Today I went on a field trip! It was a break from my normal schedule of 8am - 4pm for Kaqchikel classes (which I'll talk about soon, I promise!) Instead, my teacher - Iximnik'te - and I went down to Patzun where Ana lives to see the Corpus Cristi celebrations that the town is famous for.
The day began with new experiences - in order to get to Patzun, I had to take a camioneta, otherwise known as a 'chicken bus.'
Luckily, Iximnik'te was with me, otherwise I would have been much more nervous. But it all worked out great! We found the bus, climbed on, left Tecpan, paid the conductor and bumped our way to Patzun. And it definitely was bumpy! The ride was along a narrow unpaved road in the verdant countryside. Alternating between lush woods, rolling fields, and hairs-breadth escapes when other buses had to pass, the 30 minute journey was plenty entertaining. And plenty manageable too! My host, Ixchel, had scared me when I told her how I would be going to Patzun ('Chicken bus? Whooo!')
Ana met us in Patzun and took us to her house. They have a lovely home, and it seems that Ana's family all live right around the same block.
Finally, it was time for the festival! Wow - the whole center of the town had been transformed in preparation for the holy procession. People were laying down carpet-like decorations - thick strips of sawdust as a base, and creative patterns of colored sawdust, pine needles, flowers, and even M&Ms on top! Some of the designs were really extraordinary, and all of them took lots of effort. It seemed that different people were assigned different sections, for instance, some were done by townspeople and others by people from nearby villages.
Then we headed to the main church (where Iximik'te had joined the pre-procession mass) and stumbled upon the start of the Deer Dance. So, while the festival was overtly about the Catholic festival of Corpus Christi - which celebrates the transformation of Jesus's body and blood 60 days after Easter. However, somewhere along the way, this holiday got mixed up with a local Mayan celebration of the beginning of the universe. As a result, the festival in Patzun is a mix between the Catholic festivities and Mayan traditions.
The deer dance - according to Ana - represents a story of a time that a man spit in the forest on his way home from receiving the Eucharist. A statue grew where he had spit, but when it was discovered by other villagers who attempted to move it elsewhere, they found it too heavy. Meanwhile the animals of the forest began to gather around the statue to protect it. So, as a way to appease the statue/God/the animals, the villagers dressed as animals to take the statue away. I hope I'm getting this right - any mistakes are entirely the fault of my unreliability.
In front of the church, the dance was beginning. Several deer and dogs attempted to fend off the menacing tiger which was trying to grab squirrels out of the tree. Meanwhile, the tiger would joke around - stealing people's ice creams and hats. Soon, the secondary procession exited the church and the deer dancers left to go with it.
We went around to wait at the town hall for the main procession. It arrived with a forerunner of devout people, who kneeled as it approached, heralded by a loudspeaker piping in bible verses. Gradually, the group of deacons, priests, altar boys and altar girls arrived , ushering the bishop behind them. He went into the small chapel near the town hall to bless it while everyone outside prayed as well. Then he continued, and we followed behind. Bells, fireworks, bands, and canons accompanied our journey!
We left the procession where we had first arrived at the center. Tired and hungry, we retreated to Ana and Pedro's house for a lunch of Guatemalan enchiladas. Completely unlike what I would think of as enchiladas, these were a layer of minced vinegared beets on a crispy torta, topped with parsley, boiled eggs, salsa, and cheese. Delicious! We washed them down with sweet hibiscus tea and finished the meal with a basket of mangoes.
On the way back, me and Iximnik'te caught a ride in a pick-up going from Patzun to Tecpan. We hopped in the front with the chatty driver and rumbled our way home.
What a great day!
Kaqchikel word of the day: Matyox (ma-ti-YOSH) = thanks. The most important word I've learned! This comes up in every single conversation.
The day began with new experiences - in order to get to Patzun, I had to take a camioneta, otherwise known as a 'chicken bus.'
 |
| A chicken bus! |
Luckily, Iximnik'te was with me, otherwise I would have been much more nervous. But it all worked out great! We found the bus, climbed on, left Tecpan, paid the conductor and bumped our way to Patzun. And it definitely was bumpy! The ride was along a narrow unpaved road in the verdant countryside. Alternating between lush woods, rolling fields, and hairs-breadth escapes when other buses had to pass, the 30 minute journey was plenty entertaining. And plenty manageable too! My host, Ixchel, had scared me when I told her how I would be going to Patzun ('Chicken bus? Whooo!')
Ana met us in Patzun and took us to her house. They have a lovely home, and it seems that Ana's family all live right around the same block.
Finally, it was time for the festival! Wow - the whole center of the town had been transformed in preparation for the holy procession. People were laying down carpet-like decorations - thick strips of sawdust as a base, and creative patterns of colored sawdust, pine needles, flowers, and even M&Ms on top! Some of the designs were really extraordinary, and all of them took lots of effort. It seemed that different people were assigned different sections, for instance, some were done by townspeople and others by people from nearby villages.
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| An example of a more elaborate decoration - it's 3D! |
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| Many of them used pine needles as a border |
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| These beautiful colored sawdust patterns were made using stencils - and sprayed with water to stay bright! |
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| And here's me! |
Then we headed to the main church (where Iximik'te had joined the pre-procession mass) and stumbled upon the start of the Deer Dance. So, while the festival was overtly about the Catholic festival of Corpus Christi - which celebrates the transformation of Jesus's body and blood 60 days after Easter. However, somewhere along the way, this holiday got mixed up with a local Mayan celebration of the beginning of the universe. As a result, the festival in Patzun is a mix between the Catholic festivities and Mayan traditions.
The deer dance - according to Ana - represents a story of a time that a man spit in the forest on his way home from receiving the Eucharist. A statue grew where he had spit, but when it was discovered by other villagers who attempted to move it elsewhere, they found it too heavy. Meanwhile the animals of the forest began to gather around the statue to protect it. So, as a way to appease the statue/God/the animals, the villagers dressed as animals to take the statue away. I hope I'm getting this right - any mistakes are entirely the fault of my unreliability.
In front of the church, the dance was beginning. Several deer and dogs attempted to fend off the menacing tiger which was trying to grab squirrels out of the tree. Meanwhile, the tiger would joke around - stealing people's ice creams and hats. Soon, the secondary procession exited the church and the deer dancers left to go with it.
We went around to wait at the town hall for the main procession. It arrived with a forerunner of devout people, who kneeled as it approached, heralded by a loudspeaker piping in bible verses. Gradually, the group of deacons, priests, altar boys and altar girls arrived , ushering the bishop behind them. He went into the small chapel near the town hall to bless it while everyone outside prayed as well. Then he continued, and we followed behind. Bells, fireworks, bands, and canons accompanied our journey!
We left the procession where we had first arrived at the center. Tired and hungry, we retreated to Ana and Pedro's house for a lunch of Guatemalan enchiladas. Completely unlike what I would think of as enchiladas, these were a layer of minced vinegared beets on a crispy torta, topped with parsley, boiled eggs, salsa, and cheese. Delicious! We washed them down with sweet hibiscus tea and finished the meal with a basket of mangoes.
On the way back, me and Iximnik'te caught a ride in a pick-up going from Patzun to Tecpan. We hopped in the front with the chatty driver and rumbled our way home.
What a great day!
Kaqchikel word of the day: Matyox (ma-ti-YOSH) = thanks. The most important word I've learned! This comes up in every single conversation.
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