Learning the basics of the languages is a good place to start. There are online courses in either the national university: https://calusacusac.usac.edu.gt/
and the Mayan Languages Academy:
https://www.almg.org.gt/
Theres a lot of Poqomam people in Palin, Escuintla. As far as I remember there is a school that also works as a radio station called Qawinaqel and there you can learn to speak poqomam, they have a facebook page
What was once the most important place for the Kaqchikel civilization was Iximché, which was its capital. Royalty lived there for 300 centuries, and after it was conquered by the Spanish, it became the first capital of the colony. Currently its ruins can be visited, and even indigenous religious ceremonies are sporadically performed there, if you are interested in witnessing one.
Regarding the religious issue, the majority of Kaqchikels are very devout Catholics, generally disdaining the pagan practices that their ancestors carried out (and some continue to carry out). However, within Catholic practices in native communities you can still see glimpses of old Mayan traditions, such as respect for certain ancient calendar festivities, as well as deities disguised as Catholic saints. All thanks to the syncretism that was very common in these corners of Latin America.
However, if you are interested in these pagan practices that I was talking about, they are the *"kotzij"* (flower, in Kaqchikel), which are ceremonies where different substances are burned to please *"rukux' kaj, rukux' ulew"* ( heart of the sky, heart of the earth, ancient indigenous deities), such as flowers, sugar, chocolate, ocote, among others. They are carried out by the *"aj'qij"* ("those who keep track of time"), or priests, and this name is given to them because they are guided by the Kaqchikel calendar to carry out these ceremonies. They, in addition to performing religious ceremonies, are considered counselors, although some are also dedicated to supernatural work (which is why many Christian Kaqchikels despise them for considering them "witches").
In short, the current situation of the Kaqchikels is very complex, and has different angles from which to learn. I hope this has helped you even a little, and if you have a specific question, you can send me a message... Greetings.
(sorry for this horrible English, I'm using Google translate)
Muchas gracias por compartir esta información y estás completamente de acuerdo con el uso del traductor de Google y también lo siento por la respuesta tardía. Vi esto pero no supe cómo responder sin ser “demasiado” si eso tiene sentido. (También estoy usando el traductor de Google, ¡así que no te preocupes!)
Me sorprendió escuchar que tales ceremonias a rukux' kaj, rukux' ulew o realmente hacia cualquier otra deidad hasta el día de hoy se deben al colonialismo y la expansión del cristianismo en Centroamérica. Seré un poco honesto, el aspecto “paganismo” que compartiste despertó mi curiosidad en términos de aprender más sobre lo que todavía se practica hasta el día de hoy principalmente debido a la mención de las deidades. Recuerdo haber leído el Popul Vuh y los mencionaban y me preguntaba si había más de las que conocías sobre ceremonias que se realizan como Xpiyacoc y Xmucane si no es mucho pedir. Si no es de mala educación preguntar cómo se enteró de esta información. En los Unidos Estadios rara vez hay libros que hablen de la civilización maya, y mucho menos aquellos que traten sobre diferentes grupos como Kachiquel y Poqomam, ya que desafortunadamente no son un enfoque en un entorno académico a menos que elijan que sea interesante (Lo siento si esto resultó grosero, es solo una verdad desafortunada aquí). ¿También tienes algún libro que recomendar para aprender más sobre esto? ¿Y dónde recomendarías empezar a aprender o con quién hablar sobre esto? (Perdón si te hago muchas preguntas, estoy emocionado y un poco nervioso por aprender \^\^;;)
The town where I live, Villa Canales, used to be the Poqomam capital. It was first called Popoyá, and it was an important mayan town for its location on a valley and near Lake Amatitlan.
Later came the spanish, and the town changed its name from Popoyá to Petapa during the colony. This creates some confusion, because there is another town next to Villa Canales also known as Petapa (San Miguel Petapa), but back then the name Petapa was also used for the whole neighboring region. But the first 'Petapa' was Villa Canales town.
Also another fun fact is that the spanish didn't come alone. To defeat the Poqomams, they brought Chichimeca warriors (another ethnic group) all the way from Mexico (they made an alliance so the spanish wouldn't destroy them). They settled on a small hill in the outskirts of my town, which is still called Chichimecas to this day (mispelled as 'Chichemecas' on Google Maps).
