Category: The Maya
Weaving a History
At the beginning of time, according to ancient Mayan legend, the gods from their center spun out the cosmos, setting in place the universe. The corn god laid out the four corners and erected the World Tree in the center, from whose branches grew one of everything to come. When they became too full, the [...]
Maximón
Mayan Patron Saint is an enigma text and photos by Thor Janson www.bushmanollie.com There is not a town or village in the entire Mayan Highlands where the presence of Maximón is not being asserted. Although the guide books for many years have only listed three Maximón shrines—San Andrés Itzapa, Zunil and Santiago Atitlán—there are literally [...]
Guatemala’s Unique Chachales
A second word is chachal, Quiché for necklace. The evolution of chachales in Guatemala is a fascinating tale of history, economics and anthropology. At the time of the Conquest, Guatemala’s indigenous prized red coral as component in necklaces. As easily recoverable near-shore coral became scarce, sharp traders, chiefly in Europe, manufactured substitutes and introduced them into Guatemala as trade goods. These were almost but not always red, apparently to satisfy taste here and elsewhere.
Adopt-a-Village in Guatemala
Adopt-a-Village in Guatemala partners with Mayan villages in the remote northwest corner of the country, where there are virtually no public services, secondary schools or other aid organizations providing consistent support. At the urging of village leaders, AAV focuses primarily on orphans and the children of widows who have few resources to support their families. [...]
La Profecía Maya 2012
Written by Elizabeth Hart – photos: Georgeann Johnson It may be difficult to find friends and family outside of Guatemala who know much about the Mayan calendar. But here, the calendar—and especially the significance of its end date in 2012—are regular topics of conversation, as Guatemala’s ancient history was likely a part of the original [...]
