By: Meara Donovan, BTS cooperant (2026)

At the New Hope Foundation (FNE), spirituality is ever present. It is not separate, but rather interwoven with every aspect of learning at the Centro Educativo Comunitario Bilingue Intercultural (CECBI).

⁂

This morning, alarm clocks went off at 4:30 a.m. for teachers at the FNE. Today will start with a Maya ceremony.

As early as 5 a.m., motorcycles begin to roll in, carrying teachers bundled up to face the slight chill in the air.

The first 45 minutes are spent in sleepy silence, carefully plucking petals from flowers.

 

In Maya Achí culture, the four cardinal directions are represented by four colours. Red for the rising sun in the East, black for the darkness of night in the West, white representing the North and human teeth and bone, and finally yellow representing the warmth of the sun and the South.

All four colours are also found in different varieties of maize, a pillar of Mayan culture and cuisine. Of great spiritual and religious significance, it is the Maya belief that human beings were created from this sacred crop.

Accordingly, red, purple, white, and yellow flowers are plucked from stems. The ash from the previous ceremony is swept from the centre of the altar, along with the stems, and carefully discarded around the still skinny trunks of nearby saplings.

Everyone turns to face the newest arrival. A chorus of Utzilaj a’iims, Achí for good morning, ring out to greet the abuelo, or elder, who will be performing today’s ceremony.

Thanks to the teachers’ diligence, he has a fresh canvas to work with.

The abuelo begins his elaborate task of preparing the altar. Methodically and unhurriedly, he pours sugar into a shallow, circular pit to form a circle. Then, a fascinating blend of modern and traditional offerings are positioned with care. The abuelo places cinnamon, ground coffee, bread, crumbs shaken from the bag, tobacco, rice, cigarettes, panela (unrefined whole cane sugar), copal incense, and scores of thin candlesticks in different colours.

Photo of the Maya altar, a circular pit filled with flowers, sugar, tobacco and other offerings.

The altar filled with offerings.

The petals are placed around the fire pit, colour matching direction, while four candles are lit, one in each direction, forming a circle around us. We stand while the abuelo gives thanks in order to east, west, south, and north.

The abuelo or elder who performs the Maya cermony crouches down to spread flower petals around the altar.

Arranging petals.

Next begins the communal lighting of the fire. We are invited to choose a small candle from the altar, light it with one of the candles in the outer ring, and place it back in the centre.

As the flames spread, the abuelo begins.

The flames quickly soar, turning the altar into a shimmering puddle of melted wax and sugar. Our faces become hot, and our noses tickle with the scents of the burning offerings melding together.

Photo of the fire burning in the altar.

At the height of the flames.

Beginning to dwindle, the flames are brought back to life with a splash of liquor and a stir with the vara, or ceremonial staff the abuelo wields. He sprinkles the altar with farolazo, a Guatemalan white wine drink, and the air is tinged with a sweet, fermented smell before being once more overtaken by the flames.

An empty bottle of Farolazo, a Guatemalan white wine drink used in the ceremony

Farolazo, a Guatemalan white wine drink used in the ceremony.

Each of these ingredients is an offering for a unique nahual. In the Cholq’ij (Maya sacred calendar), there are 20 nahuales, spiritual entities represented by animals or elements of nature. Based on one’s birth date, their nahual protects their energy and guides their path through life.

The abuelo invokes each of the 20 nahuales, departed loved ones from the afterlife, and the connection with Mother Nature, so that they may protect and heal us.

By now, the time is 7:15 a.m., and students begin to arrive, one-by-one taking a seat on the warm grass around the fire.

Their curious gazes watch as each of us is given a handful of ajonjolí, or sesame seeds, used as a special offering to invoke the energy of the nahual Tz’ikin, representing the bird, freedom, luck, and abundance. This nahual is auspicious for asking for prosperity and giving thanks.

The abuelo sprinkles his handful of ajonjolí over the embers, gesturing for us to follow, and the group falls silent listening to the crackling of the seeds.

(This was, undoubtedly, the most memorable part of the ceremony for me).

The abuelo continues his work, and the last of the offerings disappears into the fire. He stirs the ashes while offering final prayers to the energy of the universe and to our grandfathers and grandmothers.

It is our turn to give thanks, this time to the abuelo, for beginning the school year with gratitude and protection.

The ceremony is also one of remembrance. January 31 marks 45 years since the burning of the Spanish Embassy in Guatemala in 1982. On that day, a group of campesinos and students entered the Embassy to denounce human rights violations and massacres in their communities. Guatemalan security forces set fire to the Embassy building, burning 37 people to death. Later, one of only two survivors was kidnapped from his hospital bed, disappeared, and murdered. In 2015, former police chief Pedro García Arredondo was found guilty of murder and crimes against humanity for his role in the attacks, offering victims’ families justice three-and-a-half decades later.

Poignantly, the FNE’s director, Gloria Gonzalez, reminds us all that corruption in today’s Guatemala is a monster with many arms. Arms that stretch back into the not-so-distant past, sustained by many of the same political, military, and business actors who carried out violence during the Internal Armed Conflict (IAC).

From afar, it can be easy to dismiss corruption as an unfortunate but distant fact of life. However, the effect is real violence; stealing access to land, education, or healthcare, crimes that are protected by the constant and serious threat of criminalization or physical attacks against those who speak out against them.

To combat this monster, in Gloria’s words, each of us must work to sow the granito de maíz (little grain of corn) that we wish to plant in order to improve the world.

Finally, CECBI’s principal, Profe Rómulo concludes the ceremony with one phrase that sticks in my mind so much it has become the title of this blog post: “El sagrado fuego también merece respeto.”

The students head to class to continue their reflections, and the petals and ashes are left to be swept on another occasion.

Photo of smoke coming from the altar after the fire has been put out

After the ceremony.

In a community historically impacted by violence and genocide, CECBI serves as a space where community, history, and spirituality come together to connect youth with their culture, equipping them to drive positive community impact with their own hands. The fire represents remembrance of the past, presence in the moment, and commitment to the future.

To respect the fire is to respect our ancestors and grandparents, to respect Mother Nature, and to respect ourselves.

Sources to learn more: