Sponsored by Kenosis Spirit Keepers and A Healing Arts Collective.
February 2022 events in Louisiana cancelled.
Apab’yan Tew is an Ajq’ij, a Day Keeper, spiritual guide, male midwife, traditional dancer and ritual musician of the sacred K’iche’ Maya tradition from the village of Nawalja’ in Sololá of the Guatemalan highlands. His ceremonial work most often takes place in caves, engaging the resident energies of the natural site and timing of the Cholq’ij calendar in conjunction with needs of communities or individuals. During these times he becomes a living mirror and spiritual conduit. He also holds an associate professorship at Universidad Maya Kaqchikel teaching Maya textile art and philosophy. He is the author of The Birth of a Universe, translated from Maya and Spanish. Sought after as a speaker and consultant, we are fortunate to have Tat Apab’yan as translator of Maya traditions in a way we may experience them deeply.
* Tat is an honorific title meaning Father used in the K’iche’ language for a Maya spiritual teacher.
Introduction to Maya Science: The Birth of a Universe
Wednesday, February 23, 6:30-8 PM. Held at Warehouse 535, Lafayette. Walk-ins welcome (this event only) or advance registration below.
The gestation of a Universe, the Maya science of pregnancy, is a work that starts with the explanation of perception. The ancestral Maya philosophy takes us into the world of pregnancy where the baby is conscious and receptive. In this talk, Tat Apab’yan Tew leads us into the sacred Feminine and construction of being. We receive an introduction to millennial knowledge, zealously preserved, that reveals the approach of Maya medicine— and predicts individual human character from the womb. Consulting the Maya calendar offers a frame of understanding, diagnosis and therapy within health sciences and spirituality. The Feminine is revealed in its true magnitude.We are an expression of the Universe and our mother shapes the content.
Copies of The Birth of a Universe will be available for sale.
Teachings and Ceremony:
The Fire Ceremony — Calling on the Ancestors
Saturday, February 26, 10:30 AM-3:30 PM, on private land in Arnaudville. Directions after advance registration.
The K’iche’ Maya Fire Ceremony is called a gift but also a payment in the sense of reciprocity. The ceremonial pyre is not a bonfire; it does not burn a long time. It does not need to last. The importance has to do with what happens while the fire is active: There must be a dialogue.
When the fire starts to burn, the sky and the earth begin to speak. The clouds are speaking. The wind speaks. The birds talk and sing. Everyone…everything… participates in that moment.
It’s only the human being — especially the adult—that needs to be pushed to believe this is possible. The fire is alive, speaks and does so with discernment. That is, it allows negotiation because it is listening, too. The sacred fire opens up possibilities. One can review decisions, consult your own heart, enter into an affinity with nature, interact with the ancestors, experience communion with the universe.
Note: Participants may bring items to include on an altar for blessing. As examples: These may be photos of loved ones, medicine bundles, power objects or other sacred items. The program will be outdoors. Please provide your own chair and/or ground covering/cushion. Bring your own snacks or bag lunch.
Teachings and Ceremony: The Water Ceremony—Engaging the Sacred Mirror
Sunday, February 27, 10:30 AM-3:30 PM, at Lake Martin, Breaux Bridge. Directions after advance registration.
K’iche’ Maya Grandmothers and Grandfathers from the highlands of Guatemala say, “Everything has a purpose. Everything is sacred.”
The Water Ceremony consists of an inner search, led by the voice of the spiritual guide, through the observation of water. “Enchanted or magic water” is to serve as a conduit and and mirror to oneself, and to the Sky, the Earth, the Universe. Nearly extinct, the ceremony is presented to anyone interested in self-knowledge and a spiritual quest.
Note: Participants may bring items to include on an altar for blessing. As examples: These may be photos of loved ones, medicine bundles, power objects or other sacred items. The program will be outdoors. Please provide your own chair and/or ground covering/cushion. Bring your own snacks or bag lunch.
Registration
Advance registration must be received no later than February 13 for February 26 and 27 is required due to space limitations. Advance registration for February 23 is voluntary. To donate online and reserve your space, please go to the donations page. When registering, indicate which days.
Our Spirit Keepers Series is offered on a donation basis in order to honor Tat Apab’yan’s work and cover expenses. The suggested donation for the Wednesday night talk is $10 with $50 for each day of Saturday and Sunday ceremonies and teaching circles.
Note: The programs on February 26 and 27 will be outdoors. Please provide your own chair and/or ground covering/cushion. Bring your own snacks or bag lunch.
Questions welcome. Please email info@kenosisspiritkeepers.org or call 928-778-1058.
Maya Calendar Readings
Maya Calendar readings are available on a limited basis, typically lasting 2-2.5 hours. Reciprocity of $100 to be given directly to Tat Apab’yan. Email info@kenosisspiritkeepers.org to book your appointment. Appointments take place in person in Scott, LA on February 24, 25, 28 and March 1.
Note: You are encouraged to bring an audio recorder and/or take notes. The readings are detailed.
What is the authentic Mayan Cosmogony?
We have been told by the ancestors, the Grandmothers and Grandfathers, that we were born who we were meant to be.
When we are born we already have a Nawal. The Nawal does not need any further apprenticeship. She/he (it) is already what she/he/it is. This is different from what the mind does. The mind has a memory, a quality of learning, a quality of taking information and of adaptation. Already knowing, the mind forgets. It needs new tools to survive. The Nawal does not. The Nawal belongs to the depths of the universe and just acts as what she/he/it must be. Our mind and character, our impulses and bias, are just attempts to try to understand what is beneath the surrounding reality of the biological senses. We were born already knowing who we were meant to be.
Nawals are both days of the Mayan calendar and spiritual forces in the universe. They are non-organic entities that make use of life, the life of biological systems and the dynamic physical world, as a conduit to collect strength and force and to manifest. They are impersonal entities and do not require learning as humans do. They possess a form of memory, dialogue and cognition, but do not need, as we humans do, repetition in order to understand and gain experience. They are already all that they are.
The Nawals are divided into the masculine and the feminine, not according to attributes of biological reproduction, but to their substance. These ‘substances’, or Uk’ux, the ‘heart’ of the Nawals, are basically divided into two major categories: the flexible and receptive, and the firm (inflexible) and disbursing/depositing. From there, a long series of combined and complementary forms result in the vast dynamics of the universe.
The Mayan calendar exposes us to what is our essence individually and collectively. The Mayan calendar exposes us to our underlying structure, and leads us along the path of clarity where the mirror in which we view the reflection of the world is not tarnished.
— Apab’yan Tew
Kenosis Spirit Keepers is the volunteer-run nonprofit extension of Kenosis founded by Carla Woody. Based in Prescott, Arizona, its mission is to help preserve Indigenous traditions threatened with decimation.
A Healing Arts Collective provides opportunities for healing arts practitioners and those interested in the healing arts to gather, support, exchange and inspire one another. Founded by Becca Begnaud, the Collective is based in Scott, Louisiana.