San Lorenzo Zinacantán and Casa Na Bolom

Zinacantán is very close to Chamula geographically and the people are closely related linguistically. However, they have reacted very differently and we were told that the two groups do not mingle or intermarry. In Zinacantán, they have adopted a more or less orthodox Roman Catholicism. Outside the cities, all the indigenous grow staples, such as corn, beans etc. However, the groups have different specialties for cash crops. In Chumala, they grow vegetables, especially for San Christobal. In Zinacantán it's flowers. As you come down into the valley, you see dozens of plastic covered greenhouses. The flowers are taken, not only to San Christobal but also into the tourist cities and resorts in the Yucatan. While traditional weaving is carried out by women in all the indigenous groups, women in Zinacantán also embroider white cotton blouses around the neck and shoulders.

The biggest event in Zinacantán was our visit to Maria's house. This was an opportunity to get some insight into daily life of Maya families. The adobe house is a single room, about 15 feet wide and close to 30 long. There is a single door with no windows and no chimney even though they cook on an open wood fire with a flat iron surface. However, there is a gap of several inches between the top of the walls and the roof, which provides ventilation and exit of smoke. We were told that 11 people (3 generations) live in the house. There was only one bed; most of the family sleep on mats woven from reeds on the ground. In one corner is this family altar (see photo above). One of the features of the visit was to experience the basic diet. In the background behind the pink covered table you can see Maria’s daughter-in-law cooking on the wood fire.She is making tortillas in the (almost) traditional way. Corn is cooked and then mashed rather than using corn meal. Finely ground calcium carbonate (limestone the same as used in such preparations as Tums) is added in small amounts. This helps in digestion and in the absorption of nutrients from the corn. With small amounts of water, this is mixed into a paste. Our cook rolled some into a ball. Then, she placed it in a small hand press that smoothed it into a flat tortilla shape.

She is making tortillas in the (almost) traditional way. Corn is cooked and then mashed rather than using corn meal. Finely ground calcium carbonate (limestone the same as used in such preparations as Tums) is added in small amounts. This helps in digestion and in the absorption of nutrients from the corn. With small amounts of water, this is mixed into a paste. Our cook rolled some into a ball. Then, she placed it in a small hand press that smoothed it into a flat tortilla shape. Of course, traditionally, the women worked the dough between her hands, much like pizza makers in Italian restaurants. The tortilla was then placed on the iron plate over the fire and cooked. When cooked, we were given a tortilla; beans had also been cooked and we could spoon some onto the tortilla, roll it up and enjoy. These home made tortillas were thicker and had more texture than the machine made tortillas that we buy or are served in restaurants. I’m not sure if it was just an effect of it being early afternoon and we had had no lunch, but it was rather tasty. Of course, most Mexicans would normally spice it up with generous amounts of picante salsa.

The children are, I think, members of the family, but I’m not sure if all live here. The other photo shows some of the beautiful textiles that Maria had for sale. Near the top, you can see a few of the adobe blocks of the house. More and more, cement blocks are being used, but they are not really as good for temperature control as adobe.

Casa Na Bolom

After our return to San Christóbal in the afternoon. We went to Casa Na Bolom, House of the Jaguar rebuilt and expanded by Frans and Trudi Blom. It is a large, beautiful property that functions as museum, Maya research center, hotel, restaurant and tree nursery. (Google search of Casa Na Bolom has about 15 photos under Images.) There is a large garden behind. One of the statues in the garden is a funny tribute to Diego Rivera the famous Mexican artist who had stayed here as a guest. From the front it just looks like a statue of Rivera, but from behind you see Rivera with a bottle of booze and a prostitute on each arm, a tribute to his well earned reputation as a drinker and womanizer. The Bloms devoted their lives to the Maya and the Lacandón. Trudi had a decades long, close friendship with Chan K’in Viejo, the spiritual leader who lived to be almost 100 years old (see the post on the Lacandón).