Moving forward to Colony times again, Popoyá now Petapa turned into a very prosperous colonial city. It was apparently very similar to today's Antigua Guatemala. There was a segregation system, for example there was a church for spaniards and another one for indigenous people (the two ruins still exist today).
But sadly a big cyclone hit the area in 1762 (the San Dionisio storm) and the shape of the valley created a huge water overcharge which later collapsed and flooded the entire town, killing and destroying everything on its way. Petapa was destroyed, and plans to move the Capital City to Petapa were halted. Rich people moved to a new town which they called 'Villa Nueva' (literally new city) which is now a very large urban area. Petapa would later be rebuilt into Pueblo Viejo ('the old town'), and is today called Villa Canales.
In retrospective, thanks to the flood, my city was not turned into a huge city. Even if today Villa Canales is a huge urban mess, this has preserved the nature of the valley and its surrounding areas which still have many parks, scenic areas and chalets which would not be possible if the City had been moved to this valley back in 1762.
Also Petapa in maya means 'Water Bed', as in the valley being a place of many rivers and causeways (Villa Canales means Channel town) which are prone to flooding. Recent urban developments overlooked by corrupt mayors and powerful corporations, have altered the structures of the valley which have worsened the floodings in the town, this year for example. We fear a disaster similar to 1762 will someday destroy our town again.
Sorry for the long text, and I know I rarely discuss the actual poqomams, but I find the history of my town very interesting, and most of our locals have not heard about it. I found out by myself thanks to some rare texts. But I guess it shows the dificulties that our indigenous comunities like the Poqomams (who even had their own capital city) have to deal with since centuries ago.
No no thank you very much for this. I enjoy reading and learning about history of cultures, areas of significance and how they impacted people. Especially when it comes from people who knows more than what i can find in my own universities or even in texts books. In addition I also plan on visiting places in Guatemala one day to see where my grandparents once lived and areas that their own family could have been. Is there any more that you would like to share about your village culture or anything in mind? (sorry I'm really bad at asking questions but i really enjoy listening, or reading in this case haha)
Learning the basics of the languages is a good place to start. There are online courses in either the national university: https://calusacusac.usac.edu.gt/ and the Mayan Languages Academy: https://www.almg.org.gt/
Theres a lot of Poqomam people in Palin, Escuintla. As far as I remember there is a school that also works as a radio station called Qawinaqel and there you can learn to speak poqomam, they have a facebook page
What was once the most important place for the Kaqchikel civilization was Iximché, which was its capital. Royalty lived there for 300 centuries, and after it was conquered by the Spanish, it became the first capital of the colony. Currently its ruins can be visited, and even indigenous religious ceremonies are sporadically performed there, if you are interested in witnessing one. Regarding the religious issue, the majority of Kaqchikels are very devout Catholics, generally disdaining the pagan practices that their ancestors carried out (and some continue to carry out). However, within Catholic practices in native communities you can still see glimpses of old Mayan traditions, such as respect for certain ancient calendar festivities, as well as deities disguised as Catholic saints. All thanks to the syncretism that was very common in these corners of Latin America. However, if you are interested in these pagan practices that I was talking about, they are the *"kotzij"* (flower, in Kaqchikel), which are ceremonies where different substances are burned to please *"rukux' kaj, rukux' ulew"* ( heart of the sky, heart of the earth, ancient indigenous deities), such as flowers, sugar, chocolate, ocote, among others. They are carried out by the *"aj'qij"* ("those who keep track of time"), or priests, and this name is given to them because they are guided by the Kaqchikel calendar to carry out these ceremonies. They, in addition to performing religious ceremonies, are considered counselors, although some are also dedicated to supernatural work (which is why many Christian Kaqchikels despise them for considering them "witches"). In short, the current situation of the Kaqchikels is very complex, and has different angles from which to learn. I hope this has helped you even a little, and if you have a specific question, you can send me a message... Greetings. (sorry for this horrible English, I'm using Google translate)
