Digitising the sacred: Maya women’s cosmovision online

M MIRALLES TERÁN DE WILKIN

Digitising the sacred: Maya women’s cosmovision online

M MIRALLES TERÁN DE WILKIN

Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper

Abstract

Digitising the Sacred: Maya Women’s Cosmovision Online
The indigenous population of Latin America has been able to protect their culture, languages and knowledge by maintaining their beliefs. For them, to look to the past is as important as to live in the present. Hirsch (1996) recognises the inherent character of postmemory as ‘the experience of those who grow up dominated by narratives that preceded their birth... shaped by traumatic events that can be neither fully understood nor recreated.’ Traumatic events provoked by the Spanish invasion and colonisation, and the imposition of Christianity forced the Maya to create resistance strategies – oral history and specific traditional mnemonic systems – to maintain their ancestral knowledge, cosmovision and identity. The uninterrupted use of the sacred Maya calendar Cholq’ij by the Mayas is part of this continuous act of resistance.

Currently, Maya women are contesting the narrative imposed by the state, social prejudices and media-imposed perceptions, reclaiming their place in society online. How is the Cholq’ij represented in Maya women’s narratives in relation to their knowledge, world-views and philosophies online? The Aj’kijab are the guardians of the Maya tradition and the calendar’s knowledge. By moving online, the Cholq’ij went from being a specialist calendar, interpreted by an Aj’kij inside a community in a defined time and context,to being standardised and available to everybody.

The process of conveying the Cholq’ij’s abstract concepts in a contested media, such as an online/virtual place, certainly implies a process of cultural surrender, yet paradoxically key to represent the Maya people’s identity and culture.

Original language	English
Publication status	Published - 2022
Event	Religion in Latin America and the Caribbean: Past, Present and Possible Futures.’ The Centre for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) University of London in collaboration with the Centre for Religion, Conflict and Globalization (CRCG) University of Groningen. - Duration: 1 Jan 2022 → …

Conference

Conference	Religion in Latin America and the Caribbean: Past, Present and Possible Futures.’ The Centre for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) University of London in collaboration with the Centre for Religion, Conflict and Globalization (CRCG) University of Groningen.
Period	1/01/22 → …

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 5 Gender Equality

Keywords

Cholq’ij sacred calendar digitisation
Cultural resistance
Decolonisation
Ethnography
Feminism
Identity
Indigenous communal organisations
Maya cosmovision
Postmemory
online/virtual place

Access to Document

CLACS Presentation.pdfFinal published version, 134 KBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND
Miralles-Digitising the Sacred-CLACS.pdfFinal published version, 10.7 MBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND
Miralles_CLACS and CRCG Conference-2022.pdfFinal published version, 93.1 KBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

WILKIN, M. MIRALLES. TERÁN. DE. (2022). Digitising the sacred: Maya women’s cosmovision online. Paper presented at Religion in Latin America and the Caribbean: Past, Present and Possible Futures.’ The Centre for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) University of London in collaboration with the Centre for Religion, Conflict and Globalization (CRCG) University of Groningen..

WILKIN, M MIRALLES TERÁN DE. / Digitising the sacred: Maya women’s cosmovision online. Paper presented at Religion in Latin America and the Caribbean: Past, Present and Possible Futures.’ The Centre for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) University of London in collaboration with the Centre for Religion, Conflict and Globalization (CRCG) University of Groningen..

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abstract = "Digitising the Sacred: Maya Women{\textquoteright}s Cosmovision Online The indigenous population of Latin America has been able to protect their culture, languages and knowledge by maintaining their beliefs. For them, to look to the past is as important as to live in the present. Hirsch (1996) recognises the inherent character of postmemory as {\textquoteleft}the experience of those who grow up dominated by narratives that preceded their birth... shaped by traumatic events that can be neither fully understood nor recreated.{\textquoteright} Traumatic events provoked by the Spanish invasion and colonisation, and the imposition of Christianity forced the Maya to create resistance strategies – oral history and specific traditional mnemonic systems – to maintain their ancestral knowledge, cosmovision and identity. The uninterrupted use of the sacred Maya calendar Cholq{\textquoteright}ij by the Mayas is part of this continuous act of resistance. Currently, Maya women are contesting the narrative imposed by the state, social prejudices and media-imposed perceptions, reclaiming their place in society online. How is the Cholq{\textquoteright}ij represented in Maya women{\textquoteright}s narratives in relation to their knowledge, world-views and philosophies online? The Aj{\textquoteright}kijab are the guardians of the Maya tradition and the calendar{\textquoteright}s knowledge. By moving online, the Cholq{\textquoteright}ij went from being a specialist calendar, interpreted by an Aj{\textquoteright}kij inside a community in a defined time and context,to being standardised and available to everybody. The process of conveying the Cholq{\textquoteright}ij{\textquoteright}s abstract concepts in a contested media, such as an online/virtual place, certainly implies a process of cultural surrender, yet paradoxically key to represent the Maya people{\textquoteright}s identity and culture.",

