"Ajpu" (My Mayan Sign)

Ajpu is the day of the sun. It is the day of Hun Wukub Ajpu and the twin magicians Hun Ajpu and Ixbalamque. It is a special day for all the craftspeople, musicians, dancers, painters, carvers, sculptors, polishers and for all the people who practice the arts. When the Light of the Sun illuminates us, its rays make us awake the mind and they lead us on a way of obedience. The feet and the hands are our tools, means to help others, the needy ones. You will serve without conditions and this way, you will triumph above all. Through serving all, you are opening a breach for your future ; for the Light to never put out on your way. This Light is your shelter. Be obedient and humble and you will be the example among all.

K'ichee' : Ajpu
Yucatan : Ajaw
Mexica : Xochitl
Direction : West
Element : Earth
Energetic places : beach, jungle and forest, sun light, dawn and sunset.
Parts of the body ruled : thorax, breast, eyes and lungs

Meaning
Sun, unity, shelter, production, spirituality, vision, Light, energy of the sun on the nature, the good and the evil. Blow pipe shooter, hunter, everlasting walker.

Colour
Red, yellow, terracota

Interpretation
It is the symbol of the punishing power of our ancestors still present in energy and watching over their property, home, and shelter. It represents the musicians, artists, observers, communicators and writers. It is the day created by the progenitors in order to serve as a balance between the good and the evil, but according to their teachings, we can affirm that always the good triumphs upon the evil. The notions of the good and the evil have been given to us in order to help us measure, evaluate and be driven in our path of life on the blessed face of the Earth ; they have been given to us to help us measure and evaluate our behaviours and our attitudes and as well to help us be certain that always, we are asked to defeat the evil thanks to our goodness. It is the triumph upon the negative energies, the spiritual warrior. The twins Jun Ajpu and Ixbalamke defeat all the challenges and obstacles in Xibalba, the underworld ; they die and resurrect ; allegory of the spiritual awakening.
This sign bears material and spiritual certainty ; it is the transformation and mutation ; the one who carries out miracles. It is the Sun ; the solar representation ; the day of Greatness and Strength of Life. It is the intervention of the ancestors responding to the requests asked for during a ceremony. It is the physical strength ; the strength to go on living after death.

Characteristics
The person born on a day Ajpu was conceived on a day EE and his/her destiny will be ruled by the day Q'anil. They have the mission of orientating, guiding humanity, of giving the real spiritual Light, and not their idea of the Truth. The ego is their major obstacle on their spiritual path.
Their health is complete ; of a great physical strength and for that reason they don't tend to easily get ill.

Positive Characteristics
They are judicious, courageous, good, friendly and pleasant, victorious, perseverant on their path, wise, farmers ; smart, observers and fighters.

Negative Characteristics
They are easily angry, take revenge and are aggressive : they avoid responsibilities and don't accept corrections

Application
It is the day to ask for wisdom to the Creator and Builder in order to understand the knowledge of the older, more experienced and wiser people than us. It is the day to receive divine and natural messages, to ask for the maternal milk, to ask for the healing of illnesses ; to ask for helping children improve their oral communication ability and as well to ask for strength for the weak ones.
The ceremonies carried out on a day Ajpu have to be as strong as the Sun in order for the evil, the illnesses, the calumnies to be pushed away the more harmonious way possible. It is the day which gives strength, courage and energy to overcome the obstacles.

	The sign Ee, in the conception, will generate lots of travelling in their life and per period, they will live abroad. This energy encourages the love stories with foreign people.
	The energy of the I'x, on the right side, gives them the power of being good intermediaries ; it is the energy which gives them artistic talents. To men, the knowledge of women is given. In the woman, the man will put femininity, sensuality and smartness.
	The Kame, on the left side, protects the life of the one born on a day Ajpu. It gives them a great curiosity, courage and adventurous spirit.
	The energy of destiny, Q'anil, makes them sowers ; their mission being showing the way and sowing the seed, without necessarily seeing the fruits of their actions.

