….I had to make the joke at least once.
A few days ago, we bid goodbye to Antigua and hello to Belize. Belize is amazing, but it was definitely bittersweet to have to leave our beloved home away from home.
To end our studies in Antigua, we attended a Maya religious ceremony. It was just us, Kawok (the daykeeper), his wife and two children. I was so amazed that Kawok was willing to take us to the sacred site (which he said was passed down generationally) and lead us, as foreigners, in a ceremony. In that sense it was really meaningful emotionally, and gave a lot of closure for my stay in Antigua.
It was also meaningful in a more academic sense. There were things about Maya religion and culture that I knew from studying, but seeing Kawok actually carry out the ceremony and explain the meaning of everything allowed me to put everything together in my brain and conceptualize it better. It’s so different to read about a religion than to actually take part in a ceremony and feel every sensation. I was talking about this to Andres and he brought up the idea of a multi-sensory experience. The ceremony was just that – a multi-sensory experience. It was more than just hearing Kawok’s explanations, it was a combination of seeing the altar, the fire, each item burning, and feeling the warmth when he stirred up the fire, or the cool wind in the air, and hearing the crackling of the sesame seeds, and him speaking in Kaqchikel. It was not detached words you read on a page, it was the sum of many visceral sensations.
For me, it was an incredibly special experience and I so appreciate Kawok’s willingness to lead the ceremony for us. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to mark the end of my first (and hopefully not last!) stay in Antigua.
