The Maya Daykeeper Tradition of Guatemala

Record summary

Ajq’ijab’, often translated as Maya daykeepers, are ritual specialists whose practice involves the 260-day Chol Q’ij calendar, offerings, sacred places, and consultation. This is a comparison lead for long-duration esoteric traditions because contemporary practice is connected through contested histories to colonial records and older calendrical knowledge. The continuity is not simple: communities have experienced suppression, revival, tourism, and political redefinition. Researchers should distinguish community practice and Indigenous scholarship from New Age adaptations of the Maya calendar.