It could be said that 2011 was a year to which the old Chinese proverb “May you live in interesting times” has been amply applied. Civic uprisings toppled Middle East regimes; continuing economic crises blighted America and Europe and a series of natural disasters were wrought across the globe.

But some interpretations of the ancient Mayan calendar have predicted even more dramatic events to befall us by the close of 2012 ― the end of the world.

Cults and Hollywood disaster movies have pegged the Mayan Long Count calendar’s change to a new era this Dec. 21 as an apocalyptic prediction.

Nonsense, says Guatemalan Ambassador to Korea Rafael Salazar.

He said the priests using calendars devised by the advanced Mayan civilization that inhabited Mesoamerica from 2000 BC did not predict the end of the world.

And their descendants who make up more than 40 percent of Guatemala’s population today do not fear that the end is nigh.

Not the end of the world

“There are people that mix Nostradamus with Mayans and other prophecies that are in the global literature and we have the Hollywood interpretation in the film 2012. It’s a way to market something that is not the real essence of the thing,” Salazar said.

He compared apocalyptic inferences from prophetic Mayan texts such as the Dresden Codex to year 2000 doomsday omens at the turn of the millennium.

“All these apocalyptical groups, they use these special events to their own benefit, of course.”

But the Latin American envoy said that his country’s ancestors whose date system starts counting from more than 3000 years before Christ did predict a sea-change in world order following next year’s winter equinox.

What Gregorian calendar users call Dec. 21 will be the end of a 400-year cycle for those crossing off days on the Mayan date system still used by communities in the Guatemalan highlands.

Mayan priests have predicted the date will mark the start of a more peaceful era.

“From the 21 December 2012 we will have the change of the Mayan era,” explained Salazar.

“Now we are finishing the 12th b’ak’tun and entering the 13th b’ak’tun.

“This means the entrance into the 5,200 years time and the prophecy which is written in the Chilam Balam Books,” he said.

“The Dresden Code contains the Books of Chilam Balam, in which is the prophecy of Mayans and the prophecy says that the new era, the 13th b’ak’tun, will be a harmony era between human beings between mankind and modern nature.

“To achieve this harmony many big events will take place before the new era which will make the political and religious leaders rethink the way to manage the world. Those big events are taking place right now all these terrible floods earthquakes tsunamis and even the risk of nuclear problems are there and are making the leaders rethink what has to be the way to make this world in harmony between human beings and Mother Nature.

“That is the prophecy. It is not the end of the world.”

Unlike apocalypse theorists such as Harold Camping and his followers who diaried the Rapture for last May 21 who quaked over ominous dates that passed without event, Salazar said modern Mayans are preparing for a party.

“The Mayan people are really preparing to purify their souls to receive the new era but it is nothing exceptional. There are no expressions like in other cultures that people kill themselves or anything like that. It will be a typical new year’s celebration with big parties.

“In Guatemala we usually start the Christmas and New Year’s celebration from December 8 and finish on January 6, now we will have a real reason to celebrate more than usual.”

Counting days

Although the Mayan priests did not lay out any special instructions to prepare for the new era, they were remarkably accurate in their binary calculations ― discovering the numbers 0-19 and using a calendar based around the number 260; the number of joints in the human body.

“They have registered all their dates and history carved in their altars,” Salazar said. “The date registered in Quirigua as the first day of the Mayan history is 3,118 years before Christ.”

The classical Mayan city of, Quirigua located in Izabal, Guatemala, contains archeological artifacts dating back to the 8th century including carved stone monuments called stellae that chronicle the Mayan civilization.

“The prophecy is positive. It is only the change of one era to another. We have no problems because the Mayans are totally identifying with Mother Nature. That is why it is very positive, because they are waiting for a very harmonious new era,” Salazar added.

If anything, Guatemalans are trying to come together to mark the occasion.

“This is an especial reason to find our roots,” he said.

“This is a call for unity of our own nations. We have 21 different Mayan nations. We have to unify these.”

By Kirsty Taylor (kirstyt@heraldcorp.com)

Ancient Maya in Korea

A special Mayan exhibition is to teach Koreans about the ancient culture of Guatemala for the first time this year.

The exhibition of Mayan artifacts is currently being shown in Paris but will come to Seoul for at least six months from this summer.

This exhibition is something that is part of our national treasure,” said Salazar.

“We expect that the Koreans could know about the Mayan culture because actually very few Koreans know about it, and of course about Guatemala.

"Koreans, when you are talking about Latin America, mostly know Argentina, Brazil and Chile. Latin America is not all football and wine, it is a very rich culture with very rich aspects and many other resources.”

The exhibition will display original artifacts from Guatemala’s vast store of archeological treasures ranging from pre-classical ceramics to huge stone stellae. At least two of the pillars, weighing up to 3 tons each, will be brought to show people here the engraved Mayan scriptures and calendar systems first-hand.

The exhibition will be held at the National Museum of Korea during the summer with the date to be confirmed.