A Sojourn Through the Mayan Culture of Guatemala June 2004

A Sojourn Through the Mayan Culture of Guatemala

Guatemala is unsurpassed for its geographical and cultural diversity. One can spend a lifetime learning about and visiting the communities whose members speak one of 23 Mayan languages. My fascination started when I was sent to Guatemala as a Peace Corps volunteer in 1971 and has grown ever since, especially after I married a Guatemalan and all three children were born there.

My wife Ligia and I decided to return to the “Land of the Eternal Spring” together for the first time in 17 years. Although we knew the country well we decided to use a French Canadian tour guide with over 16 years experience leading tourists through the highlands of Guatemala. The country still offers enough diversity and danger to the tourist to warrant working with a professional with a secure van so we aren’t exposed to the dangers of using public transportation or wandering through local markets where foreigners are easily spotted and preyed on my local thieves.

We started our highlands trek early Sunday morning from Guatemala City and had a typical Guatemalan breakfast of eggs, black beans, crème and tortillas in Tecpan. The restaurants in Tecpan are really quaint with Spanish style architecture; old oxen carts filled with flowers and pottery planters dominating the entrance.

Our first stop was Chichicastenango and the well known church Santo Tomas which was built on the remains of a Mayan temple, where Catholic and pagan rites produce a mystical atmosphere dominated by burnt incense and flowers filling the stairs leading up to the church. After working through the busy market place which is in front of the church and checking out the reasonable prices on artwork, textile and leather products we headed out of town to visit on of the Mayan worship centers on top of a nearby mountain. The religious center included three rocks and many flower petals and more incense. Several locals were offering small sacrifices and prayers to their Mayan deities but didn’t seem to mind our presence.

In the afternoon we headed down to one of the most beautiful lakes in the world, Lake Atitlan that is surrounded by three imposing volcanoes. We took a small local boat taxi (tuc-tucs) to one of the most spectacular yet tranquil hotels we’d ever visited Villa Sumaya. We were given a spacious suite with chairs and a hammock on the front porch and opened the door each morning to the crystal clear lake and two volcanoes, Toliman and San Pedro. No telephones or television to break the mood and the food and service were extraordinary, especially the locally caught black bass for dinner.


The next morning we set off on a tour of the lake, which focused on 3 lakeside communities Santa Catarina Palopo, San Antonio Palopo and Santigo Atitlan. A dozen Indian villages with the names of the Apostles surround the lake where the only access is usually by boat. In Santa Catarina both the men and women wear intricately embroidered clothes, green and blue traditional purple costumes designed in bold zigzags.

The women in Santiago still wear the “halo” head wrap made famous by the 25-“centavo” coin. The mixture of Catholicism and traditional Mayan beliefs is fascinating. We paid a visit to the shrine of the cult of Maximon where we observed several pilgrims offering flowers, local liquors, candles and cigars. We were allowed to attend the rite since we paid an appropriate fee in respect for the local deity. We then climbed up the narrow streets to the ancient Catholic Church, which offers a fascinating diversity of symbolism of Catholic saints and Mayan symbols like the Corn God, which is carved into a chair, which can be found in the chapel. We also visited a memorial to the death of Oklahoma based Catholic priest Father Roth who was assassinated in the 1980’s a long with 13 local village members by representatives of the Guatemalan armed forces as being “subversives.”

After three days on the Lake we headed up towards the highlands Capital of Quetzaltenango known by the locals as “Xela.” Our first stop was the Indian community of Nahuala where the men still wear brown “skirts”. This has traditionally been a very violent community with a lot of mistrust for outsiders, which resulted in the killing of several tourists less than 10 years ago. Later on in our trip up past Huehuetenango we took a four wheel drive vehicle down to the community of Todos Santos where a Japanese tourist and his driver were killed several years ago because the locals thought he was there to take away some of their children. One similar event occurred in Aguacatan also outside of Huehuetenango where two local women were upset when I took a picture of them selling some bananas to my wife. The scene caught my attention since the two women were selling their goods next two a telephone both, which reflected the different cultures being thrown together. The women often get nervous when they see a camera as they feel that you’re not taking a picture but taking their soul. More recently the idea of getting their share of the profits from tourism is also a factor so I paid them each $3 in order to keep the peace.

In Xela we stayed at the stately Hotel Pension Bonifaz, which was built in the 1940’s and sat next to the former Peace Corps regional office and looked so comfortable although I didn’t have the funds to actually stay a night. The old hotel has faded over the years but the local charm, plants everywhere, the attentive staff and the caged parrots won over my wife. We strolled around the Central American Park, which was surrounded, by neoclassic buildings like the Municipal Theater, which was part of 19th century development in trading, and artistic activity, which made it a vanguard of Central American cities. The Cathedral was especially interesting as a major earthquake leveled it in 1917. Today only the façade of the church remains located in front of a very impressive new church.

The next day was spent visiting local churches and market places in villages of Totonicapan, Zunil, Almolonga, San Martin Chili Verde and San Francisco el Alto. The village of San Andres Xecul had the most spectacular church, which was painted with bright, colors and include much native art and Mayan symbolism. Indian demonstrators who blocked the road in protest for some services and funds they considered the government owed them interrupted our return to Guatemala City over the Inter American Highway for three hours. Fortunately the local police didn’t try to disband them prematurely and the group dispersed without any violence.

The final part of our Mayan excursion took us to the jungles of the Peten and the incredible ruins of the classic Mayan city of Tikal. We boarded a “jungle jet” in Guatemala City and were in Tikal within 30 minutes. A guide and a driver met us at the airport and took us to the national park of Tikal and a four-hour tour through the ruins and the surrounding jungle. The city was at its peak during the classic period of 250 to 900AD created many of the Mayan values and traditions, which can still be found amongst the Mayan descendents in the highlands area.

We had a simple Guatemalan lunch of grilled chicken, tortillas and rice as well as a cold local beer, “Gallo” which hit the spot. We spent the remainder of the evening and night at the Camino Real Hotel, which is on Lake Peten Itza some 25 miles from the ruins. The food and service were excellent and the view of the lake simply breathtaking. The next morning another guide led us on a hike through a local biosphere and the trail went over several unrestored Mayan temples. By the end of this two-hour hike we were hot and sweaty but got a feel for the incredible plant and animal life found in the jungles.

By the end of this trip we had learned many new things about this fascinating and beautiful country although we also became aware of how many places and things we still wanted to explore. So we began planning our next visit to this spectacular country with the incredibly gracious and friendly people.