Chichicastenango, also known as Santo Tomás Chichicastenango, is a town, with
a population of 71,394 (2018 census), and the municipal seat for the
surrounding municipality of the same name in the El Quiché department of
Guatemala. It is located in a mountainous region about 140 km (87 mi)
northwest of Guatemala City, at an altitude of 1,965 m (6,447 ft). The Spanish
conquistadors gave the town its name from the Nahuatl name used by their
soldiers from Tlaxcala: Tzitzicaztenanco, or City of Nettles. Its original
name was Chaviar. Chichicastenango is a K'iche' Maya cultural centre.
According to the 2012 census, 98.5% of the municipality's population is
indigenous Mayan K'iche. Of the population, 21% speak only K'iche, 71% speak
both K'iche and Spanish, and the remaining 8% speak only Spanish.
Chichicastenango hosts market days on Thursdays and Sundays where vendors sell
handicrafts, food, flowers, pottery, wooden boxes, condiments, medicinal
plants, candles, pom and copal (traditional incense), cal (lime stones for
preparing tortillas), grindstones, pigs and chickens, machetes, and other
tools. Among the items sold are textiles, particularly women's blouses. Masks
used by dancers in traditional dances, such as the Dance of the Conquest, are
also manufactured in Chichicastenango.
Next to the market is the 400-year-old church of Santo Tomás. It is built atop
a Pre-Columbian temple platform, and the steps originally leading to a temple
of the pre-Hispanic Maya civilization remain venerated. K'iche' Maya priests
still use the church for their rituals, burning incense and candles. In
special cases, they burn a chicken for the gods. Each of the 18 stairs that
lead up to the church stands for one month of the Maya calendar year. Another
key element of Chichicastenango is the Cofradia of Pascual Abaj, which is an
ancient carved stone venerated nearby and the Maya priests perform several
rituals there. Writing on the stone records the doings of a king named Tohil
(Fate).
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Walking down 6th street to the market.
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Church exterior.
The Saint Thomas Church (Iglesia de Santo Tomás) is a Roman
Catholic church in Chichicastenango, Guatemala. It is located in the
market place of the town which is known for its pottery and contains the
Chichicastenango Regional Museum.
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It was built around 1545 atop a Pre-Columbian temple platform, and the
steps originally leading to a temple of the pre-Hispanic Maya
civilization remain venerated.
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Each of the 18 stairs that lead up to the church stands for one month
of the Maya calendar year.
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Another key element of Chichicastenango is the Cofradia of Pascual
Abaj, which is an ancient carved stone venerated nearby and the Maya
priests perform several rituals there. Writing on the stone records
the doings of a king named Tohil (Fate).
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K'iche' Maya priest.
K'iche' Maya priests still use the church for their rituals, burning
incense and candles.
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At present the Ajq'ijab' or Ajkotz'ij (Spiritual Guides or Mayan
Priests) are the performers of spiritual activities. They are men and
women who possess knowledge of the days and time through the
management of the sacred Mayan calendar. They are the spiritual guides
in the communities, and as such they are authorities in the matter to
resolve conflicts or to formalize some act of life for the community.
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They are generally sought for the formalization of necessary and
common actions, such as a marriage, which implies a whole process.
They perform a function for life that is obtained by gift, from birth,
which develops in the person at a certain age.
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The Mayan Priest is a english term to refer to those who perform the
function of Ajq'ij. The word Ajq'ij is composed of two words: Aj and
Q'ij. Aj is the prefix of a trade, as it also means corn and
abundance. Q'ij is sun and day. It is translated as: "Counter of the
days." The plural of Ajq'ij is Ajq'ijab'.
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Etymologically, Ajq'ij comes from Minister Solar, or the specialist in
the science of Astronomy. He is the person who controls the days,
months, years and life cycles according to the Mayan calendrical
system. He is the person who dedicates one hundred percent of his life
to the spiritual, psychological, and physical care of the people in
the community. The Ajq'ij is the one who guides people, families,
institutions and peoples for harmony, unity and natural, cosmic,
spiritual, social and material balance.
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The Ajq'ij is the guide in the community or town where it takes place.
He is in charge of listening to social problems, provides spiritual
and moral help to the inhabitants so that they can live in harmony for
the benefit of the town. Being social and spiritual guides, they
maintain authority in the community, they are capable of solving
problems that may exist among the inhabitants. The principle of
authority of the Ajq'ij is represented in a staff, which places him
within a social hierarchy of community structural respect.
