MAYA
:
LOCATION:
LANGUAGE;Spanish; English; various
Mayan dialects
PRONUNCIATION: MY-yuh
LOCATION; Southeastern Mexico; Guatemala; Belize; Honduras; El Salvador
POPULATION: About 8–10 million
RELIGION: "Folk Catholicism"; evangelical Christianity
Today's Maya are descended from one of the great civilizations of
the Americas. They live in the same regions of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El
Salvador, and Honduras as their ancestors and retain many of their ancient
traditions. Mayan history reaches back some 4,000 years to what is called the
Preclassic period, when civilization first began in Central America. However,
it was during what came to be known as the Classic period—from roughly AD 250 to 900—that Mayan culture reached its peak and the Maya
achieved their celebrated advances in architecture, mathematics, agriculture,
astronomy, art, and other areas.
They built spectacular temples and palaces, developed
several calendars—including one reaching back to 13 August, 3114 BC —and
evolved a numerical system capable of recording a number that today would be
expressed as 142 followed by 36 zeros. They developed a complex system of
writing and, beginning in 50 BC , were the first people in the Western
hemisphere to keep written historical records. Around AD 900 the construction
of buildings and stelae—stone slabs inscribed with names and dates—ceased
abruptly, and the advanced lowland civilization of the Maya collapsed, creating
a mystery that has fascinated scholars for many years. Possible causes that
have been proposed include warfare, drought, famine, and disease.
The Spanish campaign to subdue the Maya and conquer their
lands began around 1520 and ended nearly 200 years later when Tayasal, the last
remaining Mayan region (in present-day Guatemala), fell to the conquistadors in
1697. The Spanish seized Mayan lands and enslaved their populations, sending
many to labor in the mines of northern Mexico. In addition, thousands of Maya
died of diseases spread by the Europeans, especially smallpox. During the first
half of the nineteenth century, the Central American lands won their
independence from Spain, but the lives of the Maya did not improve. They
labored on vast tobacco, sugarcane, and henequen plantations, in virtual
slavery enforced by their continuing debt to the landowners. In the Yucatán,
many joined in a protracted rebellion called the Caste War that lasted from
1847 to 1901.
After the revolution of 1910, the Maya in Mexico gained
increased legal rights and better educational and job opportunities. However, a
steep drop in world prices for henequen—the "green gold" from which
twine was made—turned the Yucatán from one of Mexico's richest regions to one
of its poorest. In Guatemala, thedisenfranchisement and poverty of the
Maya—comprising roughly half the population—continued unchanged into the
twentieth century. Since the 1970s, political violence has forced many Maya to
flee to Mexico, where they remain as refugees. In Chiapas, Maya of the Tzeltal
and Tzotzil tribes took part in the Zapatista uprising of January 1994.
2 • LOCATION
The modern Maya live in southeastern Mexico and northern
Central America, including Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador.
Altogether, their homelands cover an area of approximately 125,000 square miles
(323,750 square kilometers) with a varied terrain that encompasses both
northern lowlands and southern highlands. Volcanic mountains dominate the
highlands. The fertile soil of the highland valleys supports the largest
segment of the Maya population. While many Maya have settled in
cities—particularly Merida and Cancún—and adopted an urban lifestyle, most
remain rural dwellers.
Reliable figures for the total number of Maya are
unavailable. Estimates range upward from 4 million. The true figure is probably
between 8 and 10 million, including about half of Guatemala's total population
of 10 million, close to 2 million Maya in the Mexican Yucatán, and additional
numbers in Mexico's Chiapas state, as well as Belize, Honduras, and El
Salvador. Among the larger individual groups are about 750,000 Quiché (K'iche')
in the midwestern highlands of Guatemala; 445,000 or more Cakchiquel in several
Guatemalan departments (provinces); and over 500,000 Mam in southwestern
Guatemala and southeastern Chiapas.
3 • LANGUAGE
Most Maya today speak Spanish. The two Mayan languages of
the Classic period, Yucatecan and CHOLAN, have subdivided into about thirty
separate languages, some of which are not mutually intelligible. The most
widely spoken are Mam, Quiché, Kekchí, and Cakchiquel. Advocates of Mayan
cultural autonomy protest against the relegation of their indigenous languages
to limited use, often in remote rural areas, while Spanish remains the language
of government, education, the church, and the media. The following example is
drawn from a creation myth in the Popol Vuh, the Mayan holy book:
Keje k'ut xax k'o wi ri kaj nay puch, u K'ux Kaj.
