Mayans hope to integrate into society in new era
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E-mail Xinhua, December 23, 2012
Descendants of the Mayans hope to integrate into society in the new era, marked by the end of the 13th Baktun of their ancestors' calendar.
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| A man wearing traditional costumes takes part in a Mayan ceremony to receive the new cycle of the Mayan Calendar, at the Teotihuacan archaeological site, in the state of Mexico, Mexico, on Dec. 21, 2012. [Alejandro Ayala/Xinhua] |
Some Mayans living in Mexico, who descended from those who drew that calendar more than 5,125 years ago, hope they can walk out of the shadows of the old cycle and be included in the development of the country.
Mexican writer Juan Villoro recently said the Mayans, like many indigenous Mexicans, "are revered as museum pieces."
"The Mayans of the Classical Period are history, but the Mayan of the current period has no history," Villoro wrote in his column in newspaper Reforma.
A report from the National Autonomous University of Mexico said that, of the 5.5 million illiterate in Mexico, about 34 percent were indigenous people.
In Mexico, one in 62 indigenous people is Mayan.
A study conducted by the National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples Peninsular Unity Center showed two of 10 Mayans have no income, and five of 10 Mayans have a daily income of only 3 to 6 U.S. dollars.
Only one out of 10 Mayans earn more than 17 dollars a day, only 5.59 percent have completed their high school and only 2.94 percent have a bachelor's degree.
"Illiteracy among the indigenous population triples the national average," the report said.
For the 800,000 Mayans living in the southeast of Mexico, the beginning of a new era can be interpreted as the beginning of inclusion into society.
"Opportunities simply are not the same for Mayan," said July Hoil, one of the few Mexican archaeologists working in the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza in southeastern Mexico.
Hoil, a PhD in history who has studied farming problems in Mexico, said that for a "common Mayan," leaving a village to go to college was "difficult."
"To go to college you have to leave town and compete in the entrance examinations with the people of the cities that have better education," he said.
The paraphernalia unleashed around a confusion about the supposed end of the world had put the Mayans in a showcase before the world, said John Smith, a U.S. tourist who visited Chichen Itza.
Tourists from all over the world have come to different states of Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Belize, looking for "mysticism" of one of the oldest cultures.
"Most people just come one time and never return," said merchant Chay Santiago.
"They see us, buy a craft, take pictures with us but do not know us. We are admired as part of history, but they did not know we actually still live here," Santiago said.
The majority of the Mayan population in southeastern Mexico live a rural life, not engaged in trade and tourism.
"It is true that the government is trying to include us, building more and more bilingual schools (Mayan-Spanish), but it is still not enough," tour guide Dzul Diego said.
"It's amazing that of all the Mayans in Yucatan State, only 60 percent still speak Mayan, some people refuse to speak it for shame or emigration," Diego said.
Meanwhile, many others consider the beginning of the new Mayan cycle an opportunity to gain energy for a better future.
Around 3,000 visitors came to Coba, an ancient Mayan city in the north of the state of Quintana Roo.
"I came because I purify myself with the last sun of this Baktun," said Alberto Rodriguez, a native of Mexico City who used his vacation to travel to this place after learning that he approached the end of an era.
"I did not think that was the end of the world, but if a cycle changes, I just want to use it for a renovation," said Rodriguez, who climbed the 48-meter Nohoch Mul to enjoy the sunshine.
"I knew this (the doomsday) was a joke. If the last day really arrived, how could there be so many tourists, and you reporters do not need to come over," Kateri Hansen, a Norwegian tourist said.
Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) said 50,000 people had visited the 30 Mayan archaeological sites open to the public Friday and the sites closed as normal after the celebration of the end of the cycle.
The archeological sites in southeastern Mexico, including Chichen Itza, Tulum and Palenque, and Chiapas have received the highest number of tourists, with 28,000 visits, while central Mexico's Teotihuacan received 10,000 visitors.
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