The person born on a day Ajpu is conceived on a day EE and his/her destiny is ruled by Q'anil. This person will be protected by a higher force, but if he/she does not become aware of this force, he/she will probably be a prejudicial element for the society : someone who divides and misleads ideas.
He/she has a deep, profound vision which goes beyond the shallow and superficial.

Guatemalan Civil War

General Jorge Ubico ruled Guatemala for 13 years (1931-1944) as brutal dictator that favored the military, death squads and spies. After directing a massacre of students, workers, and prominent citizens in 1934, he told “Time” that “I am like Hitler, I execute first and give trial afterward.” He developed strong ties with the US and powerful triumvirate of the United Fruit Company, International Railways of Central America, and the United Fruit Steamship Company. By 1930’s the 3 companies controlled 40 percent of the Guatemalan economy. Conditions deteriorated rapidly under Ubico and eventually in 1944 a people’s movement arose that led to his resignation. The first decades following WWII are unique in Guatemala’s history because it was the first and only period of significant socioeconomic reform and a true participatory democracy. Two democratically elected presidents, Juan José Arévalo Bermejo and Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán, introduced agrarian reform, improved education and health care, and abolished forced unpaid labor.

Inequitable land distribution was a major barrier to economic growth and justice. A 1949 Library of Congress study revealed that “raising the standard of living through diversification and mechanization is greatly dependent on changes in the distribution of the profits and the land. The large land owners were losing their source of cheap labor via land reforms like Decree 900. Land that was not used for 3 years would be expropriated by the government at the owner’s declarations of tax value and distributed to peasant farmers. The United Fruit Company lost 381,000 acres of land at $3 an acre. The US responded to land reform by Árbenz; in cooperation with the “Liberation Army.” The army was headed by Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas and aided by the CIA, they overthrew Árbenz.

The “ten years of spring” threaten powerful interest; the Catholic Church, military, and the oligarchy. Árbenz and Arévalo created an environment where unions, cooperatives, student associations and church groups could flourish. They would create a real participatory democracy, much different from that practiced in the United States. Some call the 1954 coup the most blatant North American intervention in the history of Latin America. The coup, called “Operation Success,” was approved by President Eisenhower, was implemented by the CIA in cooperation with the United Fruit Company and a few dissidents from Guatemala. Two of the most powerful men in America at that time were John Foster Dulles, Secretary of State, and Allen Dulles, director of the CIA, both had ties with the United Fruit Company. Following the coup, the United States placed Colonel Armas to be president.

The years during the war were characterized by corrupt military rule, fraudulent elections, coups and assassinations. Known as the birthplace of “the disappeared” and no official political prisoners, enemies of the government were either buried in secret cemeteries or left on the side of the road as a reminder to the general public. Despite escalating violence and active repression, a popular movement erupted throughout the country in the 1970s. Cooperatives among farmers, artisans, and unions aided by Catholic Action groups; human rights groups formed to investigate and protest human rights violations. The progress made during the “10 years of spring” dissipated. Four years after the coup, less than .5% of the people who had received land under Decree 900 still held it, 533 labor union registrations were canceled and labor legislation erased. In an attempt to keep Guatemala free of communism, the United States provided military training and supplies.

Under the leadership of Julio César Méndez Montenegro, Guatemala gradually was given over to the top military leaders who crushed the small guerrilla movement, killing thousands of civilians in the campaign. After eliminated the guerrillas, the army targeted the popular movement: church groups, unions, cooperatives, and professional associations.

In 1970 Colonel Arana head of the army used death squads who rained terror on the countryside in the name of anticommunism, counterinsurgency, and national security. Prepared by “Ojo por Ojo”, death lists of reformist politicians and union leaders appeared regularly. From November to March of 700 political killings occurred; Arana promised to eliminate all guerrillas “even if it is necessary to turn Guatemala into a cemetery.”

