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...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Société des américanistes
2017-12-01
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| Series: | Journal de la Société des Américanistes |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/jsa/15134 |
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| 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. |
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| ISSN: | 0037-9174 1957-7842 |