Mexico´s rootz

San Juan Chamula market day

SO yesterday I went to visit two Indigenous villages outside San Cristobal; San Juan Chamula and Zinacantan. It was one of my most interesting days in Mexico yet. As I arrived in San Juan Chamula the first thing I noticed were the vans of Coca-Cola parked near the entrance. Very indigenous, I thought suspiciously. And then walking around, I saw lots of Indigenous people (Indigenas they are respectfully called here) sitting around all drinking Coca-Cola or some other big brand fizzy drink. I later discovered that these people drink the carbonated sodas so as to BURP better so they can burp out any evil spirits and purify themselves! They apparently used to use a local-made fizzy drink made from maize (a cornerstone of their lives, they even believe people are made from it) but with the introduction of Coca-cola which was cheaper, easier and tastier, they switched. I felt somewhat disturbed by this but it was later explained to me that the people of Chamula´s existence as an autonomous community is dependent on the fact that they are able to coopt modernity in to their traditional ways of life, without sacrificing their beliefs. This is why they allow tourists in to their self-governed municipality, to make money from them.

Both San Juan Chamula and Zinacantan are made up of the Indigenous Tzotzil people, who descend directly from the ancient Maya people. The Chamulan people in particularly were very interesting to me. Their way of life is exemplary in many ways. The community is run as a big family organism with all the work shared amongst the people who work as a cooperative. Family comes first. And next is their religion. They can easily be considered Catholics as they have what appears to be crucifixs adorning the town, they pray in a church and they have Christian saints. However whilst they may call themselves Catholics, their concept of Christianity is somewhat skewed. Their crucifix with its rounded ends represent past, present and future. And whilst Christianity and modern day religions are focused on the past, What God Did, What Jesus Said etc, Mayan religion and indeed the religion of these Indigenous is focused on the present and future. Agriculture and family. They have several gods, not just one. And instead of preaching, the religious leaders simply make offerings for the future of the towns. Conceptually these people´s religion is very different from Catholicism. They could not see the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit as the Holy Trinity or God. If they saw a group of trees and you told them it was a forest they would not understand, they would call it trees. Because there is no forest without the trees. When the Spaniards invaded and attempted to convert these Mayan people, to me, all it seems that they were able to do was infiltrate the language of the Mayan religion so it coopts Biblical names. They pray to the Sun, not to Jesus and yet they call the sun Jesus! They believe the dead ALL go to the underworld and yet the Catholics took Underworld to mean Hell (as distinct from Heaven) and so they call the Mayan underworld ´Hell´ and now it seems the Mayans have the same Christian concepts of death. And they pray in the church because it is simply a communal area where they can worship. The Material life is not important to the Mayans, how things look or what things are called. These are superficial labels and appearances. They understand that life is deeper than this and it is what you think and know and do.

Making tortillas

The church in San Juan Chamula was incredible. Instead of pews, they had pine needles carpeting the floor to provide padding for the kneeling people. The Chamulan people were there praying on their knees in their familial groups, lighting hundreds of candles (their offering to the Gods), chanting in their archaic Tzotzil prayer language and drinking Coke/ Fanta/ Sprite and burping out their sins. Truly surreal! The church too, is a harsh mix of Catholic relics and saints combined with vivid colourful Mexican decor and a potent smell of burning incense. I also saw a couple of men wearing the traditional thick, furry, black wool poncho (distinct only of the San Juan Chamulan people) tidying up the mess of left over coke bottle caps and candle wax. I assumed they were the church´s cleaners however was soon corrected and told they are the highest religious leaders in the town, chosen for their family, religious and work commitments and value. I was very surprised by this and could not imagine a Christian, Jewish or Muslim religious leader cleaning up after his worshipping people.

The San Juan Chamulan people are also astute in their business and (to a lesser degree their political) acumen. As I wondered out of the church I was approached by two different women attempting to sell me handicrafts, a norm here in Chiapàs state. After I purchased a few cheap bracelets from one she then asked for another 5 pesos for a tortilla. The second woman asked me for the same price if I wished to take a photo of her daughter. They know how susceptible us embarrassing Westerners are to an opportunity to take a photo of some of the ¨culture¨ we are experiencing. And covering the roof of the local Community political building were egg shells and other bits of rubbish. Apparently San Juan Chamula had had an election on Sunday and 40,000 of the 50,000 inhabitants had turned out at the incredibly large market square to elect their latest leader. This is done by parading the candidates on the balcony of the building and letting the people applaud for their choice. However when they are not so keen on a particular candidate they throw things, eggs being the item of choice apparently.

Finally, I wanted to take a million photos of the strange, colourful people and their customs as I encountered yesterday in San Juan Chamula but also in Zinacantan where the men traditionally wear hot pink tunics, not unlike those seen adorning the tacky/wealthy in London´s clubs in the West End. However they believe that if you take photos of them, you are stealing some of their spirit. Which, I have to say there is potentially much truth in. After all the best memories are remembered. And for too many tourists, photos are simply proof and validation of their trips. And why should someone be allowed to feel more of a cultured individual by taking a photo of someone else who IS a more cultured individual? Besides that, it is incredibly disrespectful to treat these people as spectacles...

My couchsurfer host, Julio Olvera

So that was my day, much food for mine thought. Exploring Malaysia´s Orang Asli next on my agenda? Potentially. Today I had my last Spanish classes as tomorrow I am off to Palenque for more Maya ruins but more incredible than any I´ve seen before as these are deep set in the ferociously lush Mexican jungle! But for now I shall leave you with the Three principles (LIES) of Mexicans (men, that is):

1. I will pay you back tomorrow, I promise!
2. This is the last drink!
3. I only want to put the ¨end¨ in, that´s all!

These were taught to me by the gallant gentlemen Julio and Marco of San Cristobal. Chido!

xxx