MayaCalendar.org is an attempt to put the concepts within the Maya Calendar into layman perspectives. Because of the inherent complexity involved here sometimes this is not possible. Also I by no means imply I include all of the concepts nor do I imply advanced concepts, though I will go into everything I can as time permits and my understanding grows. Keep in mind many conversations I have had concerning the Maya Calendar I am still trying to put into a context that makes sense to my western mind.
Lipe is a nickname given to me four years ago by an old Guatemalan man. It is a derivative of the Spanish version of my name, Felipe. I have spent over two years living in Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico learning about the Maya and the Maya Calendar.
I encourage everyone to keep an open mind. We cannot judge the Maya and their beliefs based on our own lack of knowledge and understanding. Let me give you an example why I believe this to be true.
In 2004 I was in a small Mayan village on the shores of Lake Atitlan, Guatemala, watching one of the few televisions in the area with a local family who run a hotel & restaurant. We were watching a National Geographic presentation on creatures of the ocean. An octopus floated across the screen. I asked one of the family members, a female, how to pronounce 'octopus' in her native Mayan Katchiquel language.
She replied, "We don't have a word [...for octopus]. No tenemos una palabra."
This struck me as odd. Having never been exposed to an octopus these people had no prior concept of an 'octopus', hence no word. This in no way removed from the reality of an octopus, we had just watched one float across the tv screen.
I immediately noticed this exposes how any person and entire cultures can be lacking in knowledge due to societal influences, geography, and just not being exposed to a concept. It bothered me I must have some form of the same limitations. It still bothers me.
This set me on a path of discovery which took me places I never imagined when I first started. At first I found much of what I was exposed to simply unacceptable. I've had to come to terms with the statement "reality doesn't require your belief". I still have trouble with certain concepts but I can assure you most of what I have learned leading up to these concepts I have come to accept.
There have been many people involved in my learning about the Maya Calendar and I would especially like to thank the priests, shamans, daykeepers, guides and those special other people who claimed no titles at all but seemed to have answers to my questions. I have also referenced numerous websites in an attempt to verify that which is on this website. I look forward to putting up references soon.
The dates calculated on this website are based on the dates used by the Maya of the western highlands in Guatemala. These dates match up with the widely accepted GMT corelation of 584,283 however I would like to stress the dates used here are used because they line up with the Daykeepers of the western Guatemalan highlands. These calculations line up the start date of the Maya Tzolkin and Long Count Calendars with a proleptic Gregorian date of August 11, -3114.
Lipe