Blogs :: San Juan Chamula

San Juan Chamula

This place was interesting. Only a few miles outside of San Cristobal it seems to be in a completely different country. San Cristobal is a plethora of fast paced moments in its busy markets and major streets that encompass the pivotal town of the mountainous region. San Juan Chamula, however, is a place where the past is embraced and the modernity of the city is used as a tool.

We initially ventured the 10Km to see a church, but got quite a bit more than that from the city. The church itself is deeply rooted in tradition. The saints of the Catholic faith surround the open floor of the church and each have their own shrine of candles and incense burning in their honor. The floor of the church is covered with bushels upon bushels of pine needles and every few feet there is a clearing to make room for the hundreds of candles that have been brought by the inhabitants for worship. It is an amazement to me that the place hasn't burned down yet but who am I to question the supernatural forces of fire prevention.

The village outside is, like the entire town, deeply embedded in the traditional. There is a market directly outside of the church that sells all the necessary living comforts and a huge selection of Mayan art, clothing, and just about anything else Mayan that one can think of complete with the cutest kids on the planet asking for pesos to buy tortillas (the standard story throughout Mexico). Unfortunately there are no pictures to be had of this place because of the stringent rules and laws placed on photography. You can in fact go to jail for taking pictures inside the church and pictures of the locals can easily turn violent as they believe you are stealing a soul with every photo taken.

Anyways, I wanted to write about this place because for me it represented a clash of sorts between cultures and at the same time a seamless melting together of them. The local form of religion is a deeply entwined form of Catholicism and Mayan religion. There certainly is no lack of Christianity but at the same time there is a deep embrace of their customs, traditions, and religion as it were before the infusion of Catholicism by the hands of missionaries. A discussion that Karlie (American living in Mexico for the past year and a half mentioned earlier in blogs) kind of peaked my interest and is worth mentioning. Really, it was how can a culture embrace their tradition and keep it alive to such an extent but function so seamlessly with the modern world. I think as Americans we seem to shun the past and the traditions. We are so forward thinking that they sometimes fade into the past. I can generally trace my lineage and past but if I were asked to tell in any depth the culture of that past I would be at a complete loss. The other side of that discussion was that of course there are small offshoots that only embrace tradition. They don't want anything to do with the modern world and therefore are their own worst enemies. This place, however, didn't do either completely.

churches, San Cristobal, San Juan Chamula, religion, Mexico, Mayan