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I came across a youtube video I would like to share with you. It shows a contrast between Mexico today and the our indigenous cultures. It describes the current corruption in Mexico and it encourages us to return back to our indigenous roots when we were wise, artists, humble. It is very interesting perspective. Please share your thoughts.
I think they should. Which means religion as well. And encouraging revival of the old language and calendar. Latin America was raped and could loose their ancient heritage but I think Mexico has a chance.
When I lived in Cozumel, I met many people of Mayan heritage and who spoke Mayan in the home with their parents. For many working in tourism in that region (Yucatan & Quintana Roo), Spanish is their 2nd language, and English is their 3rd. The culture is alive and influential in the pueblos (food, music, festivals, etc). When I moved out West (to Baja Sur), we didn't see the same indigineous population. For the most part, they were the domestic labor and construction workers. And of course in DF (where my husband's from), the indigenous are lost in the shuffle.
To the OP: I think the question is, CAN you go back? It depends on your heritage and whether or not it's still alive today.
Indigenous peoples in Mexico - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Demographics
The CDI identifies 62 indigenous groups in Mexico, each with a unique language, although certain languages have multiple dialects which may be mutually unintelligible. In 2005, the indigenous population was estimated at 12 million, some 11% or 12% of the national population. The majority of the indigenous population is concentrated in the central and south-eastern states. According to the CDI, the states with the greatest percentage of indigenous population are:[19][20]
This is VERY interesting reading..thank you, everyone.
Forgive me, for though I like to write, I am probably among the most cynical people you'll see on these forums. And in THIS case, about "Mexicans returning to.." etc etc etc., my answer to Mexicans is pretty much what I'd say to ANYbody....
You no longer live in your "indigenous culture", (nor does most of the world's population) because it wasn't a very 'nice' place to live in the first place...not for MOST people, and not for very long, and not unless everything was 'going fine'.
MOST indigenous cultures, around the world, had a FEW things 'going for them'....and they were colorful, they were interesting....and since they're mostly GONE now, they've also been VERY highly 'romanticized'...many of us like to picture a "golden age", back when people lived "close to the earth" and in "harmony with nature"..etc etc.
That was FINE...right up until you got an attack of appendicitis....or the 'emperor' decided he didn't 'like' you (or wanted your 13-year old daughter)....or until your wife died in childbirth, or your husband was killed in a dispute.....or until you began to slow down and get "old", at about age 40. Then, when these things happened, life 'back then' was no longer colorful..it was short, rough, harsh, and brutal.
My advice to Mexicans is the same as it is to EVERYONE...be VERY careful what you wish for. There's a good chance, if the day ever comes that you REALLY COULD go back and live like your ancestors did, you might find that it wasn't so nice, after all....and you may be VERY disappointed...(and if you're over age 40 or so, you MIGHT be 'dead of old age').
I don't believe ANYONE can make a population "lose its culture"...I think cultures are 'lost', because people simply move on to something better..or at least newer. Even if they're 'forced' to change, people really can't be 'made' to permanently change, unless they want to...and if they "want to", it's probably because they don't REALLY want to go 'back'.....that's just wishful thinking.
LOL, and you know? I'm of the belief that those cultures were more advanced than us, how come that without supercomptuers the Mayans had such advanced math, that were able to built a city that is perfectly aligned with our solar system, during the solstices and equinoxes the sun creates a serpent.
Ancient stone masons built and aligned this stone pyramid centuries ago to project the sun's rays into a diamond-back rattlesnake of light and shadow.
On the morning and evenings of Equinox March 20, 21 and September 21, 22 thousands flock to Chichen Itza to view the same dramatic display.
In the spring, the sight is clearly visible in the early evening from mid to late February, and through mid-April. In the fall the appearence is visible from mid August through mid October.
For optimum viewing of the serpent of light, be near the great courtyard which faces the western facet of the Kukulkan Pyramid beginning at about four in the afternoon. The best viewing of the sight is from five days before until five days after Equinox. Needless to say, accomodations fill up fast!
On the actual day of Equinox, people stake out their vantage point early in the day, as a great sea of humanity begins to deluge one of the great wonders of the world!
Exactly, our ancient cultures possessed a wealth of knowledge that was destroyed or hidden and banned by ignorant conquerors who didn't understand it, now for people who believe that the Mayas were superstitious it is because they don't understand them, they designed the most advanced calendar system in the world, much better than the one we use today Maya calendar and they believed that every day had an special purpose, there were days of work, others to reflect, others to have religious ceremonies, etc, for them this was a deep and developed science not superstition.
