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Maya Sacred Ceremonial Site at
Chichen Itza,Yucatan, Mexico


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     In an effort to preserve and share their ancestor’s traditions and wisdom, the Elder J'Men (J-Men) or Maya Holistic Healers and Priests continue celebrating their Mayan sacred rituals and ceremonies in Yucatan.  They work diligently and with utmost attention to detail in all their daily tasks and public affairs.  Don (Mr.) Valerio Canché Yah is the President of the non-profit organization, KUCH KAAB Y'EETEL J'MEN MAAYA'OB, A.C., which has been granted the southeastern portion of  Hacienda Chichen’s Mayan Jungle Reserve for their Sacred Ceremonial Center.  J’Men Bartolome Poot Nahuat chose the site and orientation; then, performed their Sacred New Fire Ceremony: TÁA’JCHE’ an ancestral ritual of gratitude and respect to Junab K’uj and the Yuumtsilo’ob.  This ceremony was followed by J’Men Ildefonso Ake Cocom's holistic ritual K’EEX for soul purification, one of the most mystical moments of all.  Maya linguist and teacher, Manuel Jesús B. Ortiz, helped translate the pure Maya spoken by both J’Men to enhance the experience among participants. To see the calendar of events for 2008, please click here.

 

 

Recommended books about the Maya Cosmo-vision

 

 These J’Men recommend the following for those interested in understanding the spiritual and Cosmo-vision of the Maya people: the “Popol Vuh,” a Mayan classic which has been translated in many languages. (Our choice is Dennis Tedlock's translation).

 

Other books highly recommended are: “A Forest of Kings” and “Maya Cosmos” by David Freidel, Linda Schele and Joy Parker, which deal with the mystical aspects of the Maya Cosmo-vision and J’Men, and the Maya world of cyclical time intertwined with multiple levels of reality, a universe where all things are alive with meaning and where reality expands beyond our mental concepts and daily realities.

 

 

Sacred Maya Ceremonies offered by the J’Men members of

 KUCH KAAB Y'EETEL J-MEN MAAYA'OB

 

The following is a list of the Elder J'Men or High Priests who  perform the sacred Maya rituals and traditional ceremonies offered at Chichen-Itza Sacred Ceremonial Center: 

 

Maya High Priest and J'Men, Ildefonso Ake Cocom lives in Sotuta, a town nearby Chichen Itza.  He performs the sacred ceremonies of soul purification and rituals of gratitude to Junab K’uj as well as to bring harmony within the flow of ones life cycle to celebrate love and family moments such as weddings. He is one of the most mystical and spiritually gifted souls we ever known.

Maya High Priest and J'Men Bartolome Poot Nahuat lives in Dzitas, a few miles north of Chichen Itza.  He is a highly respected Maya Priest and a powerful J’Men who celebrates the sacred Maya ceremonies dedicated to the welfare of the community, crops, and whose work blesses the land with ancestral energies and celestial protection.

J'Men Juan Bautista Poot Puc lives in Valladolid, a Colonial City 30 minutes away from Chichen Itza.  A great Maya musician and poet; he plays the traditional Tun Kul to create the sacred rhythmic sounds for most ceremonies celebrated in Chichen Itza Sacred Ceremonial Center.  His poems contribute to the continuation of mystical energy and the beauty found in the Maya spoken language.

Mayan Holistic Healer Beatriz Correa lives in Chichen Itza at the Hacienda’s property grounds.  She directs and operates Yaxkin Spa, Maya Holistic Center. She performs many Maya Rituals of purification and holistic healing for the Spa. Her kindness has gain her the respect and love of all that know her; and her patience has helped the young females under her teaching-care practice the healing arts of ancient Maya traditions.

Mayan Wiseman Jose Tamay lives in Mayan village of Xcalacoop, nearby Chichen Itza.  An active Maya Foundation In Laakeech's Board of Trustees member, Jose Tamay celebrates many Mayan rituals with utmost respect and honor to Junab K’uj and his Mayan spiritual guardians at the Hacienda Chichen sacred ceremonial grounds.  His kind spirit and dedication to the Maya sacred traditions has earned him the respect of the J-Men Elders.


These are some of the Sacred Mayan Rituals and Ceremonies
celebrated by the above J-Men:

 

 SAKA'  is cosmic ritual and sacred ceremony offered to the thirteen Mayan levels and spheres of life, where all Heaven Gods and Underworld Gods exist.  The Gods are called upon to be honored and respectfully request their blessings.  A Sacred Maya Beverage is prepared by the priest prior to the ceremony; this is done by selecting the best corn kernels and the purest of wild honey. The sacred drink, once it is blessed and offered to the Gods and the Bacabs, is then shared among those that participated in this ritual. Good fortune and healthy crops are associated with this ceremony of gratitude and honor to Noj Yuum k’uj (greater God), Yuum K’aax and all yuumtsilo’ob (godly earth elements),  The Aluxes, Yuum Chaak (rain, godly water element) and Junab K’uj, (deities in charge of nature and the elemental energies of life) are all reunited in spirit with Nature while the forces of this mystical experience is performed.
 

