H MEN NECKLACE CEREMONY

COBA

A lack of Epigraphic evidence prevents knowing the name of the settlement in pre-Hispanic time.  It is believed Coba means ‘waters stirred by the wind’, an appropriate Maya name as this settlement is surrounded by two large lagoons.

It is without a doubt the most important settlement in the northeast of the Yucatan peninsula, only comparable in size and impotance to  Chichen Itza, its rival and enemy throughout much of its pre-Hispanic history. 

RIO LAGARTOS

Rio Lagartos is a fishing village with friendly people, and excellent fresh seafood.  Here we will board small launches and to enjoy an amazing boat ride that is approximately 40 kms long to visit the flamingos’ foraging area.  43,000 Flamingos have been recorded in the Yucatan, the majority of which nest and feed in the Rio Lagartos area.  

EK BALAM

Ek'balam dates back to 300 B.C., before the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadores; it has emerged as one of the most important archaeological zones of the late classic period, and as a valuable source of Epigraphic information.  Important decorative samples showcase unique decorative art in the Maya Area.  According to written sources dating to the XVI Century, this pre-Hispanic city was part of a great empire named Talol, founded by a man known as EK'Balam (Black or dark Jaguar") or Coch Cal Balam who had come from the East.  Ek' Balam shares characteristics common to the most important ancient Maya cities, including monumental architecture, walls, stele and so-called Serpent Hieroglyphics, beautiful sculptures carved of blocks of stone, a ball court, a network of roads as well as texts written in glyphs.   

CAVES OF BALANCANCHE

Initiation is our own life.  If you want initiation write it down.  If you want understanding, open your heart because here is the wisdom.  It is the soul that receives the initiation and that knowledge is to intimate to share.  Here was the beginning… The entry door to Initiation…

With that understanding the adepts of the past started their path to become a Halach Uinic, a true Man of Knowledge; and this cave the Throne of the Jaguar Serpent, was beginning of the Initiation of the adepts before entering the Cosmic University of CHI-CHEEN-ITZ-HA’.   Descending to the cave of Balankanche was the first test of courage; here commenced the Initiates Route in order to arrive at the sacred City of CHI-CHEEN-ITZ-HA’.  

CHICHEN ITZA

BRIEF ARCHAEOLOGICAL VIDEO

Chichen Itza is the Cosmic University of the Maya, Chichen Itza, (On the banks of the well of the wizards of water). Abode of the Lord of Good Rain: Yumil Chaak (Universal Creator of Life through water).  

True purpose of CHI-CHEEN-ITZ-HA,’  “the Initiates Route of the Mayas in Chichen Itza” brings into being the path of the ancient Maya Adepts in the Holy City of the Seven Doors of Gold (symbolizing the seven bodies* raised and clothed in the Pure Gold of the Holy spirit) CHI-CHEEN-ITZ-HA’: That which had clearly been raised to the Serpent with Feathers of Gold of a Quetzal Bird (Representation of Universal Wisdom), fused with the Divine Spirit Being (The Sacred Quetzal). 

TULUM

The ruins of Tulum are the remains of an ancient Maya city that thrived from 1200 AD through the 16th Century.  Tulum is the only Maya city built on a coast, and one of the few protected by a wall. The ruins are situated on 40 ft tall cliffs on the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. Made of  limestone, the 784-meter wall encloses the site on three sides, it is seven meters thick, and varies between three and five meters in height.  Each Maya city had a specific purpose, and Tulum was no exception.  It was a seaport, trading mainly in turquoise and jade.  No doubt this fortification helped preserve the seaport. 

UXMAL

In 1843, explorer John L. Stephens wrote “Incidents of Travel in Yucatán,” an account of his travels through the Maya world. He tells of his arrival at Uxmal and meeting a local Maya man who was seated under a portal at the base of the largest pyramid at the site. The man narrated the following story: 

In this very place near the Palace of the Governor, a long time ago, there lived an old woman. She had no children. One day she found an egg, a very special one, so she covered it with cloth and hid it in a corner of her house. She spied it every morning to see if the egg had hatched, and one day she found that the shell had broken, and a small child lay by its side. She was overjoyed, and she raised the child with love and care. The child was a quick learner, and by one year of age, he could speak and walk, but he also stopped growing. No matter, she had faith that he would become a

LOLTUN

Loltun (Stone Flower) caves contain a wealth of paleontological evidence. Bone analysis material from Pleistocene fauna indicates that there were animals such as mastodons, bison, camels, Lions, horses and a variety of mammals, all extinct. There is ample cultural evidence in these caves expanding from 9,000 B.c., through 1542 A.d., that suggests its use as a camp in early and later housing stages.  The sequence of occupation begins with materials that are the product of the early presence of man in the Yucatan Peninsula, around 9000 B.c., and continues with the domestication of plants and animals and subsequently the

MERIDA

VIDEO LINK

Merida, is the capital of the Mexican state of Yucatan and largest city of the Yucatan Peninsula.   The city, much like much of the state, has heavy Mayan, French, British and to a lesser extent, Dutch influences.  Merida has the highest percentage of indigenours persons of any large city in Mexito with approximately 60% of all inhabitants being of the Maya ethnicity.  

DIVINITIES OF THE FOUR WINDS - PATHS OF THE MAYA SKY

The most important figure of the Maya pantheon is Itzamná creator god, lord of fire and of the heart. Its name derives from the words he supposedly gave men to define him, "Itz in Caan, itz in muyal" ("I am the dew of heaven, I am the dew of the clouds"). The itzamnás span the universe and, as in other Mesoamerican cultures, are related to the four cardinal points and their colors: East; Red, White; North   West, black; South, yellow. He is sometimes identified with the creator god Hunab Ku and others with the sun god, Kinich Ahau. It manifested as a woman by the name of Ixchel, goddess of the moon and the feminine arts.

the Bacabs, moreover, appear as holders of the sky, identified with the four cardinal points, a tree (the sacred ceiba) and a bird. Depending on the version of certain Maya peoples, would be sons of Hunab Ku, supreme and omnipotent deity.

EXCERPT FROM A FIRE CEREMONY

There were four of us, east, west, south, north - yellow, black, red, white.

One at a time each circled the ever growing fire with a silent or verbal intention to release all negativity, blocks, disease etc. that were not working in her life.  The remaining three held the space for the one releasing as she circled the fire acting out the intention of giving to the fire all she felt no longer needed to be in her life. 

As each circled the fire, arms were flung toward the fire releasing from her spirit, mind, body.  Legs were lifted toward the fire, hair was flipped, backs were dusted down in release in the walk around the fire to ensure we left it all. 

The fire raged as more and more energy was directed for transmutation. After 4 rounds of the fire, we each returned to the H Men for another round of prayers and blessings.  Being blessed we grounded back into our spirit, mind, body - or so it felt.  

One by one, we completed the rounds and grounding. Returning to our places at the altar, we felt cleansed and refreshed.  The H Men continued to prayer, and we silently prayed asking Spirit to grant us what we intended, in that moment, to take on going forward.  

At the close of the ceremony, we felt satisfied.  We felt reprogrammed.  We felt rejuvenated and hungry.  The H Men had a couple helpers serve us corn tortilla and simple sweet tea.  It was a feast.  It was a wonderful way to close the ceremony.  As we sat around waiting for corn tortillas to toast in the fire, we chatted, learned Maya words, sait in solitude observing quietly acknowledged the joy within.  The fire continued its course and on its own abated.  Darkness began to fall, more peace spread across the ceremony yard, and we felt complete.

We wrapped up with hugs and gifts of medicines from our shaman.

 

The fire is now waiting for you...

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