Maya Village Research Articles

Early Language Experience in a Tseltal Mayan Village.

Daylong at-home audio recordings from 10 Tseltal Mayan children (0;2-3;0; Southern Mexico) were analyzed for how often children engaged in verbal interaction with others and whether their speech environment changed with age, time of day, household size, and number of speakers present. Children were infrequently directly spoken to, with most directed speech coming from adults, and no increase with age. Most directed speech came in the mornings, and interactional peaks contained nearly four times the baseline rate of directed speech. Coarse indicators of children's language development (babbling, first words, first word combinations) suggest that Tseltal children manage to extract the linguistic information they need despite minimal directed speech. Multiple proposals for how they might do so are discussed.

Obstetric care navigation: results of a quality improvement project to provide accompaniment to women for facility-based maternity care in rural Guatemala

BackgroundMany maternal and perinatal deaths in low-resource settings are preventable. Inadequate access to timely, quality care in maternity facilities drives poor outcomes, especially where women deliver at home with traditional...

Educational Leadership in a Mayan Village in Southern Belize: Challenges Faced by a Mayan Woman Principal

A Mayan woman principal taking a position in a historically paternalistic village in Southern Belize faces inevitable challenges due to the cultural structure of the village. In this case, the challenges go beyond cultural norms. Mrs. Po, a Mopan woman leading a school in a Kekchi village, faces challenges related to her role as a teaching principal in a multigrade school, her lack of leadership preparation, the remoteness of the village, and the language barrier, among others. The reader is encouraged to ponder the myriad of issues that impact the principal’s efforts to improve the education system while working in a village where the community struggles to perceive the value of education.

Weaving Authenticity: Artesanías or the Art of the Textile in Chiapas Mexico

During my six months in Chiapas, I worked for the weaving cooperative Mujeres Sembrando la Vida (MSV), a partner organization to Natik. Natik works with grassroots organizations in Mexico and Guatemala with a focus on economic development and education. MSV is a cooperative of sixty women weaving from the municipality of Zinacantán1 founded by Doña Magdalena and currently run by her two daughters Yoli and Xunka. Zinacantán is a Tzotzil Mayan village in the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico. Chiapas has the highest population of indigenous people and is also the poorest state in Mexico with a poverty rate of 75.7 percent.2 There are seven different Mayan languages spoken throughout the state, though in the highlands, the most common spoken language is Tzotzil. Because of the high poverty rates, Chiapas is facing a migration crisis of mainly single men moving to larger cities or the United States.3 The increase of men’s migration has lead more women to take on other economic activities, such as craft cooperatives. These economic projects are often supported by government programs4 or organizations in the resistance movement, which includes the famous Zapatistas.5 In both cases women become the shock absorbers to new economic realities. Today, this artisan craft industry has become a central part of the economy for indigenous municipalities. Textiles are made for consumption within the community as well as for a tourist market. The duel markets for textiles created a need for greater classification, splitting this artistic practice into different classes of production. In order to think about textiles as art, I conducted six months of fieldwork within Chiapas. During my time there, I did six interviews with weavers across five different municipalities. I also had the opportunity to interview a Mexican design student, who has shifted her work to be in collaboration with textiles artists from Chiapas and Oaxaca. My participant observation is based on my work with the weaving MSV cooperative. I spent time in weavers’ homes working on photo and video projects as well as listening to various meetings. Because I was living in San Cristobal de las Casas, I also learned about the city from a tourist’s perspective. I spent time in the artisan market and volunteered at Centro Textiles del Mundo Maya (CTMM). My participant observation included learning how to weave on the backstrap loom in the styles of San Juan Cancuc and Zinacantán. Unraveling the idea of authenticity is

Participatory Village Spatial Planning in Efforts to Save Conservation Areas in Mantan village, Semitau Sub-district, Kapuas Hulu District

