The Burden of The AncienT s The Linda Schele Series in Maya and Pre- Columbian Studies This series was made possible through the generosity of William C. Nowlin Jr. and Bettye H. Nowlin, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and various individual donors. Maya Ceremonies of World Renewal The Burden of from the Pre- The AncienTs Columbian Period to the Allen J. chrisTenson Present universiTy of TexAs Press Austin Copyright © 2016 by the University of Texas Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America First edition, 2016 All photographs by author unless otherwise noted. Requests for permission to reproduce material from this work should be sent to: Permissions University of Texas Press P.O. Box 7819 Austin, TX 78713–7819 http://utpress.utexas.edu/index.php/rp-form ♾ The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements of Ansi/ niso Z39.48–1992 (r1997) (Permanence of Paper). liBrAry of congress cATAloging- in- PuBlicATion dATA Names: Christenson, Allen J., 1957– author. Title: The burden of the ancients : Maya ceremonies of world renewal from the Pre-Columbian period to the present / Allen J. Christenson. Series: Linda Schele series in Maya and pre-Columbian studies. Description: First edition. Austin : University of Texas Press, 2016. Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: lccn 2016003027 isBn 9781477309957 (cloth : alk. paper) isBn 9781477310267 (pbk. : alk. paper) isBn 9781477309964 (library e-book) isBn 9781477309971 (non-library e-book) Subjects: lcsh: Mayas—Rites and ceremonies. Mayas—Religion. Mayas—Religious life and customs. Tzutuhil Indians—Religion. Tzutuhil Indians—Rites and ceremonies. Santiago Atitlán (Guatemala)—Religious life and customs. Holy Week—Guatemala—Santiago Atitlán. Classification: lcc f1435.3.r56 c48 2016 ddc 299.7/842—dc23 lc record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016003027 doi: 10.7560/309957 To the people of Santiago Atitlán—those living in this world and those now living with the ancients THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK conTenT s AcknowledgmenTs ix inTroducTion 1 Chapter 1 Pre- columBiAn riTuAls of world renewAl in yucATAn 16 Chapter 2 new yeAr’s ceremonies in The mAyA highlAnds 68 Chapter 3 eAsTer And The sPAnish conquesT 111 Chapter 4 PosT- conquesT ceremonies of world renewAl 136 Chapter 5 holy mondAy 166 Chapter 6 holy TuesdAy 214 Chapter 7 holy wednesdAy 239 Chapter 8 holy ThursdAy 271 Chapter 9 good fridAy 301 viii conTenTs Chapter 10 AfTermATh And conclusions 325 BiBliogrAPhy 337 index 353 AcknowledgmenTs My gratitude belongs first and last to the people of Santiago Atitlán who have so patiently and generously given of their time, hospitality, and wisdom over the many years when this project was gestating, beginning with my first visit there in 1977 as an ethnographer and linguist. This work could not have been done without the collaboration of the many Maya confraternity officials and members, ajq’ijaa’ (traditional Maya priests) and other ritual specialists, mu- nicipal leaders, and citizens of the community. They have been extraordinarily kind in granting access to their ritual life, much of which is private and little known outside their own circles. This book draws heavily on conversations that I have had with the people of Santiago Atitlán, known locally as Atitecos, and I have tried wherever pos- sible to use their words rather than to paraphrase. It is after all their voice that matters. Because of the continued threat of violence against traditionalists in Santiago Atitlán, I have not included their names unless specifically told to do so. As one of those whose names I did include told me, “far more tragic than being threatened is being forgotten.” I look forward to the day when cir- cumstances in Guatemala will make it safe to acknowledge others. This book would never have seen the light of day without the generous support and encouragement of Brigham Young University, particularly my mentors who have served as department chairs—George Tate, Roger Mac- farlane, Stanley Benfell, Michael Call, and George Handley—and my dean, John Rosenburg. I am grateful to my colleagues who have offered invaluable advice on early drafts of the book—particularly Karen Bassie- Sweet, Gar- rett W. Cook, Shannon Dame, John D. Early, Juan José Guerrero Pérez, Stephen Houston, Ashley Kistler, Linda O’Brien- Rothe, Sandra Orellana, Jesper Nielsen, Camille Richey, Frauke Sachse, Garry Sparks, and Gabrielle Vail. I am deeply indebted to my friend Andrew Weeks. Beginning in 2001, we worked together on several occasions in Santiago Atitlán while he was making his beautiful film Balancing the Cosmos. His natural sympathy for the people and profound understanding of the changing Atiteco world are deeply