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Strengthening Tojol-ab’al:

Adapting the Ojer Maya Ts’ib in Las Margaritas, Chiapas, 2019

The Thanksgiving holiday has arrived in the United States, and we want to wish everyone a safe and restful celebration with family and friends, as we give thanks to all of our resilient Maya colleagues for the excellent work they continue to do on behalf of their languages and cultures, amidst all of the many challenges they have faced—not the least of which continues to be the ongoing pandemic.

This month, as we await the reports from our recently funded online workshops, we again harken back to 2019 with a report from Omar Chan, who worked with the YAs. As we await reports from the several online workshops we have recently funded, we have another report from one of the last in-person workshops from 2019. This is now the last report we have from before the pandemic that we have received, but we wanted to be sure to share with you the good work of Avenamar Gómez López with the Tojol-ab’al students from Las Margaritas, Chiapas, Mexico, who are actively engaged in preserving their language through the inspiration of ancient Maya writing—Ojer Maya Ts’ib. In doing so, they have had to adapt the Classic Maya syllabary to their own language, which includes the phoneme /r/, which did not exist in the Classic script. Like many contemporary Maya speakers, they have chosen to modify some of the Classic syllabic glyphs to accommodate the phonemes in their languages.

We hope you enjoy this month’s report, and we give thanks to all of you who kindly support our ongoing work and the work of many Maya teachers and students. It is our profound hope that we may all finally and safely reunite next year for the next Congreso.

Tzachatal
Sincerely,

Michael Grofe, President
MAM

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Huay Max and Oxchujk:

The Yüumtsilo’ob K’aaxo’ob Cooperative, 2019, and a New Publication from Martín Gómez Ramírez

The autumn has arrived and the harvest season is upon us. It is a time to remember and honor our ancestors, and all of those we have recently lost. We send our warmest regards to all of our friends as we move into the cooler months ahead, hoping that all of our families will finally have a chance to gather together and share a home cooked meal. We look forward to the New Year, with hope and promise that we will all overcome this pandemic and once again meet in person to continue our meaningful work together.

This month, as we await the reports from our recently funded online workshops, we again harken back to 2019 with a report from Omar Chan, who worked with the Yüumtsilo’ob K’aaxo’ob Cooperative in Huay Max, Quintana Roo, where he conducted a workshop sponsored by MAM in which members learned to embroider and inscribe glyphs onto cultural products like huipiles and gourd cups. Omar is currently facilitating one of our first online workshops this month, and we look forward to reporting back about that soon!

We would also like to congratulate our friend and colleague Martín Gómez Ramírez on his upcoming publication, Escrito Está Sobre Oxchujk: El verdadero significado de oxchujk en glifos de la cultura maya. Back in September of 2019, we published Martín’s report from a conference he facilitated at the Intercultural University (UNICH) in Oxchuc, Chiapas in which he presented a dedicatory hieroglyphic plaque that he had written and sculpted in Tseltal. Based on a parallel reading in the Paris Codex, Martín proposes that the original meaning of Oxchujk refers to ‘Three Captives’. Here, we include one of Martín’s many illustrations.

Also included in the publication are additional name glyphs that Martín has designed for multiple municipalities in Chiapas. We wish Martín all the best with his new book, and we wish you all a safe and healthy autumn.

Yum Bo’otik
Wakolowal ta a pisilik

Sincerely,

Michael Grofe, President

MAM

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Congratulations to Our First 2021 Online Mini-grant Recipients!

This month, we are pleased to announce our first round of mini-grant recipients for teaching online! Congratulations to the following applicants:

Augusto Tul Rax
Online course for 25 Poqomchi’ teens.
Chitul Santa Cruz Verapaz, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala.

Gloria Nayeli Tun Tuz
Online workshop for 20 Yucatec students.
Chichimilá, Yucatán, México.

José Alfredo Hau Caamal and Erika Evangelina Puc Ay
Online course for 10 Yucatec university students.
Chichimilá, Yucatán, México..

Omar Alejandro Chan May
Online course for 15 Yucatec students, ages 12+.
Felipe Carillo Puerto, Quintana Roo, Mexico.

We look forward to hearing about these exciting online courses and publishing their reports and recorded lectures in the near future! We encourage more applicants to contact us if they are interested in teaching online or offering recorded content to make publicly available, particularly content for specific Maya language communities that can potentially reach a wider audience during these isolating times.

This month, we also hear back from one of our new mini-grant recipients about her last workshop from 2019. Gloria Nayeli Tun Tuz shows us the marvelous, inscribed jícara bowls (hollowed out gourd halves) that her students have made.

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11 Ajaw 18 Xul: Drawing by Jorge Pérez de Lara

Presenting a copy of the Dresden Codex at the Ch’okwoj Maaya Tz’iib workshop

Ch’okwoj Maaya Tz’íib:

Sprouting Young Writers in Xocén, Yucatán

We are happy to report that we are currently receiving, reviewing, and granting our first round of mini-grants for online education! We have sent applications to all of those who have participated in our survey, and if you are a Maya teacher interested in receiving an application, please be sure to submit your information with our MAM Online Education Survey for Maya Facilitators:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5WM6JS6

These surveys help us to assess the needs of the applicants, and to determine how to best help our Maya colleagues, and there is an option to both teach a live online class, and/or to record either public or private educational videos to post on our website.

