San Juan Chamula

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San Juan Chamula is a town of about 3,000 located about 7 miles outside of San Cristobal de las Casas. The Tzotzil tribe that resides in town is the only indigenous group in Mexico that truly rejected Spanish Catholocism and fully preserved their own religious practices. I decided to check out the colorful church located in the center of town to witness their customs first hand.

As I entered the church I saw hundreds of flickering candles, gigantic clouds of incense smoke with worshipers kneeling with their faces to the pine-needle carpet floor which made an extremely powerful impression. Inside one could see many sick people who came to the church seeking curanderos (medicine men or women) literally yelling out prayers to their gods in order to find relief from their sicknesses. As I walked around the church I saw many worshipers waving around chickens, bones and eggs and consuming aguadiente (a strong liquor found all over Latin America is used for relaxation during their rituals- even little kids would be taking hits from the bottle). Apparently, they come to the church for five days and wave around chickens, eggs and bones while shouting their prayers to the gods in their Mayan language and if they are not cured of their sickness at the end of five days the chicken gets killed and the five day cycle repeats itself. You could also find them lighting candles and rubbing wax all over their bodies.

As I witnessed all of this I looked around the church filled with foriegn tourists observing what was taking place in facsination just like I was. I could not help but wonder what all these people suffering from illnesses thought of all the outsiders marveling at their rituals. As facsinating as it was to witness everything, I felt as though I was intruding on something that was meant to be kept private. Did the worshipers feel like they were being put on display? Perhaps we are ultimately helping the poverty stricken town by paying our entrance fee, but in the end I do not think I would want people watching me beg for help from the gods if I were in their situation. Are they so desperate for money that this is a last resort for them? I left the church with mixed emotions and felt confused about what I had witnessed.

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