The meaning and importance of trees for the Mayans will be preserved in the arborization of the Plaza Grande in Mérida by including species considered sacred.
As reported in a press release, authorities designed a plan that integrates various tree varieties such as the ceiba, the balché, the ramón, the poplar or kopó, and the gourd. For the Mayans, these trees were essential for life and included in religious and cosmological symbolism.
The project considered the placement of 106 trees, of which 42 are of these five sacred species. The Ceibas will be located in the center of four trapezoids in the park, highlighting their importance as the Sacred tree of life that connects heaven, earth, and the underworld in Mayan cosmology.
The balchés represent the third most relevant sacred tree for the Mayans. They are related to life and fertility and will be placed near the flagpole to maintain a crucial space in the square without interfering with its use.
In the four remaining trapezoids of the Plaza Grande, there will be poplars linked to the god of corn and his contribution to the creation of matte paper to write the Mayan codices.
Due to its relevance in traditional events, gourd trees will be placed on the edges of the park, which represented a sacred vessel and which, in the ancient Mayan codices and the Popol Vuh, was considered the “heaven” because it is the bowl with which the ancients Gods pour water on the earth.
The Ramón trees, used by the Mayans as a food source for their high nutritional quality and contribution to restoring degraded soils, will be placed throughout the entire Plaza Grande.
These sacred species, which are of great importance to continue preserving and respecting their legacy in the Mayan culture, will coexist with other varieties included in the tree planting project like the chaká, bojón, mahogany, caracolillo, pink and yellow maculís.
TYT Newsroom