General Romeo Lucas García won presidency in 1978 through an election called “a fraud so transparent that nobody could expect to get away with it.” During this time, Guatemalans experienced massive, selective repression. In 1980, 1000 union members were assassinated and universities experienced daily deaths and disappearances. The Guatemalan Vise-President admitted “death or exile is the fate of those who fight for justice in Guatemala.” Using tactics of the US in Vietnam, Lucas García implemented a scorched-earth policy of burning entire villages and fields. The guerrilla movement received unprecedented growth for individual and community defense against the killings and acts of terror, as opposed to a real understanding and commitment to the cause.

José Efraín Ríos Montt overthrew Lucas García in 1982 and promised reforms: elections, a safer Guatemala, democracy and less corruption in the government and military. He initiated a counterinsurgency program of “frijoles y fusiles” (beans and bullets) and a social program of food distribution. However, the army continued the scorched-earth policy, burning crops and forests, bombing and destroying villages, and killing over 4,000 people during the first 63 days of the regime. A leader of the evangelical fundamentalist church “El Verbo”, he received political and financial support from the religious right in the US to fund a war against communism and a religious war. Anyone opposing the government program was accused of opposing the will of God. During the 18 months of his administration, over 30,000 died, 20,000 refugees fled to the border of Mexico and 1 million internally displaced individuals. Those responsible have not been called to account yet and Ríos Montt had immunity as president of the Congress until 2003.

Óscar Humberto Mejía Victores, was known as the most violent senior officer of the military ousted Ríos Montt in 1983. He represented interests of the rural elite and continued to operate death squads openly even though massacres occurred less frequently. Assassinations escalated in urban areas as union leaders, students, teachers, church and human rights workers were targeted.

Between 1985-1996, three civil presidents were elected. At least since 1954, Guatemala had a military that governed largely through fear and intimidation. If only on paper, the 1985 elections restored a civilian government, the rule of law, and limited political pluralism. Vinicio Cerezo was the first civilian elected president in 15 years but his administration was a disappointment for those interested in human rights and less militarism. It was less dangerous for dissenters but abductions, killings and torture still occurred. On January 6, 1991, Jorge Serrano Elías became president and the first Protestant elected president in Latin America. He was a right wing businessman who campaigned on a law and order platform and served as Council of State for Ríos. During the 1990 campaign, more than twelve leading politicians were murdered. Despite penalties for nonvoters, only 30% cast their ballot. Like Cerezo, Serrano talked a lot about peace and human rights but violence increased. Human rights activists and other members of the popular sector remain targets for threat, intimidation, and torture at the hands of government security forces. Both the President and Vice-President comment that the military is the dominate institution and the government does not have the ability to provide for the people. In May of 1993, President Serrano suspended the Constitution, dissolved the Congress, Supreme Court, and the Constitutional Court, and announced a coup. The coup was carried out in full knowledge and support of the military hierarchy; it was a military coup behind a civilian facade.

On June 1 the military ousted Serrano and 6 days later the Guatemalan Congress elected Ramiro de León Carpio. As Human Rights Procurator, he spoke out against the Serrano government and the military. He attempted to build support for peace talks and fired the Defense Minister; however, de León affirmed the important role of the Army and civil patrols. In 1996, Álvaro Arzú Irigoyen of the National Advancement Party (PAN) was elected. He represented the alliance of conservative business interests and held modernization of the state as his priority. His first action was to restructure the Army and remove 118 National Police officers. He removed 1/3 of the Army’s 23 generals and promoted officers in favor of a negotiated settlement with the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG). Common crime and kidnappings grew exponentially and the Human Rights Procurator’s Office received more than 7,000 reports of human rights violations in the first five months. Alvaro Arzú’s biggest achievement was the successful conclusion of the peace negotiations, which lasted nearly 10 years and the signing of the final peace contract on 29 December 1996 that put an end to the 36 years of civil war.

