Dr. Emoto is on to something.
One of the oldest Mayan ceremonies is water blessing. Women would bring their water jars, Ulla, and the water would be blessed by a person of spirit. The water was then used for drinking and cooking. Water took and held the spirit power.
It drove the later Catholics nuts as women brought water to church. Then judging by results, would only bring water when some said mass, but not others. Good water made their familes happy, other water carried evil. It was a test the priests flunked. Illegal water blessing were held out of town.
The Catholics finally gave up, their religion was accpted, but not them, the other problem was the churches were the wrong color. Mayan painted alters are a blaze of color, in a particular mix. As rural churches were abandoned through Guatamala, the locals painted them, tuned them as it were, inside and out, and the have the same mix of the same colors used on the temples of old. Of which the people have no knowledge.
There are no priests now, the women bring jars of water, bundles of plants, and lay them before the alter, then they all pray, then take the water and plants home. God energy is stored in water, blessed plants have greater healing power.
They do not know of the old times, or what the old cities looked like. I studied Anthropology and Mayan history. My first visit to Centeral America went well, the second I brought all of the National Geographics about the region, and a few books on Mayan Art and Culture. They had never known any of it, it was like me and WP, but on a large scale, artists, carvers, potters, gathered, and they were not speaking Spanish.
They asked if I was going to take the books home, I said no, culture is a gift from your ancestors to you. I had broken through the wall that keeps outsiders out, I was welcome in the Indio world, great people. A revival of the arts was spreading, I knew of other books, said I could find lots, and we were having a great time till the Army picked me up, took me to the airport, and said if I ever came back I would be buried there.
It seems I had broken the big unspoken rule, do not let the masses learn of their past. The Spanish hold is weak, they are only a few percent, and any Native Revival is feared. Water blessings are broken up by the police. I am the wrong kind of Missionary.
If you ever travel the area, read the old National Geographics, Ebay is great, it helps understand what you see. No Library there has anything on the culture, including the American Library, and they will never. Go see the artists and crafts people in the market. Make gifts of books with pictures of their ancestors art, the cities of old. Do not let the Police or Army see. All of the governments only represent American interests.
The language, art, culture is alive and well, self rule will come, then whole cities will be painted in the brightest reds, greens, yellows, blues, and water blessing will be open and public again.
31 Mar 2007, 8:19 am
