Merida, Yucatan, (December 01, 2021).- “When a Yucatecan Maya leaves his community for any reason, he carries his language with him because it is inherent to him, which is why it forces the state to generate institutional mechanisms to be able to guarantee the use of his mother tongue,” said representative Manuela Cocom Bolio, of the National Action Party (PAN).
Sustaining the importance of the Maya language in Yucatan and the presence of it, according to the Population Census of the National Institute of Statistics and Geography until 2020, where they estimate that more than 520 thousand 580 people speak Maya, presented the initiative so that be considered Intangible Cultural Heritage for the state.
The representative considers that “its importance can be seen from the perspective of its value or psycho-emotional potential”, pointing out that the presence of this language also creates a sense of identity and belonging; and, at the same time, a tradition or way of life.
This mother tongue, ‘Maayat’aan’, is present in daily life, even in the surnames and names of municipalities, which is why it continues to be valid and vigorous, from her point of view, the representative explains and points out that its importance is such that it becomes the object of international studies.
“It should be noted that the great knowledge that allowed the development of the Maya culture was transmitted orally through time […] Through it we not only communicate but also becomes the tool by which we define our identity before the world, we tell our story and pass on knowledge from generation to generation ”.
For all these reasons, it asks that they follow the agreement of the United Nations Universal Declaration, to recognize the right of indigenous peoples to “revitalize, use, and promote future generations their histories, languages, oral traditions, philosophies, systems of writing and literature attributing names to their communities, places, and people ”.
The cultural heritage, she emphasizes, is not limited to monuments, but also includes traditions or living expressions and, due to the cultural richness of the State, originating from the living language, the Maya, the initiative was extended.
With it, it asks, in addition to declaring intangible cultural heritage the mother tongue of the State, to consider all voices or phonetic expressions, writings, signs, spelling, linguistic features, and any symbolic manifestation from the Maya people and their culture as the language itself.
This declaration would also imply that the Secretaries of Education, of Economic Development and Labor, of Tourism Development, of the Secretariat of Culture and the Arts, the Institute for the Development of Maya Culture and the City Councils carry out actions to preserve, disseminate and promote the language.
Source: La Jornada Maya
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