criticism

The Guatemalan army was found guilty of committing 93% of the total war crimes, and the U.R.N.G. forces were charged with 3% of the violations. The army carried out over 600 massacres and its counterinsurgency campaign had legally constituted genocide against the Mayan people. A key finding of the report was the conclusion that the United States government had directly contributed to this thirty year genocidal campaign. This included not only the 1954 CIA coup against President Árbenz, but also included the training of known human rights violators at the School of the Americas and other military centers, the continued financing of such human rights violators, and the close collaboration with military intelligence units which carried out death squad activities. Despite the extreme and obvious repression, the U.S. continued to send massive military aid throughout most of the war. Even when such aid was temporarily suspended, arms and equipment supplies continued. The School of the Americas continued to train and graduate Guatemalan officers who became notorious for their human rights violations. Training manuals used clearly indicate practices which would violate human rights. Meanwhile, CIA officials worked closely with Guatemalan intelligence officers linked to death squad activities. Many such officers were on CIA payroll as "assets" or paid informants, despite their well known record for serious human right violations. The CIA, moreover, knowingly paid "assets" for information obtained through the use of kidnapping, torture and extrajudicial execution.

More steps are required before Guatemala becomes a democracy. There are still to many abuses of human rights and too little freedom to label Guatemala a democracy; criteria for a democracy require “legal freedom to formulate and advocate political alternatives with the concomitant rights to free association, free speech, and other basic freedoms of person; free and nonviolent competition among leaders with periodic validation of their claim to rule and provision for the participation of all members of the political community, whatever their political preferences”.

AMA Women's Circles Discription

Women’s Circles are an activity Asociación de Mujers del Altiplano (AMA) create and has promoted for X years. The circles work to empower women so they can realize their value in the circle, their village, their country and the world. They also provide a way for women to grow closer to each other and to share ideas and practices. As many of these women have been treated as second-class citizens for much of their lives, the circle's provide a way for them to see themselves as valued beings. There are 10 Women’s Circles with about 90 women total.

The Women’s Circles focuses on 5 areas: self esteem, education, health, small business development and microcredit, and civic participation. Each weekly meeting contains a welcome presentation, time to share thoughts and feelings, prayer, an icebreaker, training covering a daily theme and a snack lunch. The meeting begins by an introduction by each woman of herself and her family. The icebreaker is a team building exercise helps the women to become acquainted with one another, gain trust in each other and to encourage them to work together to solve the puzzle (i.e. human knot game).

Each village is different and the meetings are created around the needs of the women; for example, a meeting could be conducted in K’iche or Spanish, depending on what language is most widely used. The women share what projects they are working on, recipes, and collaborate on how to sell their products. They also share business ideas with each other. The idea of the women's circles is not to be competitive but to be a resource for brainstorming and support. Many of the women learn to weave as children, so creating ways of selling their products aids economically as well serves as an encouragement to continue the ancient weaving practices passed down through many generations.

Women's Rights

The years of violence and repression have resulted in increased poverty among women. Economic and social indicators are much worse for women than men in Guatemala. Although much improvement has been made, women in Guatemala still struggle to find equal footing in society. Women continue to have limited options for their roles, but it is widening everyday.

Women’s groups estimate that over half the labor force is female, yet most women are employed in the informal sector as domestic help, artisans, farm workers, and factory workers. Females represent only 19 percent of the formal labor force. Because of the war waged throughout Guatemala in the 1970s and 1980s, 38 percent of urban women are widows and 56 percent of rural women are widows. These women and other women whose husbands have been “disappeared” become wage earners. Some women work in the informal sector in their village; others move to Guatemala City or other urban areas to find employment. An estimated one-half of the heads of household in El Mesquito slum in Guatemala City are women. The health and education indicators also reveal the difficulty of life for Guatemalan women. Among all Guatemalan women the illiteracy rate is 55 percent; among rural women it increases to 85 percent. The maternal morbidity rate is the highest in Latin American as is the life expectancy for women.

