27 January 2025
Week 2 in Guatemala was quite eventful. On Monday we visited Casa de la Memoria and learned about the history of Mayans in Guatemala. On Tuesday we visited the Palacio National de la Cultura. On Wednesday, we heard Ronaldo Similox talk about Mayan spirituality. On Thursday we departed from Semilla early in the morning and headed to Panajachel. On the way we stopped and visited Ruinas Iximche. There we learned more about Mayan history and culture. From Panajachel, we took a boat trip to Santiago Atitlan. We spent the afternoon at ANADESA learning more about Mayan culture by learning how to make tortillas and a traditional Mayan dance! We spent the evening with our host families. Friday, we spent the morning cooking a 
traditional Mayan meal. In the afternoon, we took a boat trip to San Juan. We spent the afternoon relaxing at the hotel and enjoying the lake. On Saturday, we spent the morning touring various businesses in the town of San Juan. We learned about the process of weaving, collecting honey from bees, and making chocolate. In the afternoon, we traveled back to Panajachel, and then from there we took a bus ride to Chichicastenango. We spent the evening visiting Ruth and Naomi, a project created to support local widows who lost their spouses during the civil war. On Sunday, we spent the morning visiting the local market before heading back to Semilla in the afternoon.
Mayan Spirituality
One thing we learned about this past week was the Mayan Calendar. This is a combination of many things like science, technology, philosophy, spirituality, astronomy, mathematics, etc. and this knowledge is used to live intimately linked to the history of the universe by the Mayan people. This calendar is made up of 20 energies called Nawal, as well as 13 energy levels (multiplying these gives 260 personality types). The 20 energies are B’atz’, Ee, Aj, Ix, Tz’ikin, Ajmak, No’j, Tijax, Kawok, Ajpu, Imox, Iq’, Aj’ab’al, K’at, Kan, Kame, Kej, Q’anil, Toj, and Tz’i.
A person’s day of birth determines which Nawal they are. For example, my birthday is Feb. 29, and the Nawal for this day is Iq’. Iq’ is the Hummingbird. World, nature, altars, air, breath of life. Iq’ is the lightning, it is the storms. It is the day of the spirit of the air. [Mayans view] the heart of heaven as giving all living beings the air; food of life. It is a symbol of the commemoration of the end of the world, having done what is necessary for all living beings and completed the sky. Seen as the day of the Heart of Heaven, Heart of the Earth. It is the spiritual, mystical breath, vital principle, inspiration, ideas and actions. It is the essence of every living being. Day of the altars, of the air, sacred breath that gives strength and fills us with life.
Each Nawal has its own descriptions, strengths, weaknesses, and spiritual connections, but Iq’ is just one of those. Getting to learn about this spiritual/important part of the Mayan culture was really interesting and meaningful.
-Emae Klompenhouwer