The community’s interest in the necessities of life that depend on natural resources through slash-and-burn cultivation is always in conflict with the interests of territorial conservation. On the other hand, the conversion of agricultural land into oil palm plantations with a profit-sharing scheme eliminates community tenure rights of the Mayan tribe. The clarity of village boundaries with concession areas is unclear, as well as demands from village legislation about village maps. This research was conducted in Mantan village, Suhaid Sub-district, Kapuas Hulu District. This study took 2 years with a quanlitative inductive method. The results of this study indicate that the rights of indigenous peoples of Mayan tribe become the cultural conservation area GupungNibungTujuh became the cultural center of the community in Mayan village. There is a customary law that prohibits logging and slash-and-burn shifting cultivation systems. The boundaries of community-owned palm oil management are coordinated through cooperatives with a fair sharing system for both parties. Oil palm companies make the village of Mantan as a priority village in corporated with social responsibility activities in the form of organic crops and moringa. The map of the village community mapping is adjusted to the Mantan village spatial plan which includes the structure and pattern of village space, land ownership, and land use. The mapping results provide guidance for villages in developing the region.

PERAN PENDAMPING DESA DALAM PEMBERDAYAAN MASYARAKAT

Development strategies using top-down approaches have an impact on: First, the loss of public confidence in the government. Second, it does not provide opportunities and opportunities for the community to participate in development programs. Third, low public participation in maintaining the results of development. To that end, the development approach that is offered is a buttam up approach, that is development by utilizing the resources and local wisdom or known as community empowerment. Parties who have competence in building awareness of their potential, motivate, and guide the community in developing the existing potential is the Facilitator or Village Assistant. The problem is that the Facilitator or Village Assistant has been appointed by the government, but the level of community participation in development is relatively low. Therefore, it should be questioned about the role of village facilitators or facilitators in community empowerment, and on the competencies of village facilitators or facilitators.To answer the research questions the researchers determined a sample of 374 pupulations with snow ball sampling technique using interview method, observation, and documentation in data collection. The data that have been collected will be analyzed by analytical content method then using inductive and deductive thinking method in taking conclusion. The results show that Mulang Maya Village Assistant only performs mentoring role and technical facilitation role which is administrative characteristic, such as facilitation and facilitation in arrangement of work program, preparation of financial accountability report, and supervision of physical construction implementation (inprastruktrur). Efforts to melt away with the community, provide motivation, and utilization of human resources in addition to village government apparatus, the use of natural resources, and social resources has not been done. Meanwhile, the competence of facilitators or village facilitators, such as general competence, core competencies, and core competencies supported by academic and social capacities are not sufficient. The Facilitator or Assistant of Mulang Maya Village has a high school academic capacity and technical administration experience

In Sickness and Health: Views on Child Health From a Mayan Village.

Guatemala is the only country in Central America with a majority indigenous population. Most indigenous Mayans prefer to seek health advice from family members. It is important to understand the beliefs of Mayan caregivers. The purpose of this study was to examine indigenous ways of explaining health and illness in the context of one Mayan village. We applied a qualitative descriptive design in summer 2017. Interviews were conducted in Spanish with 10 Mayan caregivers, who were primarily female, between ages 19 and 50 years, in Guatemala. The sample was drawn from families who received a water filter the previous year. Health was explained by access to food, including local herbs, and clean water. Illness was explained by bodily symptoms and behavioral changes. Findings align with several United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and suggest a need to strategize with global partners.

A checklist of the helminth parasites of sympatric rodents from two Mayan villages in Yucatán, México.

In this survey, 19 species of helminths including Cestoda (Davaineidae, Hymenolepididae, and Taeniidae), Acanthocephala (Oligacanthorhynchidae), and Nematoda (Trichuridae, Ornithostrongylidae, Heligmonellidae, Oxyuridae, and Gongylonematidae) from Rattus rattus, Mus musculus, Sigmodon toltecus, Heteromys gaumeri, and Peromyscus yucatanicus in two Mayan villages in Yucatán, México, were recorded. Ten species of helminths were collected in both localities. The highest species richness was recorded in R. rattus from Xkalakdzonot (6 taxa). Twelve species are new records for Yucatán and two are registered for the first time in México. This survey constitutes the first checklist of helminth parasites in small rodents in the south-southeast of México.

