Maya Shamanism Today: Connecting with the Cosmos in Rural Yucatan by Love Bruce

Author:Love, Bruce [Love, Bruce]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Precolumbia Mesoweb Press
Published: 2018-03-21T00:00:00+00:00

Figure 43. As flames consume the firewood, heated rocks collapse into the pit.

Figure 44. The wrapped breads go in among the rocks.

Figure 45. The large thirteen-layer bread sits at the head of the mesa.

Several men gathered around the pile of cooked breads on the cloth on the ground and began breaking them up, creating a large pile of crumbs. Don Ramón’s helper lit the five candles and began passing burning incense around and about the mesa. I was instructed to turn on the tape recorder and the third prayer began. It was 3:10 PM.

Men continued working on the breads on the ground as the praying proceeded. Again at the end of the prayer Don Ramón kneeled, spoke silently, and made a kissing motion toward the mesa. Following the prayer, the men finished breaking up the breads, after which they poured the large pile of crumbs into the pot of soup ( Figure 46 ). Hearts, livers, and heads from the butchered fowl were added and the mixture was thoroughly stirred with a pole, making a very thick soup known as k’óol.

Don Ramón filled seven cups with the newly made k’óol and arranged them on the mesa, adding them to the six bowls left in place from the previous prayer, again making a total of thirteen. Then he set another bowl of k’óol in front of him to use for sprinkling to the four directions. The candles were still burning. Don Ramón’s helper once again lit the incense and the fourth and final prayer began.

Part way into this prayer Don Ramón gestured to the pile of thirteen cigarettes, then paused and distributed them to those present. Some lit them, some did not. Near the end he kneeled for a short time while praying, then stood up again and sprinkled k’óol in four directions about the mesa ( Figure 47 ). At the conclusion, he called over Luis Xool, the milpa farmer and head of the household, and instructed him to say his promesa, or pledge ( Figure 48 ). Luis repeated the words of Don Ramón, gesturing over the mesa, offering himself and the foods on the table to the great right hand of God. When Luis finished, the praying was done.

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