Zinacantan and San Juan Chamula

Zinacantan women
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Today we went on a day trip to visit two indigenous villages. Many travel agencies on the main square in San Cristobal offer day trips, but we decided to go with Na Bolom, a cultural center founded by a Danish archaeologist and his wife. After their death, the center continued to function as a non-profit-making organisation dedicated to conserving the Chiapan environment and helping the Lacandon people (Chiapas is the name of the state, also called the Land of the Classic Maya, whose descendants still inhabit the highland villages today). The guides working at Na Bolom have thorough knowledge of the culture of the indigenous people and speak their language (Tzotzil).

Locals in Zinacantan
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We were taken by old VW bus (you find many old VW Beetles and minibuses in Mexico as there is a huge VW factory on the outskirts of Mexico City) to the village of San Sebastian, where we were dropped off. From there we walked to the village of Zinacantan. Along the way, our guide Pepe explained how the locals use the berries of various bushes to make the ink for their textiles. We also saw various offering sights.

We were quite lucky as today was an annual festival and many indigenous people had come to the town square in order to celebrate. We were told not to take pictures from close-by, nor take photos from the church. A shame as the traditional dress of both women and men would have made great pictures. We did manage to take a few good ones though. The Zinacantan men wear pink/red jackets with embroidery and tassels, the women vivid pale blue shawls and navy skirts.

Anyone for an ice cream?
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After watching the local festivities (which included hand-made fireworks which almost made us deaf!), we visited a local family and drank some of the local drink made from corn: posh. Strong stuff!! We also had some delicious tortillas and looked dorky in their traditional wedding dress (see pictures).

From Zinacantan we took the VW bus to San Juan Chamula. This is also a Tzotzil village. Here the men wear grey, black or light pink tunics, while the women wear bright blouses with colourful braid and navy or bright blue shawls. We visited the brightly painted church, the main attraction of this village as there is nothing else to see or do here really. Inside the church there are no pews, but family groups sit or kneel on the floor, chanting, with rows of candles lit in front of them, each representing a member of the family and certain significance attached to the colours of the candles. The flour is covered by pine needles (the locals believe this brings them closer to God), giving it a lovely smell. The families also offer chicken, which they kill in the church and then take home for cooking... Not a very nice thing to see really!

'Monkey man'
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After San Juan Chamula we were taken back to San Cristobal.