Iximche y Chichicastenango

We visited the Iximche ruins and Chichicastenango this weekend. Iximche (ish-imm-chee) is a site which was still inhabited when the Spanish showed up in the 1500s, 700 years after Tikal was abandoned for whatever reason. The ruins were really interesting – there was a ball field, three or four temples, and several streets and low walls scattered around. I had lots of fun taking pictures, as always. We then moved on to Chichi, an indigenous village of the Q’iche people. Q’iche is one of the four largest indigenous groups, with its own language, style of dress, and customs. About 25 years ago, there was a genocide initiated by the government against the Mayans, resulting in a large amount of widows and orphaned children, as well as loads of emotional and psychological damage. On Saturday morning, we visited the Chontola widow’s cooperative, run by women whose husbands were killed by the Army and who had lacked means to care for their families. We spoke with the president of the cooperative, dona Maria, about her experience. She spoke only in Q’iche, so the founder of the organization translated her story from Q’iche to Spanish, and then our professor translated from Spanish to English. It was a lengthy process. Dona Maria’s husband was killed by the PAC, which was a group of village men who ended up being informants for the army. He was killed by men who were once friends or at least acquaintances. The other women had similar stories – husbands killed by the Army, killed simply because they were Mayan, simply because they were different. The government tried to justify the actions, telling the public that the Mayas were in cahoots with the guerilla forces that were against the government. But in reality, at least according to everything I have been told and have read, is that the government really just wanted to exterminate the Maya and needed an excuse. They could have brought the guerilla fighters under control very easily, they greatly outnumbered them. But they didn’t, simply because it gave them an excuse to kill more of the Maya. It is one thing to hear about genocide from afar, but quite another to sit 10 feet away from a woman who was directly affected by it less than 30 years ago. We also met a handful of adorable little Q’iche children who had been displaced by the flooding two weeks ago. They taught us a few phrases in their language, all of which we have forgotten. Q’iche is a more guttural language than Spanish, with very few similarities. It sounds a lot like a cross between German and the “click” languages of Africa – very different than anything I have heard before.

All said, it was a very interesting and beautiful cultural experience.

The World Cup has also started. I watched the opening ceremonies with Jaime on Friday, and the CASAS students and some of the teachers continued watching the game when we arrived at the seminary. We also saw the game between the U.S. and England while we were at the widow’s cooperative, including England’s goal in the first 10 minutes of the game. How embarrassing.