and it will eat you, “ said an anxious Dona Trifina to her grandchildren.

The grandmother observed the shadows that were covering the moon and she yelled desperately to sound the whip and she insisted that they not stop making noises. 

From the distance gun shots could be heard, conch shell horn blowing and the sound of old cans….all with the healthy intention of saving the moon.

For our Mayan ancestors, the moon and sun eclipses represented happenings of great importance that had reprecusions on all the agricultural activities. And, they believed that when an eclipse occured the sun or moon was eating an animal. This was why you could hear to gun shots, fireworks, cherry bombs and the sounds of cans.

After the Moon Eclipse, other customs march through the pages of The Narration of Our Ancerstors. Included is the jeets meek, a traditional Mayan ceremony that could equated to baptism in Yucatan. This tradition that continues to present day consists in straddling/carrying the baby on ones hip. The object is to open the baby’s understanding.

For a baby boy, this ceremony is done at four months because the number four represents the four cardinal points of the fields that will be cultivated. Girls do the ceremony at three months as three represents the stones on hearth in the kitchen.

Above: Cover of book

During the baptism ceremony, the godfather or godmother – depending on whether it is a boy or girl baby – holds the godchild and shows it a series of utensils that will be important in their adult lives and gives recommendations for the use of each.

The ceremony ends whene the parents of the child offer a gift to the godparent as a sign of thanks. On the other hand, the godparents give a gift to the godchild and invite the parents to a small feast amde up of corn dough gordita balls filled with ground pumpkin seeds and a drink made of new corn – atole.

It is thought that the ceremony opens the hip bones of the boys thus helping them to learn to walk soon and firmly. This is why, when a father sees that his son is slow at walking, he reprimands him and says, “ Your godfather didn’t do the jeets meek ceremony right.” 

Text: Yurina Fernandez Noa
Email: yfn1990@hotmail.com

To read in Spanish click here

Read more by Yurina
 Mayan Medicine
 Meridas of the World
 Xtabentun, the Maya liqueur
 Mayan Beliefs

Read more about
 Mayan Life
 Anthropological Museum
Casa de los Artistas
 La Luz Gallery
 Art Galleries
 Museums
Sidewalk Sculpture Exhibit
The Calle 60 Stroll

Visit our map
 Map of Merida Historical Downtown
 Map of Merida Downtown
 Map of Merida City

Events & Activities Calendar
Click Here for a complete description of the activites, events and attractions in the Yucatan.