Belize 2012 the Maya Heartland - where will you be when the world begins anew?

Much about the ancient Maya remains a mystery to us now. At one point, before the arrival of the Europeans the Maya thrived in this region, forming vast cities and building remarkable temples. At one time, the Maya lived in an area that stretched from Central Mexico, through to El Salvador. The ancient Maya are the ancestors of the modern day Maya in Belize. Today there are three groups of Maya living in Belize, the Kekchi Maya, the Mopan Maya, and the Yucatec Maya. The basic values and customs of these three groups of Maya are quite similar, but in their language there lies considerable differences. The Maya of today are thought to have kept the features that distinguish the ancient Maya from other early ethnic populations of the world. A typical Maya woman or man's stature tends to appear both short and robust. The hair is normally black and quite straight. The complexion of the modern day Maya tends to vary from very light to a medium tone.

As the original inhabitants of Belize, the Maya lived in ornately planned city states; their society was very structured, with some historians blaming the very structure of Maya society, for its decline in later years. Though originally romanticized by early archaeologists and historians, later studies and murals created by the Maya depicted a people that appeared to be very skilled in warfare and perhaps their resistance to the Spanish in this region may provide the evidence to support this claim.

While the Maya were being conquered throughout Mesoamerica by the Spanish, in Belize they remained largely untouched. The Spanish were hardly an influence in Belize, and though they made some attempts at Christianizing and subduing the Maya they were to a great extent ineffectual. The Maya by this time had long abandoned their vast cities and had sought safety amidst the jungle fauna of Belize.

After the arrival of the Spanish, the British arrived, and then soon after - the African slaves. Their work entailed logwood and later, Mahogany extraction. There are surviving reports made by the British in the settlement at that time, of the "Indians" that would attack them, as well as plunder the camps. There were also appeals for reinforcements that soon accompanied the reports. Today we know that the "Indians" to which they referred were the Maya, proving that although they had seemingly vanished into the forests, that they were still very much a presence in the recorded history of Belize.

The Maya, as the indigenous people of Belize have maintained a lot of its culture especially those Maya that are either Mopan or Kekchi. The Yucatec population that came after the Caste War has almost entirely integrated in the Corozal and Orange Walk areas to which they fled. As a result, finding persons that are able to trace their Yucatec Maya ancestry is difficult. Even so, the Maya of today represent the original inhabitants of this land. They have shared their legacy with the Belizean people; they have fought for independence and equality, and recognition. The legacy of our Maya heritage has contributed and will continue to contribute greatly to the cultural richness of this nation.