Meeting the Maya

 

I have read many books on Maya civilization and watched documentaries on the Maya ruins. This kindled in me the desire to visit and, if possible, visit a village of the present Maya descendants. I was reading the book “Mayan Civilization “and the doorbell rang. I was stunned when I opened the door to see a Maya woman standing before me. You might be wondering how I identified her as Maya. Sometimes, I may not be able to identify my own countrymen in a mob, but I will never miss a Maya, as the Mayan’s features are recorded in my mind.

I stood watching her for some time without greeting her. My dumbness might have made her uncomfortable, and she said:

 “Hello. Good morning. I have come to fix a few things in this house,” in a South American Spanish accent.

“Yes. Please come in, and you can do your work,” I politely answered.

When she finished her work and was about to leave the house, I slowly started conversing with her. 

“It is wonderful that you have finished your work very fast.” I started the conversation.

She just smiled at me.

“I am sorry that I didn’t ask your name. Will you please let me know?" I was keen on knowing her ethnicity rather than her name, as it was rude on my part to ask her, “Are you a Mayan?”? 

In some cultures, asking one’s religion or ethnicity at the first meeting itself is not considered impolite. I worked in a country where people often used to ask me, “Are you a M?” All the time  I replied with the name of a religion that came to mind, and immediately the other person would say, “Very bad,” and turn their face!

One day, I and my friend Poly Isaac were walking along the street when one person stopped us and asked, “Are you M.S.?" When we said we were not;  immediately came the comment:

“Then two of you will not go to heaven.”.

Immediately, Poly Isaac asked the person:

“Will you go to heaven?”.

“Yes. I will go to heaven,” came the reply.

Then Poly Isaac humbly requested the man:

“Once you go to heaven, please ask God to bring us also to there.”

The man did not understand Poly Isaac’s sarcasm and  he replied vehemently:

“No. I cannot do that.”.

"Akna,” she replied.

The moment she said her name was Akna  my thoughts were shattered, and I said,

Are you not a Maya? Excuse me if I am wrong.”.

 

“You are right. I am a Maya,”  came the reply instantly.

“Akna, what a beautiful name! Akna is the Mayan goddess of fertility." 

I had been looking to meet a Maya, and the hope had just slowly been vanishing when a Maya came in front of me.  Akna was not in a hurry to go, I and my wife were eager to know more about the Maya way of life. She politely accepted our tea and sat with us for more than an hour, talking to us. I learned more from Akna about Mayans than I have learned from loads of books and videos on Mayans. Akna said we should meet her parents and brothers if we visited Honduras, who would help us familiarize ourselves with the Maya way of life.

She got into her car  wishing:

“K'a'ak'ate. Taak ulak k'iin“ (Good Bye. (See you later.)

“Ka xi'ik teech utsil. Ka'ajxi'ikte'ex utsil” (Good luck. Have a nice day.) I wished back and Akma drove away smiling.  For more such  Yucatec Maya phrases, please search on Google!