The Poor Give

“The poor give even when they have nothing.” The other night I had a short conversation with my host padre that made me step back and think for a moment. We were discussing the Christmas traditions of “posadas” where the town goes around to various houses to sing and the family gives the group punch, tamales and decorates their house with lights and other various decorations. As he describes this lovely tradition he mentions how although the people in the pueblo don’t have much, they’ll continue to give to their neighbors and family regardless. He then went on to say that when he used to go into houses to repair electronics, in the houses of rich families they wouldn’t even offer the workers a glass of water during a whole day’s work whereas in the poorer houses they would immediately offer water, a little bit of bread, tortillas or whatever snacks they had available.
Why is that? Have you ever found that to be true?
I instantly started thinking about the differences between Guatemalans and Americans. Here, whenever my host brother or sister receives a tiny little snack from the store, they immediately share with me. There’s no sense of “this is mine, don’t touch”. Today I went to the store with my eight year old host sister and as we walked out the door she said, “oh wait”, ran back into the house and came out with a halls cough drop (which I assumed she was munching on one too as candy). Then later, we played cards and she got piece of fried tortilla and sat down, then instantly got up and got one for me without me even saying that I wanted one! It was so great, just very welcoming, loving and even though I didn’t need a Halls or a piece of fried tortilla I felt cared for. Compare this to situations in our own families, friends or people in general. “Get it yourself”, “that’s mine!”, “get your own”. I can already hear the children screaming this to their siblings, friends and even parents.
I also think about how people have welcomed me into their homes. As a guest, I receive the best of what they have. The first Sunday that I was in my pueblo, we went to my host padre’s mother’s house and she spent all day cooking an extremely special typical dish that also had a good amount of meat (aka expensive to cook). She lived in a small home with two rooms and an outdoor kitchen with only firewood to cook with (literally over the stove on her knees). I was served first and I was given more to eat after I finished despite politely declining. It’s been like that here ever since. Clearly, people always want to give a good first impression, but it’s incredibly humbling to see how people bend over backwards to accommodate guests. It makes me think about how I can become a more giving person as well. I mean, if my host family can offer me the best of what they have when all they have is so little, surely we can all do the same.

Legends of the Hidden (Mayan) Temple

So as of late, I’ve heard an assortment of Guatemalan legends that I’ve found fascinating and wanted to share. The following stories are of spirits that can be found in my pueblo during the night.
“La Llorona” (the woman who cries) – Long ago there was a woman who had a baby out of wedlock. Because this was, and still is, such a scandalous thing to do, the entire town was gossiping about this woman and her baby. After a certain point, the woman couldn’t handle all of the “chisme” (gossip) and decided to take action. She took her baby to the river to drown it. Of course, the pueblo found out and as punishment she was forced to search for her dead baby. Thus, her spirit haunts our pueblo in the night as she searches for her lost baby in the town’s rivers, lakes or public pilas.
“El Sombreron” – This spirit also wanders the streets during the night with a huge black sombrero and lots of gold jewelry. He goes around playing beautiful melodies on his guitar in front of the rooms of women in the pueblo. When a woman hears the sounds of his songs, she instantly becomes enchanted. She stops eating, stops going out, stops sleeping just so that she can hear the strumming of El Sombreron’s guitar. At this point, the woman is basically at a point where she is about to die so that El Sombreron can take her soul. The only way to cure a woman of this curse is by cutting her long beautiful hair. (As a side note, Mayan women do not cut their hair thus this decision is one that is taken by the entire family).
“La Sueganaba” – This spirit goes around town enticing men who are coming home drunk from the cantinas with her beautiful long hair and see-through dress. If a man who is stumbling home from a long night at the bar sees her, they instantly follow her wherever she takes them. She leads these men up into the mountains until they reach a cliff. Right before this spirit leads them to their sudden death she turns around and the man for the first time sees her face which is actually that of a horse. This is a man’s last opportunity to become frightened and “snap out” of his trance to save himself.
There are plenty more of these legends, but these are the ones that I’ve heard of thus far. At first glance, these legends may sound just like a bunch of superstition without purpose. But after giving them some thought, you’ll come to find that there is a meaning behind each of these legendas. The first is to warn women about sex before marriage and abortion. The second deals with vanity and the third, is clearly to scare the men into not walking around the streets drunk at night.
I’m just starting to scratch the surface with these fascinating stories of legends, mysteries and tales. There are several that I’ve heard dealing with how people can gain wealth from certain mountains or volcanoes in exchange of the soul of a loved one. A town will go around saying “oh such and such’s money comes from the mountain”.
This culture is rich with ancient beliefs and traditions. Instead of immediately writing them off, it has been and will continue to be and incredibly satisfying way to learn more about the Mayan culture and how their belief system shapes their communities.