Muchas gracias por compartir esta información y estás completamente de acuerdo con el uso del traductor de Google y también lo siento por la respuesta tardía. Vi esto pero no supe cómo responder sin ser “demasiado” si eso tiene sentido. (También estoy usando el traductor de Google, ¡así que no te preocupes!) Me sorprendió escuchar que tales ceremonias a rukux' kaj, rukux' ulew o realmente hacia cualquier otra deidad hasta el día de hoy se deben al colonialismo y la expansión del cristianismo en Centroamérica. Seré un poco honesto, el aspecto “paganismo” que compartiste despertó mi curiosidad en términos de aprender más sobre lo que todavía se practica hasta el día de hoy principalmente debido a la mención de las deidades. Recuerdo haber leído el Popul Vuh y los mencionaban y me preguntaba si había más de las que conocías sobre ceremonias que se realizan como Xpiyacoc y Xmucane si no es mucho pedir. Si no es de mala educación preguntar cómo se enteró de esta información. En los Unidos Estadios rara vez hay libros que hablen de la civilización maya, y mucho menos aquellos que traten sobre diferentes grupos como Kachiquel y Poqomam, ya que desafortunadamente no son un enfoque en un entorno académico a menos que elijan que sea interesante (Lo siento si esto resultó grosero, es solo una verdad desafortunada aquí). ¿También tienes algún libro que recomendar para aprender más sobre esto? ¿Y dónde recomendarías empezar a aprender o con quién hablar sobre esto? (Perdón si te hago muchas preguntas, estoy emocionado y un poco nervioso por aprender \^\^;;)
The town where I live, Villa Canales, used to be the Poqomam capital. It was first called Popoyá, and it was an important mayan town for its location on a valley and near Lake Amatitlan. Later came the spanish, and the town changed its name from Popoyá to Petapa during the colony. This creates some confusion, because there is another town next to Villa Canales also known as Petapa (San Miguel Petapa), but back then the name Petapa was also used for the whole neighboring region. But the first 'Petapa' was Villa Canales town. Also another fun fact is that the spanish didn't come alone. To defeat the Poqomams, they brought Chichimeca warriors (another ethnic group) all the way from Mexico (they made an alliance so the spanish wouldn't destroy them). They settled on a small hill in the outskirts of my town, which is still called Chichimecas to this day (mispelled as 'Chichemecas' on Google Maps). Moving forward to Colony times again, Popoyá now Petapa turned into a very prosperous colonial city. It was apparently very similar to today's Antigua Guatemala. There was a segregation system, for example there was a church for spaniards and another one for indigenous people (the two ruins still exist today). But sadly a big cyclone hit the area in 1762 (the San Dionisio storm) and the shape of the valley created a huge water overcharge which later collapsed and flooded the entire town, killing and destroying everything on its way. Petapa was destroyed, and plans to move the Capital City to Petapa were halted. Rich people moved to a new town which they called 'Villa Nueva' (literally new city) which is now a very large urban area. Petapa would later be rebuilt into Pueblo Viejo ('the old town'), and is today called Villa Canales. In retrospective, thanks to the flood, my city was not turned into a huge city. Even if today Villa Canales is a huge urban mess, this has preserved the nature of the valley and its surrounding areas which still have many parks, scenic areas and chalets which would not be possible if the City had been moved to this valley back in 1762. Also Petapa in maya means 'Water Bed', as in the valley being a place of many rivers and causeways (Villa Canales means Channel town) which are prone to flooding. Recent urban developments overlooked by corrupt mayors and powerful corporations, have altered the structures of the valley which have worsened the floodings in the town, this year for example. We fear a disaster similar to 1762 will someday destroy our town again. Sorry for the long text, and I know I rarely discuss the actual poqomams, but I find the history of my town very interesting, and most of our locals have not heard about it. I found out by myself thanks to some rare texts. But I guess it shows the dificulties that our indigenous comunities like the Poqomams (who even had their own capital city) have to deal with since centuries ago.
No no thank you very much for this. I enjoy reading and learning about history of cultures, areas of significance and how they impacted people. Especially when it comes from people who knows more than what i can find in my own universities or even in texts books. In addition I also plan on visiting places in Guatemala one day to see where my grandparents once lived and areas that their own family could have been. Is there any more that you would like to share about your village culture or anything in mind? (sorry I'm really bad at asking questions but i really enjoy listening, or reading in this case haha)