keywords = "Cholq{\textquoteright}ij sacred calendar digitisation, Cultural resistance, Decolonisation, Ethnography, Feminism, Identity, Indigenous communal organisations, Maya cosmovision, Postmemory, online/virtual place",

author = "WILKIN, \{M MIRALLES TER{\'A}N DE\}",

year = "2022",

language = "English",

note = "Religion in Latin America and the Caribbean: Past, Present and Possible Futures.{\textquoteright} The Centre for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) University of London in collaboration with the Centre for Religion, Conflict and Globalization (CRCG) University of Groningen. ; Conference date: 01-01-2022",

}

WILKIN, MMIRALLESTERÁNDE 2022, 'Digitising the sacred: Maya women’s cosmovision online', Paper presented at Religion in Latin America and the Caribbean: Past, Present and Possible Futures.’ The Centre for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) University of London in collaboration with the Centre for Religion, Conflict and Globalization (CRCG) University of Groningen., 1/01/22.

Digitising the sacred: Maya women’s cosmovision online. / WILKIN, M MIRALLES TERÁN DE.
2022. Paper presented at Religion in Latin America and the Caribbean: Past, Present and Possible Futures.’ The Centre for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) University of London in collaboration with the Centre for Religion, Conflict and Globalization (CRCG) University of Groningen..

Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper

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AB - Digitising the Sacred: Maya Women’s Cosmovision Online The indigenous population of Latin America has been able to protect their culture, languages and knowledge by maintaining their beliefs. For them, to look to the past is as important as to live in the present. Hirsch (1996) recognises the inherent character of postmemory as ‘the experience of those who grow up dominated by narratives that preceded their birth... shaped by traumatic events that can be neither fully understood nor recreated.’ Traumatic events provoked by the Spanish invasion and colonisation, and the imposition of Christianity forced the Maya to create resistance strategies – oral history and specific traditional mnemonic systems – to maintain their ancestral knowledge, cosmovision and identity. The uninterrupted use of the sacred Maya calendar Cholq’ij by the Mayas is part of this continuous act of resistance. Currently, Maya women are contesting the narrative imposed by the state, social prejudices and media-imposed perceptions, reclaiming their place in society online. How is the Cholq’ij represented in Maya women’s narratives in relation to their knowledge, world-views and philosophies online? The Aj’kijab are the guardians of the Maya tradition and the calendar’s knowledge. By moving online, the Cholq’ij went from being a specialist calendar, interpreted by an Aj’kij inside a community in a defined time and context,to being standardised and available to everybody. The process of conveying the Cholq’ij’s abstract concepts in a contested media, such as an online/virtual place, certainly implies a process of cultural surrender, yet paradoxically key to represent the Maya people’s identity and culture.

KW - Cholq’ij sacred calendar digitisation

KW - Cultural resistance

KW - Decolonisation

KW - Ethnography

KW - Feminism

KW - Identity

KW - Indigenous communal organisations

KW - Maya cosmovision

KW - Postmemory

KW - online/virtual place

UR - https://ilcs.sas.ac.uk/node/12254

M3 - Paper

T2 - Religion in Latin America and the Caribbean: Past, Present and Possible Futures.’ The Centre for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) University of London in collaboration with the Centre for Religion, Conflict and Globalization (CRCG) University of Groningen.

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ER -

WILKIN MMIRALLESTERÁNDE. Digitising the sacred: Maya women’s cosmovision online. 2022. Paper presented at Religion in Latin America and the Caribbean: Past, Present and Possible Futures.’ The Centre for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) University of London in collaboration with the Centre for Religion, Conflict and Globalization (CRCG) University of Groningen..

Digitising the sacred: Maya women’s cosmovision online

Abstract

Conference

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

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