Maya Weather Ceremony Held in Playa del Carmen

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — Making Maya culture visible is a priority for the government led by Mayor Estefanía Mercado; therefore, the Municipal Institute of Culture and Arts of Playa del Carmen (IMCAP) organized the ceremony “Xook k’iin Maaya. Cabañuelas Mayas” at the Cultural Center.

Ernesto Santiago Martínez Cuéllar, the Institute’s General Director, explained that this ceremony is part of the ancestral knowledge of Maya culture, through which days are observed and counted to interpret weather behavior and thus organize the timing of the milpa, rains, and harvests.

Master Román Pat delivered the talk “The Maya Cabañuelas and Their Cultural and Community Importance.” He explained that, according to the tradition of Maya cabañuelas, observing the first days of the year within the Gregorian calendar allows for interpreting the meteorological conditions of the subsequent months.

This, added the also professor of Maya language and herbalism, allowed and allows farmers to schedule the planting of corn, beans, and squash. “This is a legacy for our children and grandchildren,” he noted.

Bernardo May, delegate of InMaya in the northern zone of the state, recalled that these ceremonies are carried out in Yucatán and Campeche. “Permission is asked from our gods who govern agriculture,” he added.

Julio César Couoh, Deputy Director of Cultural Linkage, stated that from the first day of the administration, Municipal President Estefanía Mercado gave instructions to preserve Maya identity through this type of events and activities.

“On behalf of the General Director of the Institute, we thank you for your presence. It is because of you that the Maya language and traditions will always remain current,” the official added.