San Juan Chamula

In Chamula, the people have developed a unique religious syncretism of Catholicism and earlier religion. At first glance, this looks like a Christian cross; in fact, it is a Mayan cross and is displayed frequently in Chiapus! The symbol in the shaft of the cross is for maiz (corn) which was the basis of mesomerican civilization. BTW, the Mayan cross (there are a great many versions) is now the basis for a religion and kind of astrology if you do a Google search. The fact that the Maya were already familiar with the cross as religious symbol undoubtedly helped the Maya descendants to accept aspects of Christianity. As usual the Spanish assigned a patron saint for each village and the monk missionaries built a church. The original church, whose walls still stand without a roof, burned and was replaced by the current church in the photo. The other photo shows detail of the decoration around the door.

The Spanish assigned John the Baptist as the patron saint of Chamula. When the people learned the biblical story that John had baptized Jesus, they decided that he was more important than Jesus. The main painting at the front of the church is John, while Jesus has his icon relegated to a corner at the entrance; he is respected but not regarded as preeminent. All mesoamerican religions were polytheistic and the people here (as is common among most of the indigenous people of Mexico) have pragmatically adopted the pantheon of Catholic saints; both sides of the sanctuary are lined with images of about 40 saints, each with his/her own specialty. Thus far, this adoption of the catholic saints as replacement of pre-Christian deities is fairly common for the native peoples in Mexico. For example, there is a good case that the worship of the Virgin of Guadalupe, the most revered saint in Mexico, was really a continuation of the pre-Christian, mother goddess Tonatzin.

However, the people in Chamula went much further. At some point, they expelled the priests and the story is that they took the confessional into the square and burned it. Now, individuals and families communicate and make their requests directly to whichever saint they wish. There are no pews and the tile floors are spread with fresh pine needles, renewed frequently. The church is open 24/7; individuals and families come in, clear on the floor in front of one of the images, and fix candles with wax to the floor. Sometimes, it is only a few, but we saw other cases where the worshipers had fixed rows with 50 and more candles. They then pray and make their requests. Some brought in chickens, perhaps because they were making especially urgent requests. At some point the chickens are killed by breaking the neck. No one was allowed to take photos inside the church, but this blog has a photo from the web (scroll down 15 photos).

Scattered throughout the municipality are what we might call individual prayer houses for each of the 40 saints. There, special custodians (majordomos, not exactly priests) burn incense and offer frequent prayers to the saint; people can go to these places to show respect and pray. This certainly seems to be a continuation of pre-Christian religious practice. As part of the religious ceremonial both in church and the prayer houses, they drink posh as well as Coca Cola. Posh is distilled from sugar and thus, in plain form is much like rum (powerful with 40% alcohol or more); however, they also combine it with other flavours in liqueurs. We were treated to a taste. On our last morning in San Christóbal, Barb and I tried to buy some, but the poshería (posh store) wasn’t open.

Chamula has its own municipal government, which is elected; the president (mayor), a few other officials and the police (gobernadores) wear a distinctive 'uniform' consisting of long, black vest reaching to about the knees and a light coloured hat (like a cowboy hat). The police carry a staff or cudgel (about 3 feet long and 1.5 a inches thick) as their symbol of authority--no guns! These men serve without salary for a year. As we were entering the large central plaza, a public meeting with officials was just ending.

The people of Chamula have been very resistant to assimilation; although men and younger people are now adopting some western clothing, most women still wear traditional costumes and clothing. Women weavers are famed for their woollen textiles. Sheep are almost sacred; they are used only for wool and are never eaten. A Google search of ‘Chamula clothing’ had a link to Images, which has a large number of photos which Google has accumulated from many websites. In both religion and culture, those who depart very much from the group’s norms are required to leave. As we were driving out of San Christóbal, our guide pointed out a neighbourhood going up the mountain that is populated mainly by people who left or were required to leave Chamula.

Chiapas trip

After a hiatus of almost a year, I have a great deal to talk about from our recent (Jan. 10-18) trip to Chiapas. I’ll pretty much follow our itinerary in my posts.

Chiapas is the most southerly of Mexican states and shares a border with Guatemala. The state was much in the news in the 1990’s because of the Zapatista movement. The indigenous people had suffered increasing marginalization and exclusion in the 20th C as a result of settlers and logging companies taking more and more of the land. As noted in the Wikipedia article, the Mexican government eventually negotiated and has made considerable efforts to improve the conditions and standards of living of the indigenous people of Chiapas. However, they are still among the poorest in Mexico. After being fairly quiet, just a week or so before we went to Chiapas, the Zapatistas organized silent demonstrations. The next day, a communique from Marcos stated, “We’re still here; did you hear us?” As in the earlier period, the leaders rely on non-violence and have a real knack for generating publicity for their cause. From what we saw (signs and posters), the Zapatistas are very popular with the indigenous people.

