Audelino Sac Coyoy, Cover Page of Katit-Kamam Mayan Time in Xelajuj No’j, 2021
Written by: Madelene Rodriguez Torres
Professor Audelino Sac Coyoy is a Maya-K’iche Professor, Mayan Day counter, and political scientist from Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. He focuses on the Mayan time, worldview, culture, and identity. His role in K’iche culture is similar to a counselor and farmer almanac. He has given several lectures at different universities, including a 2018 lecture at Virginia Commonwealth University about the causes of Mayans immigration to the United States, and removing the stereotypes of the migrant caravans. In his work about Mayans, he advocates for their rights, to learn about the culture they preserve, but also mentions the difficulties of doing so in Guatemala where indigenous culture isn’t widely appreciated. He educates Western audiences on this culture and how different epistemological approaches are applied to his work and culture.
In 2021, Professor Audelino Sac Coyoy released a textbook, Katit-Kamam Mayan Time in Xelajuj No’j, which is precisely about the Mayan Cosmovision, identity, and culture. He stated that it would serve to “decolonize our thoughts, way of being, feeling, talk, smell and taste.” Throughout his textbook, he talks about the ideas of the Mayans of the Past and how these thoughts still continue in present-day Mayans. In this textbook, he also goes into extensive detail about Mayan philosophy, astronomy, calendar, agriculture, health system, education, etc. Lots of the information gathered for this textbook consisted of oral stories told by the Mayans themselves. Through this oral information, audiences will receive first-hand information from the Mayans themselves about their cultural thoughts and beliefs. The book is not solely based on traditional oral storytelling but also on many scholarly publications from others and his own research that he has done on the Mayans as well.
Throughout his textbook, there are several images and graphs that visually help the reader understand the Mayan cosmovision. In the prologue of the book professor Audelino Sac Coyoy explains how since the time of Spanish colonizers, they have tried to erase the Mayan culture, and very few of the people who invaded their land tried to learn about the Mayans and their language. In the present day, Mayans still continue to battle for their rights in Guatemala. Many of them live in poverty, with a lack of food, many receive no education, etc. With this book and his years of extensive work, professor Audelino Soc Coyoy continues to advocate for the rights of his people. In educating the future generation of people in the Western Culture about the Mayan culture the hope and battle continues to obtain equal rights for the indigenous peoples of Guatemala.
References:
https://global.vcu.edu/newsroom/2018/prof-sac.html
https://highlandsupportproject.org/upcoming-events/maya-culture-and-the-counting-of-time-lecture
https://youtu.be/Jqmd8kHtuf4?si=uxF84GcuQ42euWne