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It can be determined that the Ajq'ijab' are the people who direct the
Mayan ceremonies, they can be women and men who have gone through the
long preparation process and have successfully completed their
training; until receiving his destiny, also called mission or
chumil'al' (star) on the day of their birth, which they received in a
ceremony presided over by a wise Ajq'ij who was their teacher who
gives them their mission, rod (vara) or his cross, in a special
ceremony where they are witnessed by their family and friends.
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These people are from the community, they are people who guide, lead
and contribute to the development of the locality and to the deepening
of the culture, who manage the sacred calendar perfectly related to
the days represented in the 20 nawales.
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Which means that an Ajq'ij is the person who is found daily at the
altar, in the ceremonial center, in the temple and with the sacred
fire, being a person of integrity, exemplary for all, without vices of
any kind, who have their own life and their family well managed first
of all to be effective in guiding others in promoting good values for
the community.
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The true Ajq'ij has the ability to communicate with the Ajaw, with the
ancestors' grandfathers and grandmothers, with the nawales, the nature
and the cosmos, they are deeply spiritual persons.
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Regarding the initiation process of the Ajq'ijab' within the framework
of Mayan spirituality, it is described as follows: The initiation
process is different for each case, and varies according to the place,
person who induces, age of the induced person, marital status, life
history and/or illness.
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After having gone through a generally long accompaniment process of
preparation, in Xukulem, ceremonies with old men and women, he is
given his Sut're jolom'aj, cloth with which he covers his head, and he
is given his P'ass, red band, with which he encircles his waist, both,
to balance their energies during the ceremonies. The Sut' represents
the four corners of the Universe and the four corners of the inner and
outer world. The P'ass is Kukulkan the feathered serpent that
symbolizes the thread of life and time, it is red in color that
represents energy, clarity, strength and life.
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His rod (vara) or cane is also given to him, the expression and
representation of hierarchical authority in the Mayab' community,
which today has become a symbol of brotherhood between peoples.
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He also receives the sacred Tz'ite that encompasses his Nawal, the
potentialities of the Ajq'ij. However, this is not given automatically
or free of charge, it requires a deep process of formation, conviction
and observance of all the norms and the attention that is given to the
energies of the Nawales and in the indicated ceremonial places.
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It is important to mention that not all the Ajq'ijab' receive the
bando, the vara and the chachal and the Tz'ite.
They do so only with the imposition of the Sut' on the head, the
bando on the waist and the vara and the
chachal and the Tz'ite earn it in their progression depending
on their ability and efficiency as Ajq'ijab', something strictly
observed in almost all of the cultures and in the communities where
they develop.
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This means that the bando, the vara and the
chachal and the Tz'ite is what the Ajq'ij holds. That is to say
that the bando, the vara and the chachal and the
Tz'ite is the nucleus of the gift or power of the Ajq'ij, is his
guide, his path, is the one who protects him, his nawal and
capacity and efficiency gained.
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The investiture of a true Mayan Ajq'ij, is always performed on the
sacred day of Waqxakib' B'atz, the day of the sacred Mayan ceremonial
new year, this great ordination ceremony is performed on the sacred
Tab'al Tz'ij (Maya Altar) by the master of the new Ajq'ij and other
highly experienced Ajq'ijab'.
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Among the functions of the Ajq'ijab' the following can be mentioned:
- Prevent, avoid problems and comments between people
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Correct and help issue sanctions that allow the person to be
corrected
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Facilitate dialogue and reflection to find solutions to problems
- Ensure the tranquility and development of the community.
- Among the services provided by the Ajq'ijab' are:
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Prevention, resolution and transformation of conflicts within the
framework of the Mayan System
- Spiritual healthcare
- Spiritual formation of people
- Guidance for family well-being
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If someone calls himself Ajq'ij and does not meet these requirements
described above by the Mayan sages, he is a liar and charlatan who
deceives and that it is better to keep such people from afar and as a
great danger, since they are people who sooner or later they will
receive their X'ica'y ó As'iar (Mayan instruments to correct and
punish children) from the sacred energies, the universe and the
cosmos, for usurping the sacred title of Ajq'ij without having earned
it the correct way.
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A true Ajq'ij is one who is upright, transparent and clear as the
father Q'ij (the sun).
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Street market.
Street market between the Church of Saint Thomas (Iglesia de Santo Tomás) and the Chapel of Calvary (Capilla del Calvario).
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The Chapel of Calvary.
In the west side of the plaza, this whitewashed Chapel of Calvary (Capilla del Calvario) is similar in form and function to Santo Tomás, but smaller.
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Ceremonies go on continually in front of the church, as worshippers
ring a bonfire of fragrant copal, while within, candles are placed
upon blackened stone slabs.
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See also
Source
Location
