Guatemala's Indigenous Resistance Day 2019

Written By Jessica Scheer

Oct 2020 Update: I originally wrote this post in Oct 2019. I have since learned a tremendous amount more from different indigenous groups in person, online, and through books & social media. I am updating the resource list at the bottom of this post to reflect what I would now recommend exploring.

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Hi friends! I’m writing to you from Peten, Guatemala - the very north of the country, which is predominantly nationally protected jungle and is home to the majority of the country’s excavated Mayan sacred sites. 

Temple of the Jaguar at Tikal

Last Saturday, I had the honor to participate in the celebration of “Día de la Resistencia de los Pueblos Indígenas de Guatemala” or “Resistance Day of the Indigenous Peoples of Guatemala.” 

When the long Guatemalan civil war came to an end in 1996, the Mayans were granted access to doing ceremonies at their ancestral sacred sites.

For the last 20 years, every October 12th (locally known as Dia de la Raza or Day of the Race / Columbus Day), thousands of indigenous folks from the North of Guatemala, Belize, and Quintana Roo in Mexico join together at the ancient Mayan city of Tikal for ceremony and celebration.

The celebration day consisted of 3 huge fire ceremonies at different locations at Tikal, as well as dancing to Marimba music, and sharing food and drinks. 

Being witness to this incredible celebration was a true honor.

I recorded this video for myself as a way to capture some of my insights and feelings from the day and I expand on some of my thoughts below! 

My personal reflection from participating in Guatemala’s Indigenous Resistance Day at Tikal on October 12th, 2019.

Learning To Pray 

Even though from a young age, I’ve been exposed to prayer (mostly through the traditional Jewish Hebrew prayers) I almost feel like I am learning to pray for the first time. Attending Jewish day school, summer camp, and synagogue regularly with my family throughout my life, I can say many prayers by heart!

But in reality, as I am reciting the prayers, I don’t know the meaning of what I’m saying, and when I take the time to read the English translation, I don’t fully connect to words. Praying in that context feels more like saying what I know and going through the motions but without much intention. 

Since connecting to Mayan spirituality over the last several months, I’m learning how to how to pray from my heart ❤️

Photo of the materials and beginning of the ceremony by Gg. Here you can see candles, flowers, incense, pine, cigars, sacred plants, and more.

Through seeing the tremendous faith during ceremonies, I am finding my own inner strength to honor the creator and the natural world, to express my gratitude for my life - for my health, my family, my business, my abundance, for my ability to travel and connect (the list goes on!) and to ask for what I want -- prayers for myself, family, friends, and the planet 🌎 

The Mayan calendar uses a system of 20 energies, “Nawales,” and 13 numbers. Using the ancient wisdom of the Mayan cosmovision, this calendar helps people understand the energy of the day. 

The Nawales, or guiding energies, cover all aspects of life - the law, bodies of water, communication, agriculture, children, money, wisdom, business, healing, life path, travel, connection, community, and more. 

I am slowly learning about this sacred calendar, but for me, it’s a helpful guideline for what to say thanks and pray for each day. To bring intention to my life and remember that there are forces greater than us and to zoom out to the big picture. 

This calendar also sheds light on our unique gifts, qualities, and innate abilities in this life, simply by reading what Nawal governed the day you were born. I may share more about this in a later post because this system is truly incredible and I feel it can support many around the world to really accept who we are and allow us to shine in our gifts and lives.

I grabbed this photo from Instagram! Thanks Trotamundos GT for capturing the ceremony from above.

So often in life, we want more more more, and forget to say *thank you* for all that we have!

WHEN WE STOP TO TAKE A MOMENT TO REALLY LOOK AT OUR LIVES, WE CAN SEE THAT THERE IS SO MUCH FOR WHICH TO BE GRATEFUL 🙌

For me, this practice is super powerful. 

My other biggest takeaway regarding prayer is that there is no “right” or “wrong” way to pray. People pray in all languages and in so many different ways. The most important thing is that it’s coming from your heart and feels meaningful and true to you.  

The ceremony on Saturday lasted for about 2 hours with offerings or payments to the 20 Nawales and the Creator. Many healings were performed and people prayed as individuals and as families as part of the collective. 

I could really feel the power and energy of thousands of people praying and practicing this ancient tradition and from my heart give my tremendous thanks, my offerings and prayers from myself and those I love. My heart was incredibly full.

Wearing a Huipil (Traditional Mayan Dress) 

Back in January when I first arrived to Guatemala, I was blown away to see so many people still speaking indigenous languages as their first language and women still wearing their traditional dress. Each area has their own distinctive style of woven tops and skirts in beautiful colors. 

One thing that continues to stand out to me, is that regardless of their socioeconomic situation (most indigenous people here have little money and live extremely modestly), wearing the traditional huipil clothes makes these communities look incredibly dignified. And in many cases, they look way more beautiful than the rest of us wearing modern fashion.

Here are some photos from Santiago Atitlan and San Juan on Lake Atitlan.

