The significance of a Ceíba

I had arisen to thundershowers and lightening bolts, howling monkeys, and wide-eyed owls hidden in the grass of my pathway towards Tower IV. It was the madrugada, the wee hours of the morning, and the forest was heaving green and blue, dumping buckets of water upon my shoulders. The Mayans had called me northward from my temporary home in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, inviting me to spend moments amidst the remnants of their ancient civilization, Tikal.

I grinned and bared the wetness of the 4:30 in the morning hour, trekking into the jungle in hopes of watching the sunrise above the forest floor. Foot leading foot, I rubbed up against the ingenuity of the Maya who, sometime around 741 AD, built Tower IV to pay homage to a king: Yik’in Chan K’awiil. Planting my legs above the canopy, my field of vision was dotted by breaking clouds, strategically placed towers I, II, and III, and a waking sun saying, good morning, welcome.

The forest inhaled the humidity of the morning and exhaled a long sigh of howls and chirps, rumblings and rustlings. Pink and blue hews burst through the green expanse of the horizon, inviting me to descend and weave my way through Meso-American history. As I climbed down, I was rendered silent by the tangible power of a place, wondering how the Mayan cosmovision could breathe life into the structures of Tikal and the people who once inhabited them. I imagined cracking open the red seedpods of cacao and consuming the white, gooey flesh inside. I dreamt of living alongside the Quetzal bird before the time of their endangerment: their flowing green tail feathers hanging towards the forest floor, their ruby red chest embodying the courage of a mighty Mayan warrior, Tecun Uman, in the face of a great threat, Pedro de Alvarado. Aimlessly wandering, I turned a corner and was instantaneously immobilized, my field of vision consumed by my first sighting of Ceíba Pentandra, the monumental sacred tree of the Maya believed to connect the underworld to the heavens.

Towering above me at 60 meters, I stood in the crevice of her roots. As my head fell backwards and my eyes lifted towards the heavens, I was stunned by her stature, silenced by her unrivaled power. In that moment, I began to recognize the profound connection that exists between the human, natural, and spiritual worlds that constitute our universe, an understanding that I continue to carry with me today.