This week, we took part in a Mayan ritual where we all got to learn our “Nahual”, a personal guardian spirit, alterego, or something you can shapeshift into! This spiritual animal or natural symbol is found in Mayan Cosmovision. Each symbol represents a sign based on your ‘nacimiento’ or date of birth, ‘origen’ or conception, and ‘esperanza’ or your calling.
This week while working on different parts of the process planting trees in Pachaj at Chico Mendes, we also had the opportunity to participate in a Mayan ritual at the top of the mountains with a spiritual guide named Manuel. He explained the meaning of the the ritual saying its for our good wealth and our journey. During this ritual we all had candles we threw into the fire as he called out each of our spiritual animal. He started off by forming a cross in the soil using sugar, with a circle around it which represented the 4 coordinates (North, South, West, East). He then explained that the coal used to keep the fire was actually made from barks from the tree along with the sap, which they also added sugar to. There were 13 of those coals which represented the 13 days of the week in the mayan calendar that also represented the 13 joints in the human body. There were another 18 bowls made with the same bark and sap that represented the 18 months of the mayan calendar. They used black and white candles that represented the end of the week and the beginning of the new one. White candles also meant purification to life. The orange candles represented the well-being and health of all of us and the red candles represented life. There were also another 20 bark/sap coals that represents the 20 human fingers. Before starting the fire, Manuel had to ask permission from the grandfathers sun to give him the energy to light the candles because it was too windy. During the ritual he spoke in Kiche while praying to the Mayan gods. We threw our candles in the direction of white candles Manuel had position while facing the direction of sunrise to request good fortune for ourselves. Towards the end of the ritual, we also did a little prayer for Suley and her injury asking to heal her in her well-being as well. As Manuel had to invite our spirits/Nahuals in the beginning, he had to also say a prayer farewell to them as well.
Overall, our stay in Pachaj has been very rewarding, we all got to experience a very religious and spiritual town that makes the best of things with limited resources. David who was our guide for the week started by telling us a story about an old man of 90 who was eating an avocado. When he was done eating the avocado, he started washing the avocado pit and digging through the dirt. A couple of onlookers asked the old man what he was doing and he said, planting an avocado tree. They asked him, how old he was and he replied, 90 years old. They called him foolish, telling him he would never get to eat the fruit of the tree he planted. The old man with much wisdom told them,
“My father planted the tree that provided this avocado. I don’t plant this tree thinking of myself, but thinking of future generations, that they may eat.”
This is the heart behind the work we did this week. It was hard labor, without all of the tools we imagine when working on gardening or landscaping in the United States. We have gone high and low in the steep mountains of Chico Mendes. From collecting soil, sand, and mineral rich dirt to create a soil mixture just right for the trees, to packing them in little bags, and using machetes to clear weeds from a field of baby trees in the light of a dry sun. Even still, it was an honor to join in protest not with words or violence but by planting trees. The people of Pachaj we encountered embody a rich heritage of honoring nature and invited us to participate in their culture. were very kind and welcoming and also were sure to make us feel included and helped us understand things in Spanish that even our native Spanish speakers did not know.
This week has been full of challenges for everyone in the Navegar cohort. Being here has got most of us sick, because we aren’t use to the environment or probably the food we ate, but it also has helped us grow as individuals. Our time there had us ready to leave and also feeling accomplished and amazed by all the hard work we had put in without even realizing it. Working with the community at Chico Mendes brought all of us to understand that doing something seemingly small, could actually do something that’s big in the end. In 20 years, the plants that we helped plant will then grow to be big beautiful trees, and the land Chico Mendes cares for will be protected, able to expand, and grow. We are leaving Chico Mendes and moving forward with a more mature and steady mindset, ready for what’s to come ahead of us in the last month we have left in Central America.
Hafadai and Vaya!
Tia & Oscar