Latin American political culture reinforces the traditional roles of wife and mother for women. In Guatemala, as in other countries in Latin America, machismo results in special privileges for males in society. Women are responsible for socialization of children; they are the guardian of moral values within the context of the home. Internalizing their prescribed social role, they are often passive and subservient, not because the are less capable or intelligent but because they lack experience outside the home. A majority of women in Guatemala have little or no formal education. Many indigenous women do not speak Spanish, only their indigenous language.

Women are not exempted from violence. Latin American human rights activist Dr. Orlando Garcia writes “Latin American men have traditionally been the victims of war; now it is women who, because of their political activism or because of their sexual vulnerability, are increasingly the targets of sadistic military and police officials. These are not crimes of passion, but the crimes of politics gone mad. And women are the easiest targets-our mothers, our wives, our sisters.” Women who are jailed often suffer gender-related violence which may take the form of rape, strip searches, verbal harassment, or other types of physical violence. In spite of rape, torture and threats, women have continued to be an active force for human rights.

Gender-related violence happens in the home and in work situations. Women endure abysmal working conditions in factories. Not only are many jobs not open to females and salaries less than their male co-workers are offered if they do find employment, but often women are subjected to sexual advances from supervisors. In the home as well, women are victims of domestic violence. Out of every ten women murdered in Guatemala, four are killed by their husbands.

In 2001, Amnesty International began collecting data on the number of female killings annually. In 2001, 222 women were murdered and in 2004, that number doubled. Increasing evidence concerns some that large numbers of women are tortured, raped, dismembered or brutalized before or after being killed. In femicide, the systematic killing of women, the use of extreme violence is as an expression of misogyny. In Guatemala, a male-dominated society that was heavily militarized during 36 years of civil war, thousands of men carry weapons and are no strangers to extreme violence. More Guatemalan women have been able to go out to work, stay longer in education, and express themselves more freely than ever before. Although prostitutes and female gang members are most at risk, all women live with perpetual fear of a violent, sudden death. The violence continues because there is no respect for the body of a woman. People feel they can treat women however they want. Also a lack of impunity; out of more than 500 cases in 2004, just one ended in conviction. The Guatemalan government has failed to adopt the most basic steps to help solve these murders and ultimately prevent future killings; a lack of interest by state authorities, failure to collect evidence and endemic corruption all feed the problem of impunity.

History of Guatemala

Guatemala first sees proof of human settlers as far back as 10,000 BC, with possible human activity as far back as 18,000 BC. During the Mayan cultural golden age (300-900 AD) they developed a very precise script of words and pictures as well as mathematical and astronomical knowledge. They developed a calendar based on exact astronomic observations and is more precise than that used by NASA today. The Mayan included the concept of zero and created trade routes and the most complex writing system of all American cultures up to their time. Major cities were commercial and spiritual centers. Each city was ruled by a k'ul ajaw, a king of god status, who ruled a united secular and religious realm. Their cities flourished across Central America, complete with remarkable pyramids, temples, observatories and libraries. All of the ruins which can be seen today survived under the thick cover of the rainforest for centuries before being uncovered.

During the Pre-Classic Era, the first nation states and cities were being formed. It is also a period that sees the first examples of the large scale architecture that characterizes the ceremonial ancient Maya. El Mirador, an important Mayan city at this time, was not only the most populated city in the Americas, but also the region’s first politically organized state. The ancient Mayan civilizations begin their mysterious fall and as the Aztecs began their domination of Mesoamerica. People immigrated into the highlands of Guatemala and continued city states among what are now the various indigenous groups of Guatemala. At the time of the Spanish invasion, the Mayan descendants lived in very simple circumstances, pursued agriculture and were in close contact to nature.

