Maya Origins
The hip hop of Balam Ajpu is firmly rooted in the Maya tradition. Drawing upon their indigenous and cultural heritage is key for building a link between the Maya of today and their ancestors, a connection that has been systematically challenged by the ladino hegemony. The indigenous population of contemporary Guatemala has long been depicted as fundamentally detached from the Guatemala’s pre-Columbian inhabitants, and that they have no claim to the great civilization of the past (Barrett 146).
One way Balam Ajpu makes their hip hop distinctly Maya is through references to Maya historical texts such as the Popol Wuj and the Chilam Balam (Bell 168). The Popol Wuj is comparable to the Judeo-Christian Bible; it contains the story of the creation of the universe, humanity, and the gods of the underworld (Barrett 171). Through recordings of both historical and mythical events, it traces the history of the many distinct Maya tribes who still occupy their ancestral land around Lake Atitlán (Barrett 171). The members of the rap group also consult with an ajq’ija’, a shaman who helps them imbue their songs with knowledge about Maya spiritual traditions (Bell 174). The most prominent reference to the Maya spiritual tradition present in their music is the concept of Cosmovision (Barrett 147). The end of a full Maya calendar cycle (baktun) is marked by the date on which the end of a lunar and solar year coincide, which occurs every 52 years (Barrett 147). Balam Ajpu identifies the start of the 13th baktun with the origins of hip hop in 1960s New York, and that the year in which Balam Ajpu was formed, 2012, marked the culmination of the “hip hop baktun” with the beginning of a new era of indigenous hip hop (Barrett 147). By recontextualizing Maya folklore in the context of modern hip hop, Balam Ajpu creates something new and unique that draws the attention of Maya youth (Bauman 4).
The group members rap in three different Maya languages, Tz'utujil, Kaqchikel, and K'iche', as well as Spanish (Barrett 145). This challenges the neocolonial desire for separation between ethnic identities and the historical lack of mestizo (mixed) culture in Guatemala (Barrett 145). Here is an original Balam Ajpu verse with its English translation (Bell 183):
Maya:
Ajq’ijab’ kin gutuj ka che we
Ti ka tzija li kotzijanem,
Koj xojof ga rugin la g´ag,
Koj xojofga rugin li ka g´ojom
Ja ki ka gaslemal
Jenel rugin jun ejtzabal
Ta ka botzo li kejtzabal
Ti ka solo li ka gaslemal
English translation:
Spiritual guides, we ask you today
Let us light the sacred fire,
Let us dance around the fire,
Let us dance with our marimba.
Our existence
Is like a child’s toy
We wind up the top
And let loose our existential ties
Sonically, Balam Ajpu makes sure to use beats that incorporate local instrumentation (Bell 181). The marimba especially is said to “possess a uniquely Maya musical tone” (Bell 183).