Calendars, Rituals, and the Ethnographer

Perception of time is a constituting pillar in the Maya worldview. The Maya calendar system, which has been in use for thousands of years, however, is currently under threat by a variety of developments. This research master thesis focuses on the contemporary practices and beliefs related to the Maya calendar in Mexican and Guatemalan Maya communities by analyzing ethnographies published between 1889 and 1982. The aims are firstly to analyze the forms in which the traditional time perception has continued over time, and secondly to examine how changes in the field of Maya research have affected the specific ethnographic investigations on the Maya calendar. The main part of this thesis includes a literature study on three entangled topics which all have influenced how scholars currently look at the Maya calendar. Firstly, a synthesis of the different ethnographic works is provided, in which the different forms of Maya calendar systems in Mexico and Guatemala are discussed. The Maya...Show morePerception of time is a constituting pillar in the Maya worldview. The Maya calendar system, which has been in use for thousands of years, however, is currently under threat by a variety of developments. This research master thesis focuses on the contemporary practices and beliefs related to the Maya calendar in Mexican and Guatemalan Maya communities by analyzing ethnographies published between 1889 and 1982. The aims are firstly to analyze the forms in which the traditional time perception has continued over time, and secondly to examine how changes in the field of Maya research have affected the specific ethnographic investigations on the Maya calendar. The main part of this thesis includes a literature study on three entangled topics which all have influenced how scholars currently look at the Maya calendar. Firstly, a synthesis of the different ethnographic works is provided, in which the different forms of Maya calendar systems in Mexico and Guatemala are discussed. The Maya calendar has played an important role in Maya archaeology and anthropology. This thesis provides the first overview of ethnographic research since a doubtful publication dating from 1952. The goal of synthesizing the ethnographies is to provide new insights in the variety of contemporary practices and beliefs related to time among the Maya. Secondly, based on this inventory, this thesis examines the changing ethnographic approaches towards this topic. By examining the assumptions, interpretations and approaches in the light of their time, it becomes clear how we have come to our current view on the Maya calendar system. Thirdly, this thesis looks into cultural continuity and how rituals contribute to the continuation of calendar systems and their related worldviews. Due to the decreasingly traditional way of life, more research into this topic is very much needed. Additional to the literature research and a small-scale ethnographic fieldwork has been performed among the Yucatec Maya of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, focusing on the perception of time based on environmental observations and related rituals. The empirical data that were collected during this fieldwork are presented in the final part of this thesis.Show less

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Calendars, Rituals, and the Ethnographer