Habitat use, activity patterns and human interactions with jaguarsPanthera oncain southern Belize

AbstractParts of southern Belize are designated as a corridor for the jaguarPanthera oncabut the Maya region remains understudied. We therefore studied jaguar habitat use, activity patterns, and interactions with people in Blue Creek, a Maya village in a human-dominated tropical landscape in southern Belize. We used camera traps to detect jaguar presence, and interviews to assess local people's attitudes to and perceptions of jaguars. We recorded 28 independent photographic events during 1,200 camera-trap nights (i.e. a relative abundance index of 2.3 jaguars per 100 trap days). Seven individual jaguars were identified. Jaguars preferred lowland broad-leaf tropical forest and were detected more often during daylight, in contrast to findings from previous studies. Attitudes towards jaguars were largely positive: 88% of respondents (n = 48) did not fear jaguars living around the village, and 81% understood the positive effect that jaguars have on the ecosystem. Although 92% of respondents reported seeing a jaguar within the previous 2 years, attacks on livestock in the village were rare, with only two occurrences in the previous 3 years. Ecotourism has grown rapidly in Belize in recent years, and Blue Creek is home to several natural tourist attractions and an eco-lodge that brings tourists, school groups, and researchers to the village. Ecotourism has provided an economic incentive for village investment in conservation, and 94% of respondents stated that preservation of wildlife, including jaguars, was beneficial to their well-being.

Entre la regularización y la enajenación: composiciones, denuncias y ventas de tierras baldías en Yucatán, 1679-1827

Este artículo exhibe los intentos del gobierno de la provincia de Yucatán por instrumentar la regulación de las propiedades rurales por medio de las composiciones de sitios y estancias entre los siglos XVII y XVIII. Asimismo, aborda la dificultad por distinguir entre los bienes realengos y las tierras de comunidades de los pueblos mayas durante los procedimientos de denuncias y ventas de los montes baldíos en almoneda pública en las dos primeras décadas del siglo XIX.

Assessing ecotourism in an Indigenous community: using, testing and proving the wheel of empowerment framework as a measurement tool

ABSTRACTMany of the issues confronting Indigenous peoples result from disempowered communities. Conversely, where communities are empowered, usually as a consequence of landownership, they are able to actively participate in, and benefit from, economic activities such as tourism. In this study, a framework titled the wheel of empowerment framework is used to demonstrate how the level of empowerment/disempowerment in five dimensions can be measured. The dimensions tested are economic, psychological, social, political and environmental. Indicators to measure the level of empowerment for each dimension were developed in a three-stage research process commencing with semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, followed by focus groups with community members from Coba, a Mayan village located near Cancun in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Appropriate indicators were identified and used to assess community levels of empowerment. Results show that the ability of communities to develop sustainable ecotourism businesses requires support from external stakeholders including governments and the private sector as well as internal stakeholders including the local community and importantly from community leaders. The results also show that empowered communities are able to derive considerable social and economic benefits from ecotourism business ventures and make a positive contribution to the ongoing maintenance of sustainability of their local environment.

Identifying ‘plantscapes’ at the Classic Maya village of Joya de Cerén, El Salvador

Abstract

Barriers to the Adoption of Alley Cropping as a Climate-Smart Agriculture Practice: Lessons from Maize Cultivation among the Maya in Southern Belize

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is proposed as a necessity, as the agricultural sector will need to adapt to resist future climatic change, to which high emissions from the sector contribute significantly. This study, which is an exploratory case study based on qualitative interviews and field observations, investigates the barriers to making a CSA-adjustment in maize production among Maya communities in southern Belize. The adjustment is alley cropping, which is a low-input adjustment that has the potential to result in both adaptation and mitigation benefits, and furthermore, to enhance food security. The findings show that a CSA-adjustment in small-scale maize production in Maya villages in southern Belize is possible in principle, though several barriers can make the overall climate-smart objective difficult to implement in practice. The barriers are of a proximate and indirect nature, exist at different spatial scales, and involve various levels of governance. The barriers are shown to be land tenure, market access, and changes in the traditional culture, however, these barriers are not homogenous across the villages in the region. To break down the barriers an overall district-level strategy is possible, but the toolbox should contain a wide variety of approaches. These could happen, for instance, through alterations to land tenure and the land taxation system nationally, enhancement of the agricultural extension system to ease access to knowledge and input at the district level, and support to a less complex governance structure at the village level.