The Conquest period from 1500 A.D. to 1600 A.D. began with expeditions to Guatemala in 1518. Having conquered Mexico, Hernán Cortés would authorize Pedro de Alvarado to conquer Guatemala. Pedro de Alvarado was an especially ruthless soldier who used warring Maya factions to his advantage. Alvarado mercilessly murdered entire villages; millions of men, women and children were burned alive, dismembered, raped, fed to wild dogs or enslaved. Within a few years, they had become slaves in their own homeland, deprived of their lands, their rights, and any political or social representation of any kind. Their libraries and cities were burned and sacked, and their religion and culture were banned.

In 1490 Latin America contained 20% of the world’s population. Less than a century later, the region represented 3% of the world. Combined with the European diseases, brutality of the conquest, and enslavement, the population of the highlands diminished by 70-90% in the first century. Near the end of the 18th century, the Spanish would lose interest in Guatemala, finding little silver or gold. They would relinquish their hold over the area, causing great civil unrest in the 1800’s. Among the most important dates in Guatemala history is September 15, 1821, when the country declared its independence from Spain. Unfortunately the independence from Spain did little to improve living conditions for the majority of Guatemalans.

The 1800’s depicted struggles between Conservatives and Liberals in which there was almost permanent civil war between. Conservatives were estate owners and merchants who favored close ties with Spain, the Catholic Church and benefited from the government monopolies. Liberals favored free trade, integration to the world economy and a less control by the church in the society. Politically the country was unstable and subject to dictatorial regimes.

From 1944-1954, Guatemalan society enjoyed what is now referred to as the "Ten Years of Spring" with two popularly elected and reformist presidents. In 1944 Juan José Arévalo Bermejo becomes president following the overthrow of Jorge Ubico (1933-1944). Ubico was a dictator responsible for deprivation of all rights, tortures and shootings. He was removed following a public uprising. Arévalo initiated voting rights, the right for political parties and unions to organize, the freedom of speech, literacy programs, introduced social-democratic reforms, including setting up a social security system and redistributed land to landless peasants.

Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán was elected president in 1950, upheld most of Arévalo’s programs and instituted vast land reform. By 1954, 1000 haciendas, including 400,000 acres owned by the United Fruit Company had been expropriated and distributed to over 100,000 families. In 1954 the CIA sponsors a coup to overthrow Árbenz. Many reforms were reversed and many union and progressive activists were arrested and killed.

The war took the lives of thousands of Guatemalans, and not officially concluding until the signing of Peace Accords between the government and guerilla forces in 1996. The country has a long way to go to achieve the goals laid out in this important document. The United Nations sponsored Truth Commission, or Commission for Historical Clarification, presented its findings in March 1999. The Commission found that the Guatemalan army had committed some 93% of the total war crimes, and had carried out over 600 massacres. Moreover, the army's counterinsurgency campaign had legally constituted genocide against the Mayan people. The U.R.N.G. forces were charged with 3% of the violations.

Guatemala has a population of 14 million, 75 % live below the poverty line and the percentage is greater in the Highlands. The Mayan population composes around 60% of the indigenous population and are settled mainly in the Western Highlands and central Guatemala. Rural areas are a distinctive contrast to the urban centers. Most rural villages have no easily accessible education, electricity, paved roads or running water.

The Mayans have not accepted their fate lightly. History shows that every generation since the Spanish conquest they have rebelled even though they were quickly silenced by the oligarchy. Nevertheless, the Mayans have preserved their culture through wearing hand woven cloth, celebrating religious and cultural ceremonies, and speaking their language. Today the socio-economic structure is suggestive to the old South Africa. Being oppressed by severe racial discrimination despite the Mayans constituting the majority of the population. Even though Guatemala is the wealthiest Central American country, the rural villagers suffer an 80% malnutrition level, 80% functional illiteracy level, and the highest infant mortality rate in the hemisphere, second only to Haiti. But the elite (usually lighter skinned descendants of colonists) enjoy great wealth and social privilege. Regardless of the odds and sometimes in secret, the Mayans of Guatemala survived and maintained their heritage, religion and languages intact. There are 23 Mayan languages spoken in Guatemala today, and the people have developed a pluralism of Christianity and traditional beliefs.