BÁALCHE is an important ceremony, where the sacred beverage of the Báalche' is offered by the J’Men to request K’ujo’ob’ (Maya Gods) the peace and harmony of people in their villages and the satisfactory development of their society at work.  Bark from the Báalche' tree is crushed and fermented with pure wild honey, anis, and other sacred herbs, this beverage has a smooth sweet wine like flavor and is given in small cured gourds to the participants once the ceremony is about to end.
 

YA’AXCHE’ is one of the most important Cosmo-vision symbols of all times for the Maya people; this highly sacred Maya ceremony is performed only by the most qualified Maya Priests.  Ya’axche’ represents the center of life on Earth, the connection between heaven, Earth, and the underworld, the Maya’s most Sacred Tree.  La Ceiba, as it is commonly refer to in Spanish, is the center symbol of life and the Planet Earth, its roots cover the underworld levels, its branches reach the heavens and bless the skies, its trunk connects life and the four cardinal points where the Bacabo’ob or Bacabs abide. 

 

Ya’axche’ is also the Mother Tree for the Maya mystic, a blend of physical and spiritual force manifesting life and vital cosmic energy.  In the shade of these gigantic trees, Maya priests and J’Men find spiritual wisdom and brotherhood.  This ceremony marked the Sacred Grounds of their Ceremonial Site in Chichen Itza, located within the Hacienda Chichen Nature Reserve.

DID YOU KNOW: June 21, 2007 we celebrated the Sacred Tree of Life Maya Ritual, J'Men Ildefonso Ake Cocom planted five sacred Ceiba to inaugurate the KUCH KAAB Y'EETEL J'MEN MAAYA'OB, A.C. open-air ceremonial site within the Maya Jungle Reserve of Hacienda Chichen grounds.  Here, the J’Men perform many spiritual Mayan Wedding Ceremonies, and rituals following the Tzolkin Calendar.  To request a private group Maya ceremony, please contact us at info@yucatanadventure.com.mx  or  wedings@haciendachichen.com

KAY NIKTE’  Mystical Ceremony to celebrate the Full Moon’s energy and spiritual forces, a singing ritual mainly performed by the Ix’Men (female priest) in the moonlight of each month.  Pure fresh water from the cenotes play an important part of this ritual dedicated to

U TS’ÍITS J’AIL TS’ONO’OT Blessing of the water, in Yucatán the Maya Healers and Priest us pure fresh cenote water placed in a clay pot, symbol of Ixchel, to energies the water with Junab K’uj and the yuumtsilo’ob blessings. Maya rhythmic invocations are singed along with prayers and chanting; dancing under the moonlight inside a circle of candles is part of this beautiful ancient ritual.  Some of the bless water goes back to the earth, as the Ix’Men ends the ceremony’s prayers. To see how you can perform your own U TS'IITS J'AIL TS'ONO'OT at home, click here.

U JANAL PIXAN is an intimate Maya family ceremony to remember their deceased and their ancestors.  Maya villages prepare with up most care and reverence the “altar” in which the food and beverage for their dead loved ones is to be placed during the first three days of November each year.  This ceremony is a tradition that blends ancestral Maya practices with the Catholic belief system imposed on the Maya during the Colonization of their land.  Their religion fused with the Catholic dogma and created the current practices found in most mixed family backgrounds in Yucatan.  Today, you will find Catholic saint and virgin images placed on the altar as part of the offerings to the soul of those that have left the physical body.  The offerings are mainly things and meals the person enjoy while alive: candy, bread, tamales, along with photographs, cruces and other colorful artifacts are carefully placed among candle lights and flowers.  Praying and fasting is traditional, as is to spend the night in the cemetery next to the tomb of those loved.  Muc bi’pollo, a grant tamale meal, is served in most families during those days.  

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Mayan Ceremonies at Hacienda Chichen, Yucatan

Maya Ceremonies and Spiritual Rituals at
Sacred Ceremonial Site
of Chichen Itza Year 2008:

The following is a list of the upcoming ceremonies and events at the Hacienda Chichen Maya Sacred Ceremonial Site in Chichen Itza, Yucatan, for this year:
 

KAY NIKTE' CEREMONY to held on Full Moon dates:

    Tuesday, 22nd of January 2008                         Thursday, 21st of February 2008
    **Friday, 21st of March 2008 
                                Saturday, 20th of April 2008
    Tuesday, 20th of May 2008                                  Wednesday, 18th of June 2008

Each ceremony will be celebrated at the Sacred Maya Ritual Site,
by Ix-Men & Nohoch'mama Beatriz Correa
**Guests may participate by registration or invitation only.