Are ub'i ri k'ab'awil, chuch'axik.
Translation:
And of course there is the sky, and there is also the Heart
of Sky.
This is the name of the god, as it is spoken.
4 • FOLKLORE
The greatest body of Mayan tradition is contained in the
Popol Vuh, an ancient text first transcribed into Latin and later translated
into Spanish that preserves both sacred and secular lore. According to its
creation myth, the gods made three different attempts at creating human beings
before they had a version they were satisfied with. The first beings, which
were made of mud, were destroyed because they had no brains. The next ones were
made of wood and proved deficient because they were without emotions and thus
could not properly praise their makers. Finally the correct material—maize
(corn)—was found, and perfect beings were fashioned. Ultimately deciding to
protect them by limiting the extent of their knowledge, the gods decided to
damage their eyes so they could not see too much, and the resulting beings were
the first Maya.
5 • RELIGION
The traditional religions of the Maya, in which astrology
and ancestor worship both played a role, were based on a system of beliefs that
included the world, the heavens, and an unseen underworld called Xibalba. When
Spanish missionaries introduced Catholicism to their regions, the Maya tended
to add it onto their existing religion, creating a unique brand of "folk
Catholicism." Their traditional gods that belonged to the natural world,
such as corn, rain, and the sun, became associated with Christian saints, and
various rituals and festivals were transmuted into forms approved by the
church.
Since the 1960s, evangelical Christianity, mostly promoted
by churches in the southern United States, has been adopted by large segments
of the Mayan population. Entire towns have embraced conservative forms of
Protestantism, which have not proven as amenable as Catholicism to the
retention of customs related to traditional folk religions, such as the use of
alcohol in association with religious rituals or the retention of the sacred
brotherhoods—known as cofradias in Guatemala and as cargos in Chiapas—which
traditionally oversee village festivals and other aspects of civic life.
6 • MAJOR HOLIDAYS
Most holidays currently observed by the Maya are the holy
days of the Christian calendar. Many of their observances, however, still have
characteristics of the traditional nature worship of their ancestors. The most
important celebrations are generally Holy Week (the week leading up to Easter
in late March or early April) and Christmas (December 25). The Maya living in
the Chamula region of Chiapas are known for their five-day Carnival
celebration, called Crazy February, whose Christian significance (the period
preceding Lent) coincides with the older observance of the five "Lost
Days" at the end of the Maya solar calendar. Religious societies called
cargos sponsor the festivities, which include ceremonial dances, feasting,
processions, and ritual reenactments of both religious and historic events.
7 • RITES OF PASSAGE
Major life transitions (such as birth, puberty, and death)
are marked by religious ceremonies, many of which combine Christian and
ancestral traditions.
8 • RELATIONSHIPS
The religious societies known as cargos in Chiapas and
cofradias in Guatemala have been an important vehicle of social cohesion among
the Maya. Charged since colonial times with organizing Catholic religious
festivals, they provided the means for the Maya to conform to the customs of
their colonizers while privately preserving their own religion, traditions, and
world-view. Mayan villages today have both civil and religious cargos, whose
officials may ascend through a hierarchy of positions to ultimately become
respected village elders, or principales .
9 • LIVING CONDITIONS
Housing varies among the different regions and groups of
Maya. The Mam, who live in southwestern Guatemala and southeastern Chiapas,
live in houses with adobe walls, small shuttered windows, roofs of tile or
corrugated metal, and a floor of hard-packed dirt. The K'iche' in the
Guatemalan highlands build rectangular houses with double-pitched tile roofs
and walls of adobe, thatch supported by boards or poles, or other materials.
Increasing numbers live in more modern homes built from brick or lumber with
tin roofs.
Maya folk medicine includes the ministrations of ritual
healers called curanderos and female herbalists who may double as midwives.
Common cures include prayers, offerings, herbal remedies, and sweat-baths.
The main means of transport for most Maya is the bus. Buses
in Maya areas may be crowded as early as 4:00 or 5:00 AM , often with people
traveling from remote villages to the larger market towns. By late afternoon
and evening there are fewer travelers on the road. Trains in the Maya
regions—like those in many parts of Central and South America—are generally
slow, old, and unreliable. In some areas, boats are used for public
transportation.
10 • FAMILY LIFE
Both nuclear and extended families are found among the Maya.
Couples generally marry in their late teens or early twenties. Traditionally,
all marriages were arranged, but since the 1950s it has become increasingly
common among some groups for young people to choose their own mates. In
arranged marriages, contact may be initiated by the couple, followed by negotiation
between the two families. Gifts are generally exchanged, and in some cases the
bride's parents receive a payment to compensate them for having raised her.
