The Truth Around Mayan Myths
The following is to help straighten out erroneous Mayan Myths.
The Mayan Calendar Continues Long after 2012.
The Mayan Calendar begins a new cycle in the year 2012 much as the Gregorian Calendar begins a new cycle on January 1st every year. There are some very interesting astronomical events happening in 2012 and some believe these events are what the ancient Maya were targeting, anchoring. There are even references to dates beyond 2012, carved in stone, left by the Maya of centuries past.
The Maya are very much Alive Today
There are decendents of the ancient Maya living within much of Central America today. I can personally testify two cultural groups of the ancient Maya live in the region of Lake Atitlan, Guatemala, each speaking the ancient Mayan dialect appropriate for the village. What the Maya did was abandon their major cities, most likely due to excelerated over-population, and extended warfare.
The Maya are Monotheistic
I have been learning from a Mayan Day Keeper and twice, unsolicited, he has stated emphatically the Maya believe in a single deity with multiple expressions. One source, multiple expressions. These expressions can also be referred to as descriptions or personalities. They can be applied to days, months, and much more.
This is no different from a Westerner thinking of Sunday as a day of rest. "A day of rest" is a description / personality many apply to Sunday. Much in the same way, the Maya have applied descriptions / personalities to individual days, and much like Sunday repeats in a cycle, these days also repeat in cycles.
There are possibly 17 or more different Mayan Calendric Systems
I have seen reference to as many as 17 different Mayan Calendric Systems multiple times:
Sacred: T'zolkin
Count of Days: Ch'oltun (aka: Long Count)
Civil: Haab
Solar: Ab'
Vigesimal: Cholmay