KAY NIKTE' CEREMONY Mystical Ceremony to celebrate the Full Moon's energy and spiritual forces, a singing ritual mainly performed by the Ix'Men (female priest) in the moonlight of each month.  Pure fresh water from the cenotes play an important part of this ritual dedicated to U TS'ÍITS J'AIL TS'ONO'OT Blessing of the water, in Yucatán the Maya Healers and Priest us pure fresh cenote water placed in a clay pot, symbol of Ixchel, to energies the water with Junab K'uj and the yuumtsilo'ob blessings. Maya rhythmic invocations are singed along with prayers and chanting; dancing under the moonlight inside a circle of candles is part of this beautiful ancient ritual.  Some of the bless water goes back to the earth, as the Ix'Men ends the ceremony's prayers.

Date to be announced
YAAX MOLAYIL MAAYA J-MENO'OB Y'EETEL TS'AK YAJO'OB 
by invitation only, celebrated by the J-Men Wiseman Association and some with Don Valerio Canche.

 

March 21st, 2008
TÁA'JCHE - Mayan Ceremony of the Sacred New Fire, Private Sacred Ceremony for Hacienda Chichen guests only.  To be celebrated during the afternoon prior to sunset at the Sacred Maya Site, Hacienda Chichen Resort's Maya Jungle Reserve.

June
7th, 2008
U TS'ITSJA'IL YÁALAL JA' - Mayan Ceremony to Bless Chichen-Itza Sacred Cenote - First Mayan Ceremony at Chichen Itza's archaeological site in hundred of years! This Sacred Maya Ceremony in honor to Bacabs and Mother Nature's Spiritual Guardians celebrated by J-Men Bartolome Poot and Elder Mayan Wiseman Idelfonso; during the offerings, both J-Men blessed the Sacred Cenote and its water energy flow. By invitation.  Ceremony starts at noon at the edge of the Cenote Sagrado inside Chichen Itza's archaeological site.

 

Summer activities to be announced.

Nov. 1st, 2008 
U JANAL PIXAN. Guests may participate by registration or invitation.  Those wishing to celebrate their own family deceased in this Maya tradition need to contact info@yucatanadventure.com.mx to register their names and get all the information needed for the ceremony.

Mayan ceremony to remember deceased ancestors and friends. The offerings are mainly
familiar gifts, sweets and meals the person enjoyed while alive: candy, bread, tamales, along with photographs, candles, cruces (crosses) and other colorful artifacts are carefully placed among candle lights and flowers.

 

December activities to be announced.
 
There are also some Maya Wedding Ceremonies, K'AAM KIKTE', already approved and register to be held during the months of March of this year.

 Mayan Rituals at Hacienda Chichen, Yucatan

  Mayan Ceremonies Upon Request:

Mayan Sacred Cave Ceremony: ZUMPUL-CHE for groups of eight or more participants.  Please contact Chichen Services for more information and to reserve dates; by appointment only,

Mayan Wedding Ceremonies: K’AAM NIKTE’ and K’AAM XIIB.  If you are interested in a traditional Mayan wedding in Chichen Itza, please contact Chichen Services for more information.

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 2007 Ceremonies and Events performed under the sponsorship of
the Maya Foundation In Lakech A.C. funding program:

April 14th, 2007
Maya Ceremony to Mother Nature,  the KUCH KAAB Y'EETEL J'MEN MAAYA'OB, A.C. and the Esquimal Association (Greenland) will celebrate in the Hacienda Chichen's Maya Jungle ceremonial site a special day to honor Mother Earth and the protection of Wildlife.  All J-Men will be coming to this important event.  Open to selected public, if interested please contact info@yucatanadventure.com.mx

March 21st, 2007
TÁA’JCHE Maya Ceremony of the Sacred New Fire, will be celebrated on at the Sacred Maya Site at Hacienda Chichen Resort's Maya Jungle Reserve by one of the above J-Men at sunset.  Private Ceremony for Hacienda Chichen guests only.

June 20, 2007
Ritual of the Sacred Tree of Life: J'Men Ildefonso Ake will celebrate the planting of a sacred Ceiba to inaugurate their open-air ceremonial site within the Maya Jungle Reserve of Hacienda Chichen grounds. Celebration will start at 10 am.  Admission for register guests only, if you would are interested please contact info@yucatanadventure.com.mx for details and invitation.

Sept. 17th to the 20th, 2007
YAAX MOLAYIL MAAYA J-MENO'OB Y'EETEL TS'AK YAJO'OB 
by invitation only, special guests may participate if approved by President of the J-Men Association Don Valerio Canche.

Maya Elders, Healers and Priests will have their first Cosmo-Vision Symposium in Chichen Itza at Hacienda Chichen Resort, co-sponsor of the event with the KUCH KAAB Y'EETEL J'MEN MAAYA'OB, A.C. The Association has invited J-Men and Ix-Men from Belize, Quintana Roo, Yucatan and Campeche.  Rituals, Ceremonies, Lectures, Round Tables, and Reunions are part of the program.


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Published 8/2/2007
Current listing was updated June 2008