New Perspectives

I really enjoyed this week’s reading. I liked that it was from the perspective of a home-stay participant because it provides a similar viewpoint to what we will be experiencing this summer. There were many aspects of the reading that caught my attention because they either (1) brought a new perspective to what we have already learned or (2) counter most of the other readings that we have read.

First, I thought that it was interesting that Javier “described himself as a farmer,” when he had “also been employed as a carpenter, stone carver, educator, civil servant, and agricultural consultant” (p. 62). The fact that Javier described himself as a farmer first, amongst his other jobs, shows how much the land is valued in Guatemala.

Last week’s reading touched upon the importance of the kitchen, but I was shocked to find that Javier, his wife, and three of their children slept in the kitchen. Additionally, from our past readings I always pictured family life and marriage in Guatemala to be extremely secure. To discover that Javier had a stepson made me wonder what Mayans felt about divorce. I tried to find the divorce rate in Guatemala, and found that its .2 per 1000 persons compared to the United States divorce rate of 4.95 per 1,000 people (however I’m not sure what year this statistic was found or the reliability of the source).

Unlike the impression that I got from last week’s reading, I found that Javier’s thoughts about K’iche’ related more closely to Manuel’s feelings about the language: “K’iche’ is more than a matter of communication-it is a matter of identity” (p. 72). However, Javier’s relationship with K’iche’ is somewhat contradictory. On one hand, he feels that K’iche’ is the only language that Nahualenses should be using. I was surprised how angry he was with the K’iche’ that his son and other youths speak. I understand that is shameful to mix Spanish words while speaking K’iche’, but wouldn’t Javier prefer that his son speak “bad” K’iche’ rather than no K’iche’ at all? On the other hand, Javier understands the importance of Spanish in living a successful life in Guatemala. Therefore, he himself speaks Spanish and also wants to teach Spanish to his children. Furthermore, the description of bilingual education on page 73 made me question its true nature. It seems that bilingual education is far from bilingual, and more similar to education in the U.S in which most schools require students to learn a second language. I wonder if the term “bilingual education” is more of an appeasing title than an actual practice.

The aspect that I found most interesting was the huge impact that the Pan-American Highway had on Nahualá. Of a community that has centuries of cultural history, its incredible how the construction of this road could drastically change such a strong culture so quickly. The highway effected Nahualá in almost all important aspects of Mayan culture: language, dress, and religion. I think this paper did a great job of showing the significance of dress, for it’s one of the only ways to visually identify an Indian. However, this reading showed me a completely different side of the Mayans than I never imagined. I always thought that the Mayans took pride in every aspect of their culture, and that’s why they have retained so much of it throughout the years. I never would have imagined that the Mayans would be embarrassed by what they wore. I understand that it was difficult to get a job wearing traje, but I never expected that “jokes and prejudice” would cause the Mayans to stop wearing traditional dress.

On a different note, even after the elaborate description of religion, I’m still confused by the religious divisions in Nahualá. I think Morgan poses an important question: “had the old ways represented one religious system or two?” However, I still have a hard time grasping the current Mayan relationship with religion. Morgan clearly differentiates between Catholics, Protestants, and Costumbristas, and the large conflicts between them. However, in past readings, Mayans never seemed to define themselves by their religion. How important is religion in Guatemala? I also can’t seem to wrap my head around the difference between religion and Mayan traditional customs. I know the “old ways” seemed to integrate religion and culture, but is this fusion still present today?

Overall, I think that there are so many interesting perspectives and aspects of change that are worthy of discussion. I feel that we are constantly gaining new point of views from each reading we are assigned, which is great, but at the same time it’s hard to separate bias from facts. I also think it is important to remember that most of our readings focus on one specific region of Guatemala. Due to the cultural differences from region to region, it is difficult to make valid comparisons based on our readings. On a final note, Morgan’s paper is very helpful in understanding changes in Guatemala, but it is important to keep in mind that Javier is not the typical Nahualan. He is extremely wise, and his knowledge of the various religions is rare. Even he states that it is not common for a person to show allegiance to various religious groups. Javier’s perspectives on life and religion seem astute yet atypical; he views things in terms of social groups and what’s best for the people despite their differences.