introduction

Rabinal, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala

PREFACE

“It might be said that when we humans can’t be sure about the origins of our gods we can’t be too sure about who we are nor where we originally came from at the moment of creation.”

-Vincent Stanzione, 2000

While standing atop a dusty hill located deep in the central department of Baja Verapaz,, Guatemala, an informant we were interviewing for this project made a statement I found insightful yet at the same time puzzling. It became a premise for the research to follow and a question I chose to pursue further. First, however, details of this encounter are in order.

Overlooking the village of Rabinal, the hill, known as Cayjup (pictured), is the northern and most important of four sacred hilltops located throughout the region at the four cardinal points. For centuries it has been the site of various religious rituals and observations of the Achí Maya, whose cultural traditions include the story known as the Rabinal Achí, a Maya drama from the fifteenth century based on the pre-Colombian conflict between the Achí and Quiché Maya. Around and atop the summit, post-classic Maya structures stand half-buried in the dry weeds and dirt, some with the tell-tale tunnels left by guaqeros—grave robbers.

On this particular afternoon, preparations were being made for an upcoming two-night festival that occurs on a calendar date following the observances of Easter, most likely a long-observed harvest period. Brush was being cleared with machetes and a large structure was full of workers busily repairing its weathered roof and crumbling walls.