Recently, we received a notification from our friend José Alfredo Hau Caamal about the last workshop that he carried out with Gregorio Hau Caamal in early 2020 for young students in the Ch’okwoj Maaya Tz’íib group in Xocén, Yucatán, just prior to the pandemic. It was sponsored by the Xocén Birding Trail, which helped to produce a wonderful video in which we see the students receiving instruction about Maya writing in their native Yucatec language. I will include a link to the video below, as well as the communication from the group. It is a hopeful example of the kinds of online content we hope to soon publish on this website in the near future, particularly at a time when face-to-face instruction is still so challenging.

Next month, we will be announcing our first round of recipients of our latest mini-grants, so please stay tuned!

Yum Bo’otik.

Sincerely,

Michael Grofe, President

MAM

Ch’okwoj Maaya Tz’íib: Our Last Workshop of 2020

Good Evening,

José Alfredo Hau Caamal, participant of a group called Ch’okwoj Maaya Ts’íib, held his last workshop of 2020 in person in the beautiful town of Xocen municipality of Valladolid Yucatán, with the support of the Xocén Birding Trail (a group of young people who promote bird watching).

What is relevant about the workshop?

When we got together we decided that it is very important to participate in the transmission of what we have learned in the four previous Congresos in which we have been participants, so Gregorio Hau and his assistant created a small workshop in the Yucatecan Mayan language where we expose our ancient Mayan writing.

It is with great emotion that we share with you this workshop published in the following link with the aim of showing you that we are constantly taking advantage of each of the workshops taken in the attended Congresos, from the first Congreso in Valladolid, Yucatán, Mexico to the last in Huehuetenango, Guatemala.

This year we intend to continue holding workshops in the communities as little as possible since this pandemic has locked us up but not tied us down, so we are looking for alternatives to continue.

The Ch’okwoj Maaya Ts’íib group sends you a hug and congratulations on your great work at MAM.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXxPhCbZAbU

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11 Ajaw 18 Xul (27 de julio de 2021)

11 Ajaw 18 Xul: Drawing by Jorge Pérez de Lara

Presentación de una copia del Códice de Dresde en el taller de Ch’okwoj Maaya Tz’iib

Ch’okwoj Maaya Tz’íib:
Respuestas a la Encuesta de Facilitadores Mayas:

¡Nos complace informar que actualmente estamos recibiendo, revisando y otorgando nuestra primera ronda de mini-becas para educación en línea! Hemos enviado solicitudes a todos los que participaron en nuestra encuesta, y si usted es una maestra o maestro maya y se interesa en recibir una solicitud, asegúrese de enviar su información con la Encuesta sobre Educación en Línea de MAM para facilitadores mayas:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5QPZ2ZB

Estas encuestas nos ayudan a evaluar las necesidades de los solicitantes y a determinar cómo ayudar mejor a nuestros colegas mayas, y existe la opción de impartir una clase en línea en vivo y/o grabar videos educativos públicos o privados para publicar en nuestra página web.

Recientemente, recibimos una notificación de nuestro amigo José Alfredo Hau Caamal sobre el último taller que realizó con Gregorio Hau Caamal a principios de 2020 para jóvenes estudiantes del grupo Ch’okwoj Maaya’ Tz’íib en Xocén, Yucatán, justo antes de la pandemia. Fue patrocinado por Xocén Birding Trail, que ayudó a producir un video maravilloso en el que vemos a los estudiantes recibiendo instrucción sobre la escritura maya en su idioma nativo yucateco. Incluyo aquí un enlace al video, así como la información de contacto del grupo. Es un ejemplo esperanzador del tipo de contenido en línea que esperamos publicar pronto en este sitio web en el futuro próximo, particularmente en un momento en que la instrucción presencial sigue presentando un desafío.

El próximo mes, anunciaremos nuestra primera ronda de beneficiarios de nuestras últimas mini-becas, así que ¡hay que mantenerse atentos!

Yum Bo’otik.

Atentamente,

Michael Grofe, Presidente

MAM

Ch’okwoj Maaya Tz’íib: Nuestro último trabajo para 2020

Buenas Noches,

José Alfredo Hau Caamal, participante de un grupo de nombre Ch’okwoj Maaya Ts’íib, realizó su último taller del 2020 de manera presencial en el bello pueblo de Xocen, municipio de Valladolid, Yucatán, con apoyo del Xocen Birding Trail (un grupo de jóvenes que promueven el avistamiento de aves). 

¿Que tiene de relevante el taller?

Al reunirnos, decidimos que es muy importante participar en la transmisión de lo aprendido en los cuatro congresos anteriores en la cual hemos sido partícipes, por lo que Gregorio Hau y su servidor creamos un pequeño taller en lengua maya yucateca, en el que exponemos nuestra escritura maya antigua.

