Just Chillaxing: Chichicastenango

Oh hi! We left Huehuetanango by chicken bus and headed for Chicicastenango, a small village in a valley, surrounded by mountains. Our chicken bus journey was suitably hairy. We were travelling on dirt roads that had been recently widened and were flanked by enormous skyscraper walls of earth that had been scraped out of the mountainside. On the otherside, it was usually a sheer drop. We really had to strain our heads out the window to see the top of these man-made cliffs. It looked like landslide central, not funny at all. We couldn't really believe that all this earth and exposed rock face was just going to stay in a vertical position with nothing holding it up, especially when you see the poor tiny layer of topsoil and tree roots exposed in cross section.

On the up side we were treated to a visual geology display- with large cubes of black rock exploding out of the mountainside in an enormous spiral at one point. Sadly we couldn't take any pictures of this because we were all wedged in four to a seat the entire length of the bus. This made moving impossible, but we were warm, and as we got futher up the mountain roads and closer to Chichicastenango the misty cloud level enveloped the treetops and caused a near white out, the air was damp and cold. We were at altitude now. It was quite magical.

Chaviar (another name for Chichi), is populated still by Quiche Mayan and Kaqchiquel, these people are living a traditional way of life. Before the conquistadors came the Kaqchiquel moved there settlement further into the mountains to make it easier to defend. They named the new settlement Chuguila meaning above the nettles and Tziguan Tinamit, surrounded by canyons. These names are still used today by the Quiche Mayans, although the area is known to everyone else as Chichicastenango, the name that the Mexican conquistadors gave it.

We decided to get to Chichi for saturday night, this being the time that market traders arrived from miles around to set up their stalls for the big sunday market. We got a fantastic room in a family hotel, decorated with local crafts and headed out into the evening chill. We found the centre of the town buzzing with activity as people hauled poles on ropes to errect their covered stalls. After we had eaten and walked through the market area, we could hear people in their enclosed stalls. They were sleeping over inside them to be ready for the market tomorrow. It was like a giant temporary village, secretly huddled away.

Super excited the next day, we got up well early!

The town was packed. Heaving through it were the chicken buses, hoofing out black clouds of smoke. And scooting in between these were tuktuks.

The stalls extended out from the main square.

Inside the main covered area, a labyrinth of stalls, selling everything.

Traditional crafts were on display too. On the left wooden carved masks.

Indiginous crafts aplenty.

We were really amused to find on closer inspection that the embroidery silks used were from Glasgow! Exactly the same as the ones we both had given to us from our Grans.

I was in textile heaven, naturally. Wiji helped me with some bargaining that our landlord assured us was expected. Ooooh yeah.

Here he is! We made several trips to the fruit stalls to fill up on fresh mango slices and pineapple. Wherever I was eating mine, I would be asked by a little girl if I wanted the rest of my mango slices. It was fun watching them smile cheekily over thier shoulders as they wandered off eating our mango!

Super elaborate traditional beautifully embroidered skirts, scarfs, blouses and head bands worn by the vast majority of women were stunning. Lots of women had a child in a colourful blanket on their backs.

Looking towards the church Inglesia de Santos Tomas.

On the steps of the church were the flower sellers. This was later in the afternoon when it wasn't rammed a la Ladbrook Grove stylee. At the foot of the steps was a small altar with hot charcoal and smouldering incense.

The Mashenos (citizens of Chichi) are famous for their adherence to pre-Christian religious beliefs and ceremonies. It was easier for the community to 'accept' christianity and rename their objects of worship accordingly. Mary is therefore associated with the moon and the stars and God represents the sun. The Maya were using the cross long beforethe Spanish arrived. The cross, to them, represented the four points: the sun, the earth, the moon and the people. Four is also a sacred Mayan number, the earth is believed to be supported by gods at its four corners.

The steep steps to the church, are like those of a Mayan temple. Later in the afternoon we saw indiginous prayer leaders 'Chuchkajaues' (mother-fathers) swinging incense, chanting and carrying effergies in a procession that came out of the church. The leaders also set off fireworks on the steps and threw flower petals whilst chanting. Out of respect for this tradition we didn't take photographs of this, or the inside of the church that had a series of small alters continuing up the centre of the church with burning candles, incense, petals and corn. These are placed on the alters in rememberance of their ancestors who are buried under the church just as the Mayan kings were buried beneath the pyramids.

This man at the foot of the steps remained asleep for the duration.

The municipal buildings and the mural that is dedicated to the victims of the civil war and tells the story using symbols from the Popol Vuh.

The women here in the mural are knelt around the shrine of Pascual Abaj (sacrifical stone) on the towns outskirts. We didn't visit this because it wasn't really safe to do so. This is the shrine to the Mayan earth god Huyup Tak'ah, and is still used by the villagers who place offerings here to express thanks and hope for the earths continuing fertility.