The ex-pat effect: presence of recent Western immigrants is associated with changes in age at first birth and birth rate in a Maya population from rural Guatemala

Background: Economic transitions expose indigenous populations to a variety of ecological and cultural challenges, especially regarding diet and stress. These kinds of challenges are predicted by evolutionary ecological theory to have fitness consequences (differential reproduction) and, indeed, are often associated with changes in fertility dynamics. It is currently unclear whether international immigration might impact the nature of such an economic transition or its consequences for fertility.Aim: To examine measures of fertility, diet and stress in two economically transitioning Maya villages in Guatemala that have been differentially exposed to immigration by Westerners.Subjects and methods: This study compared Maya women’s ages at first birth and birth rates between villages and investigated whether these fertility indicators changed through time. It also explored whether the villages differed in relation to diet and/or a proxy of stress.Results: It was found that, in the village directly impacted by immigration, first births occurred earlier, but birth rate was slower. In both villages, over the sampled time window, age at first birth increased, while birth rate decreased. The villages do not differ significantly in dietary indicators, but the immigration-affected village scored higher on the stress proxy.Conclusion: Immigration can affect fertility in host communities. This relationship between immigration and fertility dynamics may be partly attributable to stress, but this possibility should be evaluated prospectively in future research.

Expectations of health care quality among rural Maya villagers in Solol\xe1 Department, Guatemala: a qualitative analysis

BackgroundIndigenous populations in Latin America have worse health outcomes than their nonindigenous counterparts. Differences in access to and use of biomedical resources may explain some of the observed disparities. Efforts to address these differences could be aided in part by better understanding the socio-medical contexts in which they occur.MethodsWe performed a qualitative analysis of field notes collected during a 2008 program evaluation of a health post in a rural Maya village in Sololá Department, Guatemala. Forty-one interviews were conducted among a community-based convenience sample of adult men and women. Interviews focused on experiences, perceptions, and behaviors related to the local biomedical and ethnomedical health care resources.ResultsPenetrance of the local health post was high, with most (90%) of respondents having accessed it within the prior five years. The prevailing attitude toward the health post was positive. We identified facilitators and barriers to health post use that corresponded with three thematic areas: clinic operations, visits and consultations, and medical resources. Proximity to the home, free consultations and medications, and social support services were among the most commonly cited facilitators. Barriers included limited clinic hours, medication stock-outs, provision of care that did not meet patient expectations, and unavailability of diagnostic tests.ConclusionsIn a rural Maya community in Guatemala, operational and quality-based factors, independent of sociocultural considerations, informed the perception of and decision to access biomedical resources. Interventions that address these factors may increase health care utilization and alleviate some of the health disparities that accompany indigeneity in Guatemala and similar contexts.

“It’s Good to Learn about the Plants”: promoting social justice and community health through the development of a Maya environmental and cultural heritage curriculum in southern Belize

Indigenous communities have the need to respond rapidly as development processes continue to change global environments. This paper argues that the health of communities, broadly defined, is linked to traditional ecological practices and that this linkage should be considered toward the goal of promoting social justice through education. Using data gathered using multiple methods in and around Mopan and Q’eqchi’ Maya villages in southern Belize, the paper outlines how ecological practices related to land use are valued and valuable in several, interlinked ways: through their contribution to what makes a “healthy life,” through their part in defining what it means to be “Maya” and have Maya heritage, and through their distinct role in the learning of skills as part of the informal education process. Informed by this research and the data collected through the implementation of the lessons themselves, this paper identifies how formalizing these ecological practices as part of an environmental and cultural heritage curriculum for primary schools, while not without challenges, has potential to positively impact well-being in indigenous communities, thereby promoting social justice through the maintenance of the ability to live healthy, valued lives.