We were part of a tour organized by Karuna; she is a fabulous woman who is organizing a number of tours--eg., Mexico City and Oaxaca--although this was the 1st time to Chiapas. Profits from her tours go to support the fish farming coop that has been started in Mexcala which is towards the east end of Lake Chapala. It is hoped that this is a model for other fish farms in the future as over-fishing is rapidly depleting the wild fish stocks. This would provide employment for the fishermen who are losing their livelihoods as fish decline as well as provide the fish protein that many people in the area depend upon. This tour concentrated on the Maya, both ancient Maya from the impressive city ruins that they left and their modern descendants. The latter are divided into 8 groups speaking different languages and having distinctive cultural features, which I shall be expanding on in future posts. Including Karuna, there were 24 in the group. We flew from Guadalajara via Mexico City to Tuxtla, the capital city of Chiapas which we didn’t see as we were taken by bus directly to San Christóbal. The latter is high up (about 7100 feet above sea level and in a bowl surrounded by mountains. The bus trip involved very impressive views from the mountains.

San Christóbal has very narrow, one way streets, although paved with flagstones. Our bus driver had very little margins in making turns at intersections. Nevertheless, cars and the many vans that provide public transport really whiz along. In San Christóbal we stayed at Hotel Bo --first 2 nights and the last night of our trip. It is a medium sized, new or recently renovated hotel as its amenities are very up to date (the first photo is our bedroom). About 5 (after some lunch and a short time to get settled), we all went to a small Regional Textile Museum (see photo).

The manager/guide is known locally by the indigenous as the ‘white medicine man’. He spoke accented, but quite good English; he was enthusiastic and funny. The Maya descendants living in Chiapas are divided into eight distinct groups with their own languages/dialects, distinctive clothing and cultural features. One room of this small museum had both male and female clothing examples for each of the 8 groups; our guide pointed out and explained the features of each group (note the blue, Mayan cross on the wall). In 2 or 3 other rooms, he had various artifacts produced by indigenous artists and artisans. His nickname comes from the fact that money he raises is used to purchase and import medicines for the indigenous people. This was a very interesting beginning for learning about the indigenous peoples.

Afterwards, we explored the downtown area with the usual square and gazebo/kiosko; this one was unusually high (see photo in Wikipedia website). This building was still sporting Christmas and New Year lights and decoration. Radiating out from the central square are at least 3 streets that have been converted to pedestrian walkways for 3 or 4 blocks with stores and many restaurants. One of the interesting features was an ice rink under a large tent on the plaza in front of the cathedral adjacent to the square. From a distance with people circling around, I first thought that it might be roller skating. It was clear that most people had little or no experience of ice skating. However, despite many falls, everyone seemed to be having a good time. Although we did not go until the morning of the last day, there is a large textile market on the grounds of Santo Domingo Church. There were at least 40 stalls with only tarps on the roofs and sides. These were ‘manned’ almost entirely by native people, especially women. In Ajijic, Barbara has trouble getting light cotton blouses with long sleeves. There was a good selection here and in all, she bought about 5!

I must tell of the experience our last day as we were returning home. Approaching the airport in Tuxtla, we noticed a large fire with black petroleum smoke just off the runway. On arriving we learned that a small private plane had crashed; 5 passengers and the pilot were killed. For a few hours the airport was closed so that our plane was not able to land. We were uncertain whether we would have to remain for the night. However, later another plane did arrive to take us to Mexico City and a connecting flight brought us to Guadalajara, arriving at 11 p.m. instead of the 7:30 that had been originally scheduled. The airline, Interjet, reacted very quickly and efficiently. Although a bit late, we were certainly grateful to be home. Our 2nd day was spent visiting 2 municipalities which border San Christóbal--Chamula and Zincantán; they are fascinating because their peoples have developed very different responses to the intruding religion and culture brought and imposed by the Spanish. I’ll discuss these in the next posts.