I wasn’t going to say anything about the so-called “Mayan
Apocalypse,” but the general misunderstanding has me frustrated enough to write
about it now.
Briefly: ONE OF the calendar systems of SOME OF the
Mesoamerican peoples is known as the Long Count and counts the days since the
end of the last Great Cycle. A Great Cycle is comprised of 13 bak’tuns, or
1,872,000 days. The first day of the present Great Cycle corresponds to 13
August 3114 BC in the Gregorian calendar. The last day of the present Great Cycle
corresponds to 21 December 2012. The Long Count system was used to understand
the world in greater increments than the usual 52-year cyclical calendar. Never
did any culture in Mesoamerica think that the world could only span 13
bak’tuns. Especially since their historical records cover multiple Great
Cycles, obviously, since they only last for a few thousand years if the present
one started in 3114 BC. In short, no living Mayan person today believes the
world will cease to exist after this Friday.
They do, however, believe the world will end on Friday when
the Great Cycle ends. Just like they believe the world ends EVERY SINGLE NIGHT
when the sun dips below the horizon. How do they, as a people, cope with this
belief system? Simply. They regularly perform rebirthing ceremonies which bring
the sun back up the next morning, which start the 52 year calendar over again,
and, yes, which start the 1,872,000 day long Great Cycle over again. So for the
real Mayan people living in the world today yes, the world is going to end when
this Great Cycle does on Friday, but don’t worry, because they’ll rebirth it.
So before buying out all the candles in the stores and
purchasing assault rifles (to, what, protect yourself when the world explodes?)
take a minute or two to think about someone other than yourself and try to
understand a different culture and way of life; especially if you are basing
your thoughts about the end of the world on misinformation regarding their
belief system. I suggest the book The Maya by Michael D. Coe, published
by Thames & Hudson. Obviously it’s just a few extremists who are really
buying assault rifles in preparation for the destruction of the earth and not
the majority, because otherwise what was the point of gong to see An Unexpected
Journey if I can’t see the other two movies, and how could the world end when
The Great Gatsby is finally going to be released in 2013? In that case, the
real hype about the “Mayan Apocalypse” is nothing more than yet another media
exploitation of another culture’s belief system by people who won’t take the
time to understand it. And, to me, that is even more upsetting than thinking
the world is really going to cease to exist.
I've been wanting to do the same. Every time someone makes a joke about the Maya thinking the world is ending...I get annoyed. Ignorant.
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