Marking time among the Ch’orti’ Maya: an expressive act of culture
The indigenous population of Ch’orti’ Maya of southern Guatemala make use of many natural phenomena to identify and mark time. In this study I explain how Ch’orti’ organize and define the time for ceremonial, agricultural, and other purposes through the careful use of astronomical calculations and o...
Enregistré dans:
| Udgivet i: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/jsa, |
|---|---|
| Hovedforfatter: | |
| Format: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Sprog: | Anglais |
| Udgivet: |
Journal de la Société des américanistes
2018
|
| Fag: | |
| Online adgang: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| Summary: | The indigenous population of Ch’orti’ Maya of southern Guatemala make use of many natural phenomena to identify and mark time. In this study I explain how Ch’orti’ organize and define the time for ceremonial, agricultural, and other purposes through the careful use of astronomical calculations and observations. I also show how time is divided and conceptualized within a day, and the specificity of these divisions in Ch’orti’. Furthermore, I argue that various lengths of time are of special importance for Ch’orti’ and dictate the duration of rituals, some of which could be based on corn farming cycles. Finally, I propose that several aspects regarding the notion of time among the Ch’orti’ have their roots in the ancient Classic Maya period. |
|---|