Grading, gradients, degradation, grace

This article has two overarching and intertwined themes. The first is the social and semiotic mediation of “comparative grounds”—in particular, the way people come to understand, and alter, the relative intensity of entities and events. The second is the social and semiotic mediation of “causal grounds”—in particular, the way people come to understand, and alter, the sequencing of events, or the channeling of forces. Focusing on the multiple processes that mediate people’s understandings of landslides in a Mayan village in highland Guatemala, it shows the ways causal and comparative grounds relate to physical forces and phenomenological experience, as much as to communicative practices and social conventions. More generally, though less explicitly, this article is about four topics that underlie the Anthropocene: “gradients” (the way qualities vary in their intensity over space and time, and the ways such variations relate to causal processes), “grading” (the ways agents assess and alter such intensities, and experience and intervene in causal processes), “degradation” (the ways highly valuable variations in qualitative intensities are lowered or lost), and “grace” (the way agents work to maintain gradients, care for those whose lives have been degraded, and value those agents who work and care in such ways).

Issues in measuring success in community-based Indigenous tourism: elites, kin groups, social capital, gender dynamics and income flows

Tourism development is a key feature of the neoliberal economic development model. Through a mix of state and private investment, Indigenous communities in Mexico are encouraged to transform local cultural and environmental resources into tourist consumption sites. The process results in a shift toward reliance on tourism, in place of farming, leaving households with few alternative earning strategies amidst fluctuating tourist arrivals and income, confounding the relationship between tourism and sustainability and questioning the utility of tourism as a sustainable tool for development. This article analyses a community-based Indigenous tourism project in a rural Maya village in Mexico's Yucatan, and discusses strategies employed at household level to navigate the arrival of tourism. Funding agencies assessed this project based on a triple bottom line metric that accounts for ecological health, financial sustainability, and its relationship to local social capital; however, these fail to account for differences between local and non-local conceptions of authenticity, indigeneity, and success. From a social perspective, the project has exacerbated existing tensions and has arguably widened the gap between the politically and economically powerful and less powerful, marginalized families in the community. Questions about policy, governance systems, and elite domination and kin group control are raised.

Politics of Post-War Tourism in Guatemala: Contested Identities, Histories, and Futures

The Guatemalan tourism industry is a contested terrain of post-war politics where state officials, indigenous Maya, and ex-guerilla brigades compete to define post-war national identity, historical memory, and future possibilities. I use the analytic of territory to show how the state and civil society groups use tourism development to pursue unexpected political ends. First, I track changes in state marketing practices to suggest the Guatemalan government has used tourism to redefine post-war national identity and the place of Maya within the nation. I then turn to the Maya village of San Juan la Laguna to examine how the Maya Tz’utujil reassert their Tz’utujil identity and claims to San Juan as Tz’utujil space through community tourism. Lastly, I explore how ex-guerillas practice solidarity tourism to carve out alternative spaces of life and livelihood through cooperative living. This paper comparatively examines the territorial practices of state tourism, indigenous and ex-guerilla tourism to illustrate the tourism industry’s political stakes and possibilities in Guatemala.

All the Gods of the World: Modern Maya Ritual in Yucatán, Mexico

The modern residents of Yucatán, Mexico blend traditional Maya beliefs in a pantheon of ancient gods and other supernatural forces with more recent Catholic traditions flowing from centuries of Spanish colonial influence. This paper compares and contrasts four modern rituals from the Yucatec Maya village of Telchaquillo, Yucatán. Each rite was associated with a local cenote, limestone sinkholes that along with caves serve as accesses to the Maya underworld and homes to the gods themselves. Our research suggests considerable cultural continuity with the ancient residents of the Postclassic Maya center of Mayapán where cenotes were regularly paired with important ritual architecture and sometimes contain human remains and other indications of ritual activity. The ceremonies documented in this paper provide information about Maya cosmology, gender roles and long held beliefs about cenotes and agricultural fertility.