Friday, August 10, 2012


11 Lamat

Guatemala, August 2012

I just got over two days of venge Montezuma from my trip to Guatemala. I don't usually suffer that. Maybe it was because Guatemala was never in the Aztec zone and I was supposed to figure out which Maya chief was more appropriate than Moctezuma (spelled correctly).
     I went there as a stand-behind for my friend Don, who went to continue his healing ritual with a Maya curandero.
     You can see a daily blog about it at the site http://covenantinterfaith.blogspot.com/2012/07/cog-interfaith-rep-meeting-w-mayan.html. Both Don and I wrote it, but since it is mostly about his adventures it's posted on one of his sites.
Half My Height--our sales person in Pana
     However, here are a few more things are of interest besides our daily adventures.
  • In a week or so, we saw only 3 people smoking cigarettes. I guess that sort of made up for the incredibly horrible auto pollution from the cars.
  • Guatemalans call themselves Chapin, Hondurans are Catrachos, and San Salvadorians are Guanacos. At least that's what the cab driver told us, and I can confirm the Chapin, so I hope I am not insulting anyone else.
  • They use the same accent as in Oaxaca--the ll is pronounced like an English "j" instead of a Spanish "ya." I have been told this is archaic Spanish.
  • My Mayan date-name is 11 Lamat, which translates as Eleven Starshine, Eleven Venus, or 11 Four Colors of Corn
  • We had plenty of opportunity to observe the HMH; or Half my Height. The brutal oppression of the Maya resulted in severe malnutrition which affected their growth. Hence the height of the lady in the photo. Younger Guatemalans are taller.

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