The Cosmovision of the Yucatec Maya: the Motive Power for Resistance and Resilience

Abstract

The Cosmovision of the Yucatec Maya is as old as their civilization. Since the arrival of the Spanish and through three centuries of colonialism and conflict, the political maneuverings of Mexican Independence and Revolution, and the incursion of modernity and globalism, their worldview has encouraged and sustained response to continuous and overwhelming change. To understand its endurance and adaptability, it is necessary to accept a way of knowing that identifies and affirms an essential interaction between humans, nature, and the supernatural world. This paper uses this Mayalogue framework of Victor Montejo and other Indigenous Knowledge Systems to evaluate key historical events and ideologies and amplify our understanding of the adaptive response of the Yucatec Maya.