Before I start with me, here are some updates from Tino in
Toronto. He is showing off his great classic pose in one of the pictures :-)
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| Tino missing me...BIG HUGS!!!! |
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| Tino strikes a pose! |
I know you are all very anxious to know more about San Cristóbal
de las Casas, but before I do that I want to collect a bit more material. So for now I will talk
about Chamula and Zinacantán. Both villages are tzotzil communities with very
different traditions.
San Juan Chamula is a tzotzil community about 10 km
northwest of San Cristóbal. You can´t just visit the place, you need to obtain
a permit first from the local council. Here Mayan traditions are very much
alive. The population is Catholic, but it´s blended with pre-Hispanic, Mayan,
traditions. The Mexican police is not allowed to enter the town without
permission. Polygamy is still practiced. the traditional dress consists of the
chuj´, a black wool tunic for men, and women wear colourful huipils (blouses)
of cotton or satin.
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The cemetery is worth a visit in itself: black crosses mean
adults, white crosses are infants, and blue and green crosses are young people.
Your age when you die also indicates the hour you will be buried: the older you
are, the later in the day you will be buried. The day is a reflection of a life
cycle.
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The Church is not a Catholic church as we in Europe know.
There are no benches, the walls are lined with glass cupboards with statues of
Catholic saints, but these saints represent Mayan deities, each with their own
character. The statues wear mirrors, because even though you are speaking to
the Mayan god, you are confessing to yourself. The floor is covered in pine
needles, which people brush aside to sit on the floor and make space for their
own prayer area, with dozens of candles placed on the floor. During their
prayers and chanting, the people drink Coca Cola, a sacred drink. The Catholic priest
only comes once a month to perform the only Catholic sacrament the community
accepts: baptism. Often dozens of new-born children are baptised at the same
time. Sometimes chickens are being sacrificed as part of a healing ritual and later
eaten as a sacred meal or buried in front of the house of the sick person. At
the front, there is no altar, but the statue of San Juan, the patron saint of
the community surrounded by dozens of vases with huge bouquets of flowers, and
candles. The smell of pine and candles is quite overwhelming.
There are stories abound of people´s cameras being
confiscated when taking pictures or even being hit in the face, as a part of
their soul is taken away. I don´t know if these are urban legends, but I did
not want to be disrespectful and was not planning to risk my camera for it. So
no pictures from me. This pictures is taken from Wikipedia, to at least give
you an idea, though I am surprised to see tables, as our guide explained that
contact with the earth was very important.
Zinacantán, only a few miles away is very different. You
still need to get approval The traditional dress main characteristic are
flowers in blue and purple. These are woven by hand by the women. A woman is
considered not ready for marriage as long as she is not able to sew her own
wedding clothes. In the church of this community, we recognize a lot more
aspects of a traditional Catholic church; people follow all the sacraments, no
polygamy, Latin texts hanging on the walls, and the altar is covered with vases
filled with flowers. Again not allowed to take any pictures inside.
