Sacred Mayan Journey 2018
The 12th edition of the Sacred Mayan Journey will take place on May 25th and 26th, with the participation of 377 canoers, the highest number of participants that the event has had since its first edition.
On the morning of April 10th, the Press Conference of the Sacred Mayan Journey 2018 took place, to publicize all the details of this important celebration. For 12 consecutive years, the brave canoers make the crossing from Xcaret to Cozumel to take offerings to the goddess Ixchel and bring back good news.
We have passed 12 katuns and we await the katún 13 Ahau, when the Dz’ulo’ob (foreigners) approach our lands, but the times of worship to the gods continue …
Katún 13 Ahau: Prophetic date of the Chilam Balam of Chumayel (Mayan Sacred Book) that is interpreted as the arrival of Spanish foreigners.
The Sacred Mayan Journey is not only an event that generates great expectations year after year, but that has also been a cultural identification link for the inhabitants of the northern area of Quintana Roo, and an incentive for local, national and foreign tourism. All the canoers who make the crossing do so voluntarily, after an intense training over a period of 6 months, in which they test their physical and mental abilities, as well as their spiritual values. Of the total canoers trained in the disciplinary schools of Cancún, Xcaret, Xel-Há and Cozumel, 46% are women and 54% are men.
This occasion has the participation of 35 foreign canoers, from Argentina, Canada, the United States, Colombia, Venezuela, the United Kingdom, France, Slovakia, Spain and Italy. In turn, 218 artists participate in the ceremonies of music and dance, from the DIF and the House of Culture of Cozumel and Playa del Carmen, the Mayan zone of the south of Quintana Roo, and the Xipetotec cast of Xcaret.
The Sacred Mayan Journey recreates the maritime processions carried out by the ancient Mayans, to worship the goddess Ixchel, departing from the port of Polé (today Xcaret) to arrive at Cuzamil (today Cozumel). The canoers will leave on Friday, May 25th, from Xcaret Park, with the first rays of the sun, to cross the Caribbean Sea in a time of between 6 and 8 hours, depending on weather conditions, and arrive at the Chankanaab Park in Cozumel. In turn, the return will take place on Saturday May 26th in the morning, anticipating reaching Xcaret around 13:00 hours.
“With the Sacred Mayan Journey we strengthen the appreciation of ancestral culture, we promote the learning of the past, we reinforce identity, and we spread our heritage.”
Leticia Aguerrebere, General Director of the Sacred Mayan Journey
And the preparations for the pilgrimage have begun, marking the beginning of the times of the Sacred Mayan Journey, in which hundreds of chosen canoers will cross the sea towards the Island of Cozumel to venerate Ixchel, goddess of the Moon.
If you are staying at Hotel Xcaret México as a member of the México Destination Club, remember that with #AllFunInclusive, you can enter the park to welcome these brave canoers.
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