{E} "The Mayans did not even predict of the Doomsday."

“The Mayans did not even predict of the Doomsday”

By: Shi Jingbao, Nandu Daily Journalist

From: Nandu Daily, Page A26 December 07, 2012 Issue

(Translated from the original Chinese text.)

“The Mayans did not even predict of the Doomsday”

An American archaeoastronomer believed that the myths of the end of the world shall not be treated as a proof, and should not be regarded as a prediction.

In reality, Mayans do not like making predictions, their understanding of the times are mostly directed to the past, not to the future. –Dr. Anthony Aveni, Researcher on Mayan Civilization

Today is December 7, 2012, and there’s half a month to go before the so-called Doomsday. The Ipsos Public Affairs Department recently conducted a survey and it revealed that 10% of the world’s population believes in the Mayan calendar which [apparently] predicts that the world will end on December 21, 2012. In the Mainland [China], the word “doomsday” has been reaching its peak. A Mexican astronomer however stated that this [belief/phenomenon] has “wrongly judged” the Mayans, for the real prediction of the doomsday came from an “American”, and [such] predictions were just guesses by the modern people.

A few days ago, Nandu Daily and Guangdong Science Center held a discussion and a Mexican archaeologist – one of those who were very familiar of the Mayan civilization, Prof. [Jesus] Galindo showed a photo of the “Madrid Codex”.

Prof. Galindo said that the Mayan calendar has been in use for 3,000 years, and there are two kinds of calendars that they were using: the first one is what was known to us as the “solar calendar”, with 365 days a year, 18 months a year, twenty days a month; and the other is their religious calendar of 260 days. These two calendars meet every 52 years and because of this  gap, [numerous research about the Mayan civilization had differences in the calculations of the two calendars]. “If we look on the discoveries that we have [right now], those are just calendars, [yes,] there are predictions, but most of them are just guesses by the modern people.” Some scholars believed, the Mayans did not predict of the doomsday, but they did of a disaster.

The Mayan prediction according to what was written on their annals,  it will be a major change of climate and a major natural catastrophe [at the end of the world]. Nevertheless, myths about the doomsday can be found [or heard] not only from the Mayans but also from other several cultures. Anthony Aveni, a researcher of the Mayan culture and an archaeoastronomer from Colgate University in the United States believes that these myths can’t serve as a basis, and should not be accepted as a prediction. In one of his research, he said that the Mayans in reality are not even skilled in predicting things. “Their understanding of the times is mostly directed to the past, not of the future. [The ruler who can tell of the times long ago would make him worthy and righteous of ruling over the Mayans].”

Being the “origin” of the prediction, do Central Americans believe in the Mayans? Prof. Galindo revealed, South Americans [might] say that the prediction was spread from the United States; Mexico and other South American nations do not actually believe. “The Mayans indeed had predictions, but most of these are all about natural disasters like drought and floods."

...

Scenes of exaggeration

SICHUAN - "Doomsday" rumor caused the people to buy candles and firewood

"When the darkness comes on December 21, 2012, the Earth will continue to be in the dark for three days." Recently, this rumor is still being [heard] in some places in Sichuan, and those who have heard started buying candles and firewood. In a certain neighborhood, a person was seen December 4 buying candles and firewood at the market, most of the people were buying in bundles, the least was three or four and the most was more than ten.

SHANGHAI - The police received more than 25 "Doomsday" rumors

[The Shanghai police] received more than 25 reports of the police intelligence [allegedly] publicizing "Doomsday". According to the Shanghai Public Security Bureau Command Center, from 7:00AM December 5 until 7:00AM of December 6, they received a total of 25 reports saying that [there were persons] going to houses publicizing the Doomsday rumor [which was allegedly from the police intelligence]. Days ago, in Nanjing, a woman who heard of the "Doomsday" message, mortgaged her almost three million yuan house (RMB3 million is approximately USD480,000 or PHP19.74 million) without telling her loved ones and is preparing to donate it to the out-of-school children.

>> rrj@chn_2012-12-15