Couples often have both civil and religious ceremonies, and they may live with
the groom's parents until their first child is born.
Family structure may alternate between nuclear and extended,
with the addition of newly married couples who will eventually leave to
establish their own homes, or elderly parents who come to live with the family
when it becomes hard for them to manage on their own.
11 • CLOTHING
The Maya wear both modern Western-style clothing and
traditional garb (although the latter is more commonly worn by women). Men
generally wear trousers and sport shirts or guayaberas— dress shirts with
decorative tucks worn outside the belt in place of a jacket. Women wear either
traditional woven and embroidered clothing, or stylish dresses and
skirt-and-blouse outfits. Traditional women's attire includes the huipil
(plural: huipiles ), a long, sleeveless tunic; the quechquémitli, a shoulder
cape; and the enredo, a wrap-around skirt. Maya garments are commonly decorated
with elaborate and colorful embroidery. The designs, which include humans,
animals, and plants, often have some religious significance, and every Maya
group and village has its own distinctive patterns of decoration. The
decorative designs for huipiles are often said to appear to women in their
dreams. Men often wear the traditional tunics over store-bought shirts. Fajas
are sashes that hold garments in place and also serve as pockets.
12 • FOOD
The Maya generally eat three meals a day: breakfast (el
desayuno), lunch (la comida), and supper (la cena). Corn, the most important
food of their ancestors, remains the central ingredient in their diet today and
is used to make tortillas or tamales. After corn, beans (frijoles) are the most
basic staple, served boiled, fried, or refried. Soups—many of them actually
thick stews—form a large part of the Mayan diet. One of the most popular is lime
soup (sopa de lima), made from chicken, limes, and a variety of spices.
Poultry forms the basis of many meals—either turkey, which
is native to the region, or chicken, which was introduced by the Spanish.
Plentiful seafood caught on the coasts of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico is
also an important part of the diet. The Yucatán is known for its ceviche, a
cold dish made with fish prepared with an acidic marinade (usually lime juice),
served with onions, chiles, and cilantro. Popular desserts include flan (a
custard introduced by the Spanish) and Torta del Cielo (Heavenly Cake), a cake
made with rum, almonds, and ten eggs that is served at weddings and other
special occasions.
One of the best-known foods of the Maya is Cochinita Pibil ,
a pork dish that dates back to pre-Columbian times, when it was made from wild
boar cooked in a coal-filled pit. Domesticated pigs, introduced by the Spanish,
have replaced the boar, but the dish is prepared with the same seasonings as it
was in the past. A recipe for Cochinita Pibil is included in this entry.
13 • EDUCATION
The Maya are educated at either public or Catholic schools.
In Guatemala, a half-dozen Catholic-run boarding schools are the main source of
education for those wishing to progress beyond the basic education available in
the villages. Maya concerned with preserving their traditions believe that the
formal education available to them has caused them to lose touch with their own
culture. The Guatemalan Academy of Maya Languages ( Academia de Lenguas Mayas )
leads a movement to preserve the languages of the Guatemalan Maya.
14 • CULTURAL HERITAGE
The Maya have preserved many aspects of their ancient
culture, including their traditional clothing, folklore, agricultural
techniques, family structure, language, and dance. Many elements of their
ancient religions have also survived for centuries under the guise of Catholic
religious observances.
15 • EMPLOYMENT
In rural areas, the Maya farm their maize fields, or milpas,
much as their ancestors did thousands of years ago. Forested sites are
converted into new fields by felling the trees and burning the brush (today
known as "slash-and-burn" agriculture). Maize kernels are then
planted into holes made with digging sticks. Where the ancient Maya used stone
tools for clearing and hardened the end of the digging stick with fire, today's
farmer uses a steel machete and metal-tipped stick. Because this type of
agriculture rapidly depletes the soil, fields must be left fallow for periods
ranging from seven to as many as twenty years. Besides farming, Maya also work
as laborers and artisans or own small shops. In urban areas, they work in jobs
involving textiles or computers, for example.
Recipe
Cochinita Pibil (Pork Marinade)
Ingredients
• ¼
teaspoon ground pepper
• ¼
teaspoon ground cumin
• 5 cloves
garlic, minced
• ⅓ cup
lime juice
• 2 pounds
lean pork, cut in 2-inch cubes
• Banana
leaves or aluminum foil
• 1 small
can chopped hot chilies
• 1
teaspoon dried oregano
• Sliced
purple raw onions
• 2 bay
leaves, crushed
• String
Directions
1. Combine
the pepper and the cumin with the minced garlic.