And you can't possibly compare the african tribes with the great civilizations of Mexico, that developed a language, an alphabet, built cities, had an organized society, and made great breakthroughs in economics, science, spirituality, unfortunately like you said, the malinche's curse is still with us, one of the few civilizations in the world that could be compared to the Mayas in achievements, but that was able to keep it's culture intact was India, if you read the wealth of knowledge in sanskrit their ancestors left, you would be shocked, their perception of the universe is far more advanced than ours, their epics speak of flying machines, automobiles, computers, there are even words in sanskrit for this things, hmmmm perhaps the ancients know something that we didn't know?
Exactly!!! great post amiga
Just because they had good mathematicians doesn't mean they weren't superstitious, or a host of any other traits.
Isn't that the pyramid in Chichen Itza a place where human sacrifice was carried out? Didn't they *eat* the sacrifice victims, etc.
As for Africa, geez, look at the head gear of Tutenkamen... a cobra. They were snake worshippers. And some would say phallus worshipers, LOL!
Seems to me that a lot of people like the feeling of "awe". They want to be "awed" by "ancient secrets" etc.
So let's ask, did they have decent toilets? Had they overcome famine, disease and food shortages? If they were so great, where are they now?
Perhaps the most superstitous of all are those who want to have this "awe" feeling. Perhaps they're hoping for some evidence of extra terrestrials, ESP, some other thing?
Sure, these ancient cultures may have had some developed and interesting knowledge. Maybe even some of it got lost and we don't have it today. But could they split atoms? Land on Mars? Fly faster than sound? Decode the genome?
I think this "ancient culture" thing borders on cult. You can here it in phrases like ooooo! "Universal Knowledge", LOL!
Heck, I know I'm suceptible to it. C'mon, how many kids from my generation grew up watching David Carridene in "Kung Fu" and want *so* bad to believe there's some sort of borderline magic in asian martial arts...
But even the show had a line... "It's not magic, it's a price paid".
LOL!
Don't we have bigger problems to solve than whether we should go back to worshipping snakes?
it is true, Mexicans have a tendency to believe that everything was better last time, back to our indigenous roots? if it sounds nice, but it is not the most practical and what is going to get out of poverty, we must look forward, new technologies, our people make a powerful mexico make something that we can be proud... What benefits left that the Mayan pyramids have much knowledge of astronomy or mathematics if the people were never fully satisfied or equal to its population?
I like all that is lost and that the population progresses to idealize romantic the ideas that everything was better in the past, beware, because many people with AMLO was about to celebrate a new image of the dictator Chavez, Castro ETC.
Location: The world, where will fate take me this time?
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I doubt that most people here who would like to see a return to our indigenous roots, really want to go back in time and live exactly in that way, but that doesn't mean we should be ashamed of that heritage, or simply dismiss it as something savage, barbaric and not worth of study. After all western culture, which has brought us technology, science, democracy, etc is based on the greek culture and mythology.
So what's wrong with giving more importance to the positive aspects of those cultures, or making maya the official language of the Yucatan state, deciphering and preserving the language and alphabet? or naming a scientific breakthrough like the name of one ancient God?
Many advanced and developed countries preserve their ancient culture Japan does it, effectively melding it with today's lifestyle.
I doubt that most people here who would like to see a return to our indigenous roots, really want to go back in time and live exactly in that way, but that doesn't mean we should be ashamed of that heritage, or simply dismiss it as something savage, barbaric and not worth of study. After all western culture, which has brought us technology, science, democracy, etc is based on the greek culture and mythology.
So what's wrong with giving more importance to the positive aspects of those cultures, or making maya the official language of the Yucatan state, deciphering and preserving the language and alphabet? or naming a scientific breakthrough like the name of one ancient God?
Many advanced and developed countries preserve their ancient culture Japan does it, effectively melding it with today's lifestyle.
TF, when you have lived your entire life in one place, people often tend to not see or think outside the box. What they live in is right because they dont know any different. Frankly, I dont see the difference in terms of religion. In Mexico, we pray to a white Jesus. Now, tell me if that is an accurate representation of God, even most of Virgin Marys are white with the exception of Virgen de Guadalupe. A lot of home in Mexico that i have been to have the walls covered with saints, crosses, Jesus and Mary. At my aunts house I counted 27 in all four walls of a living room.
As I said before, we dont have to go back to everything and certainly we have come a long ways with human rights, we still have a ways to go, but we definately dont want to go back to human sacrifices. The spirituality part would be good as well as the philosophy, proverbs, language, knowledge of astronomy, science, math, etc. I will return later to this thread. This is definately one of the best threads we should keep it going. Good job guys!
What's all this talk about human sacrifice? Who were the ones who wrote the history during this time? The ones who slaughtered uncountable people for material gains. The same people who would bang your mother and steal your wife if u lived during that time. It's ashame people are quicker to name human sacrifice because their to ignorant to name any real characteristics of their forefathers. "Change of religion is change of nation" -a colonial revolutionary.
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