Before going up North for the ceremony, I asked Julio if there is anything special I should wear. He suggested wearing a top and long skirt so I walked to a local market to try on options from ladies selling traditional clothes.

For the last year and a half, I’ve done virtually zero shopping, so even the process of trying on clothing felt significant… thinking about who made the clothes, who I was purchasing from, and connecting to the items to see if they wanted to come home with me 🙂

More importantly, trying on these beautiful handmade clothes, I could feel the love and tradition embedded within and the significance and power I would feel wearing this to the ceremony and ceremonies in the future. 

Below is the huipil I picked out with the help of Maria at a market in Antigua.

I felt proud to be wearing my new huipil, to honor the Mayan culture, and to be part of the sea of women and children in their bright colors.

Here I am toward the end of the celebration with Gg, my wonderful friend, a powerful spiritual guide, photographer, videographer, and chocolate maker! Very grateful for you Gg!

Learning From Indigenous Wisdom To Change Our World 

Comprising less than 5% of the world's population, indigenous people protect 80% of global biodiversity and continue to be at the frontlines doing so 🌱

Indigenous communities inherently know how to live in balance with nature, they’ve been doing it for tens of thousands of years! They learn from the earliest age that we are part of nature, part of creation itself -- not separate from it like we learn in the Western world.

The forest in Uaxactun, Peten, Guatemala.

We are in a unique moment in history, a time where as a global community we can go in the direction or life or in the direction of destruction. 

Now more than ever, it’s so important to honor indigenous communities and learn from their teachings and practices for how to safeguard our precious home, Earth 🌎

IT’S TIME WE STAND TOGETHER, SIDE BY SIDE AND REALLY UNITE AS A HUMAN FAMILY. 

Only upon arriving to Guatemala in January did I realize how out of touch I am with the Natives of the land I grew up on. Growing up in New Jersey and living in NYC for the last 7 years, I’ve had nearly zero contact with Natives and certainly no Native friends. It’s easy to forget that people lived on these lands before me and the true pre-Columbian history of where I live. 

In Guatemala, you can’t miss it. 60% of the population are of Mayan descent and many people still practice their traditions.

The spirit of the land and it’s people are strong - it’s a palpable feeling. 

This year, through my travels in Guatemala and Mexico and befriending my first Native friend, Valentino, an amazing human, leader, and founder of the super cool non-profit, Xol Original, I am taking steps to learn how to truly honor all parts of life.

Most of us don’t have the ability to spend months traveling and exploring like I am, but there are many great resources to connect to indigenous wisdom and honor indigenous cultures from wherever you are!

Here are a few resources to get started (updated Oct 2020):

If you have more to add to this list, put them in the comments below and I’ll update the post!

A few other thoughts: 

  • The ceremony and celebration day was fun! Yes, it was a lot of energy and intention but it was also a really joyous experience.

  • I loved seeing so many kids and whole families together. When I think of synagogue services, often the kids are off in their own area and the praying is mostly just adults. At the ceremony, I loved see everyone joining in together.

  • Witnessing prayer, ceremony, and celebration outdoors makes me think of all original spiritual practices before the institution of physical buildings to pray in. Being outside is beautiful and really reminds you that you are a part of nature and creation. When I imagine biblical times, this is probably pretty close!  

I loved dancing with some of the other ladies to marimba music! Thanks for capturing this moment Gg :)

Personal Reflections 

I came to Guatemala in January with my mentor John Perkins for a weeklong journey, having no expectations, just being open to whatever was to unfold. Now 10 months later, being back at Tikal visiting the same sites and staying in the same hotel, I couldn’t help but feel how much I’ve grown and how much my life has opened up this past year.  It’s been a year rich in experience, learning, and connecting.

Julio was our group’s tour guide and Mayan spiritual guide during the journey in January. This is us together again at Tikal over the weekend at the ceremony!

My second week in Guatemala back in January, I expressed to Julio that I felt conflicted about whether or not to share my new experiences and learnings on social media and my blog. After talking about it, I decided that for the moment, I would keep the experiences just for myself (taking the pressure off felt like a huge relief!) and when the time came and it felt easy and natural, I would share more.

Being witness to this ceremony shifted something within me. I couldn’t help but notice that in the sea of thousands of people, I was one of the very few non-Mayans participating in the ceremony, and I could feel what a true honor and privilege that was.

This country and culture has had a lasting imprint on my heart and opened up so much for me in my life. It’s shifted the way I travel, my experience visiting a new place, and even my experience sitting down to a meal.

I have the very unique opportunity to be able to travel to many lands, meet wonderful people from all over the world, and have incredible experiences and for this, my intention is to share from my heart so that others can gain something through my words, photos or videos. 

I’d love to know if this sparks anything in you, a question, a story, or just a ❤️. Please share it in the comments below!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and connect with me here.

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Xoxo

Jess 

P.S. John Perkins and Daniel Kourperman lead this trip to Guatemala every January, so if Guatamala and Mayan spirituality peaks your interest, you can learn more about it here!

Jessica Scheer
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