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Published: December 1st 2008
This morning we went to visit two traditional Mayan villages - San Juan Chamula and San Lorenzo Zinacantan, part of the Tzotzil community. Our guide Caesar, a mestizo, was extremely knowledgeable. The people of Chamula practice a mixture of Catholic and traditional Mayan beliefs, and it’s one of few places where they sacrifice chicken in the church, or what they call their sacred house. It was Wednesday, not a sacred day so there were no processions in front of the church. We did go visit a spiritual leader’s house. It seems that all sacred places have their floor covered with pine needles. It was not ok to take pictures of the villagers without permission, as many believe it takes away their spirits. The market in front of the church was bustling, but somewhat expensive. Here someone found 3-peso tacos! Inside the church people would pray to a particular saint depending on their needs. Caesar said that if the saint doesn’t come through he could be punished by being put upside down or even thrown in the freezer! The other interesting thing was the use of coloured candles inside the church, as only white candles are used in Catholic churches. Several families
were praying when we were there including one with a chicken. I walked around to the main altar, by the time I came back the chicken was dead. I later learned that birds (in this case chicken) was used for sacrifice because Mayans believe that other than humans, birds are the other animals that could go to heaven.
At the second village we visited a local family. One of the ladies showed us how they weave and we got to taste some of the best tacos I’ve ever had! The tortilla was freshly made in front of us and with ground pumpkin seeds and homemade salsa, it was simply superb! Caesar went on to talk about some Mayan healing rituals, including egg and chicken rubbing, but I can’t recall much of the details other than that if a pregnant woman gets an egg with double yolk, she would get twins. Another point he said that’s so true was that believe in what you will but don’t impose your beliefs on others. Many people go to Mexico for the all-inclusive resorts and think it’s just a country of tequilas and mariachi bands, but it’s a diverse country with many cultures
with descendants of great ancient civilizations.
On the way back some of us travelled in a VW van. These things are so rare in Canada now I hardly see them anymore. The original VW van and bug are everywhere in Mexico that it wouldn’t be fun to play punch buggy!
We found a lunch place a few doors down from where we had dinner last night. For 24 pesos we got a soup and entrée, and it was only a few more to get a drink. The menu translation wasn’t the best, but good enough to get the idea across. After we got back I had a quick visit of the Na Bolom Museum.
There was more tequila drinking at dinner, but the Big E said that it wasn’t as smooth this time. I’ll take his word for it too!
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San Cristobal