2. Combine
the garlic mixture with the lime juice, bay leaves, and oregano.
3. Put the
pork cubes in a large plastic bag and add the spice mixture. Seal and turn and
shake the bag until the pork is well coated with the mixture. Marinate for at
least 3 hours or overnight.
4. Place
banana leaves or aluminum foil on the bottom of a roasting pan. (Leaves or foil
should drape over the sides of the pan.) Pour the pork cubes and the marinade
onto the leaves (or foil).
5. Top with
chopped onions and chiles. Fold the leaves (or foil) over the meat. If using
banana leaves, tie with string to secure. Preheat oven to 325° F . Cover the
pan and bake for 1½ hours.
Serve with beans, salsa, and heated corn tortillas.
Adapted from Gerlach, Nancy, et al. Foods of the Maya.
Freedom, Calif.: The Crossing Press, 1994.
16 • SPORTS
The ancient Maya played hip-ball, a game that involved
keeping a hard rubber ball aloft with any part of the body other than the
hands, head, or feet. In some regions, the ball had to be hit through a set of
stone rings. Soccer is popular among the Maya of today.
17 • RECREATION
Sunday afternoons after church are the most popular time for
recreation. Most businesses are closed, and many people stroll the village
streets or relax in local parks. Popular forms of musical entertainment include
marimba teams and mariachi bands.
18 • CRAFTS AND HOBBIES
Maya women are famous for their weaving, often using locally
handspun yarn and natural vegetable dyes. Using the pre-Columbian back-strap
loom of their ancestors, they produce striped and plain white cloth for shawls,
shirts, and children's clothes, some with designs that are over 1,200 years
old. Colorful hammocks are woven from fine cotton string. Other craft items
include both glazed and unglazed pottery, ceremonial wooden masks, and goods
woven from palm, straw, reeds, and sisal.
For centuries, traditional Maya dances have been preserved
by the religious men's fraternities called cofradias. These dances were
performed for both ceremonial and entertainment purposes. The Pop Wuj dance
depicts the four stages of humankind's development: the Man of Mud, who is
destroyed because he does not recognize the gods; the Man of Wood, who is too
rigid and ultimately burns; the Monkey Man, who is too silly; and the Human
Being, who respects and prays to the gods. The K'iche' Maya of Chichicastenango
have a dance that centers around Sijolaj, a harvest king whom the Spaniards
identified with St. Thomas.
19 • SOCIAL PROBLEMS
The Maya of Yucatán, like many other Mexicans, suffer from
overpopulation, unemployment, and periods of political unrest. In Guatemala,
Mayan farmers have been crowded onto mountainous areas with poor land, and
laborers must work for extremely low wages. The most serious problem for the
Maya in that country has been over two decades of violent political repression
by the military and right-and left-wing death squads. Thousands have been
murdered or "disappeared," and many have fled the country for Mexico
or the United States.
The health of the Tzotzil and Tzeltal Maya of Chiapas has
been compromised by their inadequate diet, which consists of fewer than 500
calories a day—one-fifth of the minimum standard set by the United Nations.
Life expectancy is only forty-four years, and the infant mortality rate is 150
deaths per 1,000 live births.
20 • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Brosnahan, Tom. Guatemala, Belize and Yucatan: La Ruta Maya.
Hawthorn, Australia: Lonely Planet Publications, 1994.
Canby, Peter. The Heart of the Sky: Travels Among the Maya.
New York: HarperCollins, 1992.
Gerlach, Nancy, and Jeffrey Gerlach. Foods of the Maya: A
Taste of the Yucatan. Freedom, Calif.: The Crossing Press, 1994.
Olson, James S. The Indians of Central and South America: An
Ethnohistorical Dictionary. New York: Greenwood Press, 1991.
Trout, Lawana Hooper. The Maya. New York: Chelsea House,
1991.
WEBSITES:
Columbus Group. [Online] Available
http://www.quicklink.com/mexico/ , 1998.
Embassy of Mexico in Canada. [Online] Available
http://www.docuweb.ca/Mexico/ , 1998.
Science Museum of Minnesota. Maya Adventure. [Online]
Available http://www.sci.mus.mn.us/sln/ma/ , 1998.
World Travel Guide. [Online] Available
http://www.wtgonline.com/country/mx/gen.html , 1998.
Read more:
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