Con gran emoción, les compartimos este taller, publicado en la siguiente liga, con el afán de demostrarles que estamos en constante aprovechamiento de cada uno de los talleres tomados en los congresos asistidos, desde el primer congreso en Valladolid, Yucatán, México, hasta el último en Huehuetenango, Guatemala.

Este año pretendemos continuar realizando talleres en las comunidades, apenas y sea posible, puesto que esta pandemia nos ha encerrado mas no atado, por lo que estamos buscando alternativas para continuar. 

El grupo de Ch’okwoj Maaya Ts’íib les envía un abrazo y felicitaciones por su gran labor en MAM.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXxPhCbZAbU

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Thank you to all of our supporters who replied to our survey! In the past month, MAM has also received responses to the survey we sent out to our Maya colleagues regarding online education. There were fewer responses than we had anticipated, and this tells us that other priorities are still likely pressing as the pandemic continues throughout much of the world, and in all of the nations where our Maya colleagues reside. However, I would like to share some of the responses we received, and to summarize what we are learning thus far that has helped to shape our plans to inaugurate a long-awaited, online mini-grant program beginning this summer.

For those Maya colleagues who would still like to respond to our survey, we would love to hear from you! You may do so at the following link, as it helps us to assess the various needs and possibilities for online learning. Please note that this survey is intended for our Maya friends who have either facilitated workshops in the past, or those who would be interested in teaching online or producing online educational videos about the Maya script that we could post on our website:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5WM6JS6

From the responses we gathered, nearly all Maya facilitators reported that they have regular online access, but 50% replied that their students and community members do not have regular internet access. 70% have had experience teaching online through either Zoom or Google Meet. 90% of our respondents replied that they would be willing to teach MAM-sponsored workshops online, while 80% are interested in recording educational videos to post on our website.

While there is a great interest in teaching online or recording educational videos, 70% of those who replied stated that they would require training, which tells us that we need to focus some of our efforts in this regard. While there are various needs in each community, many have asked for unlimited time on Zoom, which would enable them to more easily facilitate both synchronous classes or to record asynchronous educational videos. In some cases, there are needs for computer equipment, programs, and published resources. Given the lack of reliable internet in many Maya communities, it may make more sense to begin by funding projects to record and posting online educational videos where synchronous classes may not be possible.

60% of those who responded were from various states in Mexico, 30% were from Guatemala, and 10% were from Belize. Here are some of the responses regarding the various challenges different Maya communities have been facing during the pandemic in several different countries:

“My community, like other Mayan communities, has been suffering from the total abandonment of the central government concerning the health of the communities. It is a bit difficult to focus only my community, as the problem is throughout the country of Guatemala, all of which is suffering. The problem where the pandemic has us is now complicated above all in the communities where there are still not vaccines for everyone.”

“In advance we appreciate your concern and interest, we find ourselves very well, just as our community has been isolated from the city to avoid contagions, our children receive every month of the visit of their teachers to exchange tasks.”

“Yaxunah is a community where all people are supported. It is a strong community that knows how to get ahead little by little. There were suspected cases of the Covid-19, but they ended up being a common cold. We are well in Yaxunah—nothing more than a natural disaster has hit us, but we knew we had to get ahead of it.”

“In the Mayan communities of Quintana Roo, many cultural and educational activities have been paused in person, and many of the courses, workshops or reports have been presented through different digital platforms and with the help of social networks. Thanks to platforms such as Zoom and Meet, we have been able to establish bond links with our students, where the Ts’iib’ system has also been present as a reference of the artistic and cultural legacy of our community, as well as the use of the Cholqij, calendar, It has been presented as a guide for the understanding of the cycle of the days and have been shared on timely occasions to understand the rains and the lunar phases.”

“Thank you very much for giving the survey, but I consider that there are many things to clarify that MAM should know or understand, and it is only to remind you here that many Maya communities or indigenous peoples do not even have a school. Maya children and youth have to walk many hours to get to their school, and our goal is to bring the workshops to them and to those forgotten communities.”

“In my community we have had several cases of COVID19 and a few deaths. I had my students learning prehispanic music, which had to be halted because we could not get together to practice. Therefore, I involved them in backyard gardening. With the help of the ministry of agriculture, each child had a piece of land tilled and receives seedlings of cucumber, radish, habanero peppers, sweet peppers, jalapeno peppers, tomatoes, cabbage, pumpkin and cilantro. A few weeks ago we had a thanksgiving Mayan ceremony where the children participated. They said their prayers in Maya T’aan. Now, I am thinking of involving them in arts such as embroidery and weaving.”

We send our heartfelt wishes for healing and resilience to our Maya friends, and we encourage all Maya facilitators who wish to engage in online teaching to complete our survey. We hope to be able to help in whatever way possible to keep hope alive, and to continue our work of bringing literacy in the Maya Tz’iib’ to continuing generations of Maya people as we launch our online mini-grant program in the coming month. We are strategizing about the best ways to roll out our new mini-grant program to suit the needs of each applicant.

Here is wishing all of us a summer of hope, healing, learning, and love!

Maltyox, Yum Bo’otik.

Sincerely,

Michael Grofe, President
MAM

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