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Follow on Google News | Guatemala Launches The B`Aktunes Route In Celebration Of A New Era: The Dawn Of The MayaThe Guatemala Tourism Board, INGUAT, and the Guatemalan Ministry of Culture have announced the launch of the B’aktunes Route, a special cultural route that features archeological sites with strong evidence of the Maya Calendar’s Long Count.
By: INGUAT Pedro Pablo Duchez, Guatemala’s Minister of Tourism, who spoke at the United Nations’ Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues today, said that Guatemala is ready to welcome visitors interested in taking part in welcoming the new era of the Maya. “We invite travelers to immerse themselves and connect with the Maya culture and travel along the B’aktunes Route to visit stunning archeological locations of great significance,” All the locations that are part of the B’aktunes Route contain a monument, estela or structure related to the end of a Long Count of 2012; including sites where the living Maya still hold spiritual ceremonies today. They are also easily accessible and can be divided into two separate smaller circuits, the first focusing on the Great Pre-Hispanic Cities of the Maya, and the second highlighting the Living Maya cultures of the highlands. The Great Maya Cities The Petén department, located in the North of Guatemala and bordering Mexico’s Quintana Roo and Campeche states, is of incomparable historical and archeological value. It is the birthplace of Mayan Civilization and home to some of the most well maintained and accessible Maya structures still around. As part of the B’aktunes Route, visitors to Petén, will encounter lush jungles, full of innumerable flora and fauna and find fascinating archeological sites like Tikal National Park, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. Other important archeological sites included in the Route are Yaxha and Ceibal which are considered of great value because they are the vestiges of the Mayan Civilization, which flourished and developed enormously and contributed a great deal to our modern society in topics like social organization, architecture, mathematics, arts, sciences and astronomy. Such is the case of Uaxactun; an Astronomy Observatory located only 26 miles from Tikal National Park. To complete this portion of the route one must leave the greens of Petén for the blues of the Caribbean to visit Quirigua in the Izabal Department. This once key port city was central to trade routes and has structures from varied periods of the Maya history, reflecting its importance in the region’s economic history. It is also the place where the Mayan calendar was studied. Living Mayan Culture Guatemala’s highlands are an area that encompasses the integration of Pre-Columbian Mayan costumes and its traditional cosmogony and beliefs, with the richness of Western civilization brought by the Spanish conquistadors hundreds of years ago. Following this part of the B’aktunes Route allows visitors to not only witness history but to meet with the Maya who live throughout the area. This part of the B’aktunes Route starts in Guatemala City at the site of Kaminal Juyu, which dates back to the early Preclassic period. The Miraflores Museum, located close the archeological site houses a number of items found at Kaminal Juyu, including the Popol Vuh, the sacred book of the ancient Quiche Maya. Located in the Cotzumalguapa Archeological Zone in the department of Escuintla, El Baúl, considered an integral part of the formative stage of the Americas, showcases monumental architecture in its acropolis and obsidian workshops. Tak'alik Ab'ajis one of the Mesoamerican sites with both Olmec and Maya features and was an important center of commerce. Investigations have revealed that it is one of the largest sites with sculptured monuments on the Pacific coastal plain. Q'umarkajin El Quiché department was the capital of the K'iche' Maya in the Late Post classic Period and one of the most powerful Maya cities when the Spanish arrived in the region in the early 16th century. The city was founded during the reign of King Q'uq'umatz ("Feathered Serpent" in K'iche'). Iximche, in the department of Chimaltenango, is made up of four large plazas and several small platforms intended for ceremonial rites. The first Spanish settlement on Guatemalan soil was established by Alvarado on July 25, 1524 in this city. Additional Information Maya Cosmovision Maya peoples have shared a same worldview since ancient times and have retained the fundamental elements of their way of understanding the world in such a manner that today it is practiced through various spiritual manifestations. Within the main concepts within the Maya Cosmovision worth noting are the relationship between nature, humans and the supernatural world, as well as the conception of cyclical time, which was measured through several cylindrical systems. The Calendars • The Maya used different calendars. But the most important were two, the Tzolk’in and the Haab’ in yukateco maya, which in the languages of the Highlands has its own phonology. • TZOLK’IN:The first is based on the route of the moon takes around the Earth, which is 13 months of 20 days, totaling 260 days. This calendar is also named the lunar or ritual calendar. • HAAB’: The sum of the time the Earth orbits the Sun in 365 days, which are 18 months of 20 days each, known also as the solar, agricultural or long count calendar. The two have vigesimal (20) days mathematics Maya as their basis; that is derived from the 20 fingers and toes human being have. • Each of these calendars used the same twenty days and 24 hours. • A unit in the addition of time during that era is day, then the months, years, until totaling the data found in the different monuments in billions Table of the Cycles of Time Name in Maya days Kin 1 Winal 20 Tun 360 Katun 7,200 20 Tunes o 360 Winales B’aktun Oxlajuj B´aktun In 2012 the Cycle of the 13 B´aktunes. (13.0.0.0.0.) If one takes into account the foundations, principles and fundamentals of the Maya Cosmovision, one can interpreted the commemoration of the 13 B´aktun on the 21st of December 2012, as part of the cyclical concept of time. Contrary to a fatalistic vision, the commemoration of the end of cycles has been for the Maya the propitious moment to celebrate the beginning of a new dawn. Therefore, the celebration of the end of 13 B'aktuns does not focus at the end, but the beginning of a new era. The Cycles These are periods of time from the view of the culture to which they belong. For the Maya, the periods are different in cyclic time in relation to the creation of mankind. According to this culture, several cosmic eras have passed since life appeared on Earth: the era of man from clay, wood man and man of corn. www.pueblosmayas.com. Additional information on Guatemala is also available at www.visitguatemala.com INGUAT is the governing entity responsible for tourism in Guatemala. Its main objective is to promote, support and sponsor internal and inbound tourism, while highlighting the country’s natural and cultural treasures. INGUAT offers tourist assistance service to individual travelers who require it as well as providing support to tour operators with any tour groups they bring to the country. INGUAT is headquartered in Guatemala City. Media can also follow INGUAT’s latest developments on Facebook. End
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