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.