School of Ancestral Knowledge
As Naua people, each of us holds a sacred responsibility, a calling unique to us. Central to our identity is our ability to listen, listen to our ancestors, the land, and ourselves. We also hold the responsibility to pass down the teachings of our ancestors and to maintain uanyatlalilistli (balance) in our territory, in paleuilistli (reciprocity) pan kuali ojtli (in a good way).
It is with these responsibilities that our Uajkapakaltlamachtiloyaj works to restore not only our traditional structures of learning, but all ways of our people, from our medicines, ceremonies and our ability to make everything from the land. Guided by our elders, medicine holders, language carriers and those of ancestral knowledge, our Uajkapakaltlamachtiloyaj’s work restores these relationships and shows our youth what it means to be Naua and allow themselves to find their sacred place and responsibilities.
Our Uajkapakaltlamachtiloyaj is our center for ceremonies, learning, sharing and teaching. A place to honor our elders and a place for our youth to come into their strength. A place where we continue the path our ancestors have made for us and the abundance they have worked so hard for.
Our Uajkapakaltlamachtiloyaj is autonomous, taught completely in Nauatl, and centered within the tropical forests of our territory. We will plant, grow, and trade all that we will need, from the trees to build our traditional structures, the food that we eat to the cotton we sew and weave.
It is within our lands and within us that holds all we need. It is the words of our ancestors that will guide us to move forward and our youth who will come into their leadership to continue our responsibilities as Naua people. This is the path of our Uajkapakaltlamachtiloyaj.
Chamanalistli (Creation)
At the center of our Uajkapakaltlamachtiloyaj is our creation story. This is our connection to our ancestors, the land, water, and the stars. This is how we know our place in the world, our sacred relationships, and our responsibilities to maintain them.
Kampeka (Ceremony)
Our ceremonies are when we make our offerings, give thanks and maintain balance and reciprocity with everything around us. It’s our ceremonies that honor what we hold most sacred, nemilistli (life). From our ceremonies for birth and seeds, to harvest and mikilistli (death), our Uajkapakaltlamachtiloyaj guides our youth in their ceremonial responsibilities and supports them in their own ceremonies as they become adults.
Nauatlajtoli (Nauatl Language)
Every word in our language is sacred. When we speak our language we see the world through the eyes of our ancestors. When we speak our language we know that siuamej (women), the land, and water are sacred. Nauatlajtoli is not just our language, but the language of the land. Our Uajkapakaltlamachtiloyaj carries the responsibility to ensure that our future generations continue to speak, read, write, and understand the sacred significance of our language.
Uajkapamaktilistli (Ancestral Knowledge)
As Nauas, each of us holds a sacred responsibility, a calling unique to us. Our Uajkapakaltlamachtiloyaj restores the path for our youth to do something central to our lives, listen. Listen to their ancestors, the land, and themselves.
Our youth will be able to take the time and experience all that it means to be Naua and allow themselves to find their sacred place and responsibility.
We have everything we will need within us and within our lands, our food, medicines, clothes, homes, ceremonies, and ancestral teaching to guide our future generations.
Our Uajkapakaltlamachtiloyaj is not a “school”, but our center for ceremonies, sharing learning and teaching in the way of our ancestors. A place of balance, reciprocity, and abundance.
Our Uajkapakaltlamachtiloyaj is a continuation of our Naua uajkapatemachtili (ancestral responsibilities), to return uanyatlalilistli (balance) to our communities in paleuilistli (reciprocity) with everything around us pan kuali ojtli (in a good way).
Form
Our Uajkapakaltlamachtiloyaj is structured by our sacred cycles of semenauak (the universe). It’s these cycles of the earth, stars, sun, moon, and universe that provide balance, and from creation. It’s these sacred energies that provide life for us all and serve as the structure and form of our Uajkapakaltlamachtiloyaj.
Tonalpouali
Tonalpouali is our sacred count of days, years, and cycles. Each with a sacred significance, our tonalpouali allows us to understand the energies of the universe and within ourselves. Our tonalpouali is comprised of 18 cycles of 20 days and 5 days of ceremony. This corresponds to a “year” for our people and a full cycle completed every 52 years.
Tonatij
The sacred cycles of Totatajtsij Tonatij (our father sun) marked by the equinoxes is a very important time for us as Naua people and our Uajkapakaltlamachtiloyaj. This time marks sacred ceremonies and important work for carriers of star knowledge.
Tonalmili • Xopanmili
Within our territory we have two main seasons of Tonalmili and Xopanmili that represent our rainy and dry seasons. It is within these seasons that we plant, harvest, and hold ceremony. It is these sessions that provide us with water to drink, food to eat and all we need for our lives.
Being in a time of such great climate imbalance, it is our Uajkapakaltlamachtiloyaj where we work to ensure a return to the balance on tonantsi tlali (our mother earth).
Temitok Mestli • Yankuik Mestli
Central to our planting and harvesting are our sacred moon cycles. These cycles guide how we create, work with medicine, traditional dyes, and when we hold ceremonies.