While a lot of the focus of my blog is on my medically related experiences, I thought I would make this blog entry more of a cultural read and talk about a visit to a nearby pueblo called San Andres Xecul. In addition to clinical duties in the morning I spend the afternoons in Spanish classes increasing my level of Spanish. During my class this Monday, we decided to visit San Andres Xecul. It is a sweet little town approximately 20 minutes outside of Xela, where I live. It was originally named just Xecul, which in the local Kiche language means “below hills”. Xe means “debajo de or below” and Cul means “cerros or hills”. It was later also given the name San Andres in order to honor the apostle Andres. The town is best known for its Church, seen below.
It is considered one of the most beautiful and extraordinary churches in Guatemala because of its brightly colored exterior. The date the church was constructed is unknown but thought to be around 1900. It was reconstructed in 1999. Each color and pictures seen above has a specific meaning. The different colors specify different crops, such as corn and other fruits and vegetables, the red specifying blood of workers in the fields. Each side also has a judge, signifying that only God can judge you. In the bottom left is San Andres and the bottom right is the Virgen Guadalupe.
There are a number of traditions in the community as well. Every November there is a large ceremony to celebrate the harvest. 13 men are specially chosen, with each man representing one month of the Mayan calendar. One month before the celebration, all the men move into a house together. They spend the month praying and preparing for the celebration. During this time they are not allowed to bathe or see their wives or girlfriends. It is said that if they see their wives or girlfriends, it will bring bad luck to the harvest. On Nov 22, begins the celebration. The 13 men come to the city center and perform a traditional dance. Two men climb up the 100 ft pole shown below, tie themselves to a rope and then jump off spinning to the ground.
Details on the church represent this ceremony. For example, these two jaguars are holding the bottom of the pole for the dancing ceremony to better protect the dancers. Also the figures along the top of the frame of the church represent spectators watching over the dancers. They are at the same level of the pole as where the dancers jump off. Below are more pictures of the church from the outside
We were able to enter the church, but no photography was allowed inside. The inside is just as beautiful as the outside, filled with images of Jesus during various periods of his life and afterlife.
Our trip continued with a stop at the cemetery shown below. Like most cemeteries in Guatemala, the graves are above ground and filled with colors, flowers, and decorations to honor those inside.
The final stop on our trip was to visit the sanctuary of San Simon. Simon is a saint celebrated by the Maya people in some areas of Guatemala. There is a shrine located in San Andres Xecul and another in Zunil, Guatemala. He is moved to a different house each year and visitors can come by and offer money, cigars, liquor, chocolates, etc in exchange for good health, good crops, and other favors that they wish for. He is not what one would consider a traditional saint in Christianity, but a sinful one. He is offered these gifts in an attempt to not anger him and in hope that he will grant their wishes. His shrine is shown below.
As you can see he is completely dressed with a cigar in his mouth and sunglasses, surrounded by a liquor bottle. Sometimes there is a hole where his mouth is so that he can be given liquor by worshipers. The caretakers of the shrine dress him every morning and place him at the shrine. Every evening he is undressed and placed in his bed shown below. Many times the bed and room of San simon is nicer and in better condition than the beds of the caretakers.
In addition, to the shrine there is a wall of pictures of people that asked for various things, one of which was being able to move to the United States and their wishes were granted. The pictures are here to remind worshipers that San Simon is true to his word and grants many wishes.
This concluded our trip to San Andres Xecul. While this post is different than my medically directed ones, I definitely wanted to include it because of how interesting the visit was. My blog in general will be a nice mix of medical and cultural posts. Till next time!
Maniabroad 