The heartbreaking but strong and hopeful Guatemala - Part 8

One of the most spiritual experiences we participated in during our trip was a traditional Mayan ceremony. The ceremony was performed in a Mayan language. There are 23 different Mayan language, and I am not sure which one she was speaking.

The ceremony begins with the shaman preparing the fire. She put aromatics, sweets, chocolate, bread, honey, sugar, cinnamon, and herbs. The spirits like sweets, which makes me feel better about the fact that I have sweet teeth (not just one sweet tooth - but a whole set of sweet teeth). Those offerings were covered with colored candles.  

The first part of the ceremony was for gratitude, and in the second part, she prayed for us to be successful - to achieve our goals. We began the ceremony kneeling and kissing the earth. She blessed us by touching our heads and feet. We then got three candles each to throw in the fire.  She anointed us liquid sprayed from a bunch of herbs. The fire was mesmerizing - so beautiful - the color, the shapes. I know this sounds weird, but it was the most beautiful fire I have ever seen. We were given sesame and sugar to rub between our hands over the fire, and later we prayed and threw sugar in the fire.  It was a really moving ceremony. The students really enjoyed, as did I.  

I thought it would be rude to take pictures during the ceremony, and I wanted to be present and involved in the ceremony itself. However, I did get a picture of the alter beforehand. Some of the students said they saw faces in the stones on the alters. Delores, our guide, said they were our spirit animals or ancestors. 

The next day we had free time to go to the market. Josh, Felicia, and I also decided to hike back up to the Mayan ceremonial site. There were two. Our ceremony was at the lower site, so we went up to the top site.  I didn't think we had enough time, but Felicia really pushed us. She wanted to see it, and I am glad she did. It was beautiful and peaceful up there. In fact, peaceful is what I felt at the Mayan temple ruins as well. 

Our last day we made our way to Antigua, which is probably the most famous tourist spot in Guatemala. We had the night there and then the next day it was off to the airport. During our stay, we stopped and visited a chocolate museum, which was yummy!! I got chocolate tea with cardamom - so very good! 

Mmmmmm.....chocolate! 

You can just make out the volcano looming over Antigua. Apparently it is not active. At night we even saw lights on the volcano of villages or houses, so it must be fine. 

The town square...

There were a lot of tourists around and about. It was a beautiful, colonial style town. 

Delores took us to a textile museum and shop. In the shop they had a Mayan ceremonial site and a shrine to Maximón, who is somewhat of a folk saint. Delores' hometown of Santiago Atitlan, also has a shrine to  Maximón. She told us that he is known for healing people. In return, the people hang colorful ties around his neck. He also likes expensive liquor and cigarettes. In my research on him, I discovered that there is a lot of conflicting information about him. He is a mix of Christianity and Mayan religions. He is seen as the devil, a saint, or a god depending on who you ask. Here's an article if you would like to read more about him: Link. 

Night scene, Antigua. 

Well, that concludes my series on Guatemala. I learned so much during this trip, and honestly, I am still processing a great deal of it. Not only did I learn from our speakers, but I also learned a great deal from our guides, Ali and Delores, as well as the other faculty leader, Josh. I learned from the students as well. Every night we had a guided reflection led in turn by each of the students during which time we were posed with a question and each of us answered it. That time was really beneficial for processing what we heard, learned and saw during the day. 

I kept a journal during the trip, and it is filled with wisdom and quotes from each and everyone of those that I travelled with. I look forward to reading through it again.