Todays Mayan Tzolkein calendar day sign is 11 Chuwen, the monkey. Monkeys were hunted for meat by the Mesoamerican cultures, but were also very important mythological figures. During the Mayan Popol Vuh creation, the gods made several attempts at creating mankind, a species who would worship and give thanks to them for making and modeling the world. The fourth time the gods set about carving humans out of wood and breathed life into them. The living mannikins of wood were clever but refused to praise the gods. So the gods sent a flood to destroy them and make way for the final creation of humans out of maize corn dough and blood. But a few mannikins climbed trees to become monkeys and survived. Monkeys were symbols of intelligence and cleverness. Scribes were depicted as monkeys on pottery and codices and shown interchangeably with the Hero Twins during the episode of the humbling of Seven Macaw. The Aztecs depicted them in art, pottery, painting and sculptur as well. 11 Chuwen reminds us of the importance of education and literacy. Any intelligent Mayan or Aztec child regardless of social background or family could be admitted to higher education to become a scholar or scribe or member of the clergy. Contrast that with today when so many children, especially girls are never given an opportunity for education at all or are endangered or punished for it. Malala Yousefzai was shot by the Taliban terrorists and the Boko Haram group kidnapped over a hundred girls to prevent them from being educated. Fight back. Donate a book today to charity, read to a child and praise their intelligence and wits. Make a donation to the Malala fund or buy school supplies for a needy classroom. Help a college attendee buy a textbook or just pay for coffee for a nursing or medical student. All of us can honor the ancestors and make a difference.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Sep 2014 11:05:00 +0000
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