Introduction to Maya Kaqchikel Culture with Ricardo

Interview by Faith Pitsikoulis

Today, we’re learning about Maya Kaqchikel culture. The Kaqchikel people are an indigenous group from the midwestern highlands of Guatemala. Kaqchikel is also the language spoken among the group. As a proud community member, Ricardo Sian Garcia maintains his connection to Maya Kaqchikel culture in his daily life. He is also a driver for the San Lucas Mission and helps visiting groups have a positive experience while visiting the Mission.

 

Question: What does it mean to you to identify as Mayan Kaqchikel?

Ricardo: To identify as Mayan is to represent myself with my principles and roots.

Question: There are 22 different Mayan languages spoken by different regions in Guatemala, including Kaqchikel. Are there sayings or phrases in Kaqchikel that hold special significance for you?

Ricardo: Everything. For us, speaking Kaqchikel means everything. The meaning of Kaqchikel is to maintain the mother tongue that our ancestors have passed down from generation to generation.

Question: How would you describe Kaqchikel culture?

Ricardo: Culture identifies us, who we are, where we come from, and what we represent. Culture is the most beautiful gift we have. We can say that we are lucky or millionaires, not in other things, but in culture. Through culture, we can express what we like and what we don’t like. For example, every year, a party takes place in the village on October 18th. It gives us the power to participate and to identify with ourselves.

Question: What are some significant traditions?

Ricardo: We share the Catholic religion, but we also have our own cultural ceremonies. [Many Maya Kaqchikel community members practice a combination of Catholicism and traditional Mayan spirituality.] We also have four important phases that we manage, which is what gives us life. They are Mother Earth, fire, water, and air. These are the four foundations that move us and give us life. These are the four foundations that represent us, which we recognize as part of our culture.

Question: Is Kaqchikel culture a mixture of other cultures?

Ricardo: In our municipality in Guatemala, 23 languages are recognized. Among them are 23 different cultures. We practically live in a culture that is a mix of a little bit of everything we share. Yes, the culture here is Kaqchikel. However, we have a mixture, because there are people in the municipality who have come here from Quiché [a state], others from Atitlán [the largest lake in Guatemala that surrounds multiple Mayan villages], and others from the coast. When the Spanish invaded, they turned many people into slaves. There was no way to identify the slaves, to say these are yours and these are mine. So, they decided that the slaves had to wear the same clothes. This wardrobe became part of our culture, which is why there is a color that represents each department [state].

Question: What are the similarities or differences between Mayan religion and Catholicism?

Ricardo: Here, we manage between Mayan religious culture and the culture of the Cofradías. [The Cofradías are a brotherhood throughout Guatemala.] We have a custom here. When May 15th comes around, we celebrate San Isidro. [The Catholic patron saint of farmers, and the patron saint of Madrid, Spain, who is honored with a feast day in San Lucas and by other neighboring villages]. There is a big procession. At the top, a bomb is burned to ask God to grant rain. If there is no rain, there are no harvests. We also have our main town of San Lucas. Many people come to the church here, because they ask the Lord San Lucas [St. Luke The Evangelist, the town’s namesake] for blessings. Within the Mayan religious culture, many Gods have been taught to us. There is the God of Rain, the God of Thunder, and the God of the Harvest. The biggest religious culture here is that of the Mayans, because it comes from the very beginning. It is a religion that comes from the principles of culture, between faith, devotion, and belief. Catholicism was brought here by the Spaniards, but it is not part of traditional Mayan culture.

Question: How is cultural knowledge passed down to younger generations?

Ricardo: The Maya culture is preserved through the Cofradías. The Cofradías require certain things. One, they require young people to participate in studying the history of their ancestors. Also, to identify themselves using the wardrobe that represents us as a municipality. We must also continue to learn that Mother Earth provides us with everything, by learning to identify the plants. Some plants are fuel to be eaten. We know that there are non-poisonous plants that grow freely in the field and that we can consume them. The root of maintaining the culture is educating young people, which can also happen within the family. Each family is responsible for passing on the message of the culture’s principles. Today, in the culture, a lot has been lost. [Ricardo says climate change and environmental degradation show that the younger generations have not learned the care for creation practiced by their ancestors.] And because of that, there are landslides, disasters, lack of rain. We are not taking 100% care of our culture. We are neglecting it and it is the fundamental part of human life.

Question: How has your understanding of what it means to be Kaqchikel evolved over time?

Ricardo: I’m still proud of my culture, because it represents me, but time has changed. We are a mixture of cultures and people. Culture is kept alive through traditions, processions, Mayan ceremonies, identification of the calendar, and everything that relates us to our culture. Many people say we are Indians. No, we are not Indians. We are indigenous. So, what we do is we try to share the little we know. Within our culture, we also protect everything we have like the planet, because that is what we live on. If we talk about our culture and do not protect it, we are nothing, right? Our culture is what gives us life. It gives us everything.

 

Identifying as Kaqchikel is a way of embracing the rich roots of the Kaqchikel language, clothing, spirituality, and much more. If you are interested in learning more about the origin of Kaqchikel culture and how it is being preserved today, please consider planning a trip to the San Lucas Mission!