Mayan priestess-to-be says it's not the end of the world

From SouthCoastToday: Mayan priestess-to-be says it's not the end of the world
DARTMOUTH — Speaking in Spanish to a crowd of about 30, Mayan priestess Micaela Ventura had this to say about 2012: It's not the end of the world.

At least, not in the way it's been described by doomsday-sayers.

Ventura, who is a daykeeper (or Mayan priestess) in-training from Guatemala, spoke on invitation by the Native American committee of the Rod & Gun Club of New Bedford. Her appearance at the Dartmouth club was coordinated by Oxib' B'atz', a New Bedford nonprofit organization for Central American women.

With Dr. Lisa Maya Knauer of UMass Dartmouth serving as a translator, Ventura said Mayans aren't predicting annihilation this December.

Rather, she explained, this will mark the end of a more than 5,000-year cycle. And though she referred to the conclusion of one "world" and the start of another, it's more metaphorical — the kick-off to what she described as a new epoch.

As for any forecasted disasters, Ventura said disasters happen already. Take global warming, for example, or torrential rains in South America — all of them, she said, the result of human actions and signifying a wake-up call to mankind.

As Ventura spoke, she echoed others who have tried debunk an end-of-days prediction gone viral.

NASA has weighed in on the issue with blunt denial.

"Nothing bad will happen to the Earth in 2012," it said on its website. And a feature by National Geographic called "6 Maya Apocalypse Myths Debunked," quoted a Mayan elder saying he was "fed up with this stuff."

NASA charts the origin of the apocalyptic allegation to a claim that a "supposed planet" called Nibiru is heading toward Earth. Believers predicted the cataclysmic crash would have happened in 2003, but it didn't — you would have heard about it — and was bumped up to 2012, NASA said. People then linked this to the end of a Mayan calendar cycle.

But just like "the calendar you have on your kitchen wall does not cease to exist after December 31, the Mayan calendar does not cease to exist on Dec. 21, 2012," NASA said.

That's not stopping "www.December212012.com" from touting best-selling survival supplies, advertising supposed "celebrity believers" or featuring a final countdown. (As of Saturday at 7:25 p.m., we had 243 days, 11 hours, 46 minutes and 3-, 2-, 1- seconds).

Hollywood also cashed in with the 2009 film "2012."

Mayans are being used by the hype but not benefitting from it, Ventura said.

If anyone at Saturday's event was worried about this winter, they didn't show it.

Diane Perry of Fairhaven said she attended the talk because she's a history buff.

"I'm really interested in th

e multicultural diversity of this area," said Caryn Julien, a counselor from Dartmouth. "Spirituality is a big piece of helping people grow and change."

Knauer, an associate professor of anthropology, spoke of the value of cultural exchange.

"Also, I think it's important that it was a woman who spoke," Knauer said. People "who get put forward as (cultural) spokespeople are very often men."

In the event that the world does end this December, proactive behavior and "preemptive strategies" will be important "for long term or even permanent survival," according to www.December212102

But if Y2K and last year's end-that-wasn't are any indication, you might want to leave your credit card alone.