That Mayan Doomsday prediction: no Mayan ever made it:December 21, 2012 is indeed a significant date in the Maya ... http://bit.ly/Y4FuNB
4:11 AM - 1 Nov 12 · Details
That Mayan Doomsday prediction: no Mayan ever made it
December 21 2012 is indeed a significant date in the Mayan calendar, but Mayans insist it isn't the last one.
Jaweed Kaleem
Guatemala
November 1, 2012
Guatemala
November 1, 2012
As the so-called “Mayan doomsday” approaches, the Mayans of Guatemala are speaking out against what some are calling a government- and tour business-led effort to profit off misinterpretations of their traditions.
“We are speaking out against deceit, lies and twisting of the truth, and turning us into folklore-for-profit. They are not telling the truth about time cycles,” said Felipe Gomez, who leads a Maya alliance called Oxlaljuj Ajpop, in an interview this week with Agence France-Presse.
Gomez was referencing the growth in businesses offering Central American “doomsday tour” packages, as well as events such as doomsday-related one being planned by the Guatemalan Culture Ministry that will attract an estimated 90,000 people to Guatemala City in December.
Doomsday and catastrophic predictions related to the Mayan calendar, which hits a symbolic turning point on Dec. 21, 2012, aren’t new. They already permeate pop culture through films, songs and hundreds of books. But as the new year approaches, interest has spiked.
A Reuters survey in May found that one in 10 people believe that the Mayan calendar could signify the end of the world in 2012, and 15 percent of people believe the world will end in their lifetime. Web sites and message boards promoting the “Mayan doomsday” date have proliferated, and at least one company is selling $5,300 tickets for a 28-day “La Ruta Maya” bike tour that will begin in Costa Rica and end on Dec. 21 in Belize.
Gomez said the Dec. 21 “doomsday” is actually the beginning of a new time cycle on the Mayan calendar and “means there will be big changes on the personal, family and community level, so that there is harmony and balance between mankind and nature,” according to the AFP.
Gomez’s told the AFP that his group is organizing what it sees as more respectful and sacred events to mark the turn of the new Mayan calendar in five cities. He suggested that the government instead support these gatherings, the AFP reported.
“We are speaking out against deceit, lies and twisting of the truth, and turning us into folklore-for-profit. They are not telling the truth about time cycles,” said Felipe Gomez, who leads a Maya alliance called Oxlaljuj Ajpop, in an interview this week with Agence France-Presse.
Gomez was referencing the growth in businesses offering Central American “doomsday tour” packages, as well as events such as doomsday-related one being planned by the Guatemalan Culture Ministry that will attract an estimated 90,000 people to Guatemala City in December.
Doomsday and catastrophic predictions related to the Mayan calendar, which hits a symbolic turning point on Dec. 21, 2012, aren’t new. They already permeate pop culture through films, songs and hundreds of books. But as the new year approaches, interest has spiked.
A Reuters survey in May found that one in 10 people believe that the Mayan calendar could signify the end of the world in 2012, and 15 percent of people believe the world will end in their lifetime. Web sites and message boards promoting the “Mayan doomsday” date have proliferated, and at least one company is selling $5,300 tickets for a 28-day “La Ruta Maya” bike tour that will begin in Costa Rica and end on Dec. 21 in Belize.
Gomez said the Dec. 21 “doomsday” is actually the beginning of a new time cycle on the Mayan calendar and “means there will be big changes on the personal, family and community level, so that there is harmony and balance between mankind and nature,” according to the AFP.
Gomez’s told the AFP that his group is organizing what it sees as more respectful and sacred events to mark the turn of the new Mayan calendar in five cities. He suggested that the government instead support these gatherings, the AFP reported.
