"Because research does not always involve sitting quietly in a library or at a computer, this class will involve a type of research that anthropologists call 'participant observation.' The object of this type of research is that you attend an event, observe human behavior at a particular kind of event or ceremony, or do an in-depth interview with a human subject. In this way, you can gain an experiential knowledge of the event, tradition, or place. In addition, by placing yourself within the context of the event, your own subjective experience will become part of the research.
"After you research your project, please write up a 3 (full) page synopsis of what you did. This should include 1) a brief summary of what your project is and 2) a thorough analysis of your data or observations."
Susan Hampton
Participant Observation Project
Religion of Guatemala
Virginia Burnett
October 5th, 2011
Maximón
Our Formal Introduction
In March of 2011, I visited Guatemala for 12 days via a travel course through my university, Mass College of Art and Design. During those 12 days, I had some of the most interesting and educational experiences of my life. We visited Tikal and Yaxha, we did volunteer work at a fundraiser for an NGO, we painted a mural, and, probably the most surreal of all the experiences, we visited the Maya deity, Maximón. Our trip took us to Maximón’s home city, Santiago Atitlan and right up to his doorstep at the personal home of one of the cofradias. We learned that Maximón is a modern interpretation and combination of both the ancient Maya deity Mam and the Catholic Saint Simon. We also learned that Maximón is the god who is not interested in laws and rules and whom many pray to for money, sex, and power. When we stood in front of Maximón I gave him Q10 and my favorite scarf I made for myself, since Maximón’s effigy is covered in scarves given in prayer. I was fascinated with this character, so I vowed to visit him again in the future, and learn more about him.
On the first day of October 2011, I found myself back in Guatemala, and, not surprising, back in front of Maximón; this time with more of an understanding of him and even more curiosity. My biggest curiosity was for the performance of prayer to Maximón. I was determined to get the cofradies to pray to Maximón and get a video of it to examine more closely at leisure. While I stood with a new group of students around the wooden effigy, I asked the cofradies to pray to Maximón to bless my travels. I expected to be a bystander to the performance, but I absolutely wasn’t.
I asked, via my tour guide, for the cofradies to pray to Maximón for a safe trip through Guatemala. They agreed… for a price; Q150 (about $20). After I paid, one of the cofradies stood and walked to a pile of mats they use for prayer and grabbed two. My tour guide told me that I would pray to Maximón with the cofradie, and that I had to kneel on the mat next to him. Startled, I knelt in front of Maximón’s effigy and watched in wonder as the cofradie began to pray to him. First he presented Maximón with a Q100 bill that I had given him, handing it to another cofradie who was sitting on the left of Maximón; this man tucked the bill under one of the many scarves around the deity’s neck. Then the cofradie told Maximón that the rest of my offering was going to the cofradia. As he pocketed the Q50 he asked the two cofradies sitting to either side of Maximón to take the large shawl wrapped around him off and hand it to him.
At this point I was sitting fully on my shins, unsure of how to move, or even where to look. I kept thinking to myself, “should I look at Maximón, the cofradie, or the floor?” I could pick up no clues from the man next to me so I decided to switch between them all, hoping I wouldn’t disrespect the cofradia. When the cofradie took the shawl from the other two and went to wrap it around me, I was struggling to remain composed and not make a mistake. I was also afraid to correct my tour guide when he got my name and state wrong when the cofradie asked for them. There was something about kneeling there on the mat before someone else’s deity that made me not want to correct them; I felt awed and even a little afraid. I also have a nasty habit of insulting religious peoples whenever I take part in religious practices, so I am very anxious about upsetting people in those situations. This became a big problem when I realized I had completely lost circulation in my legs.
There I was, kneeling before someone else’s deity, unable to feel my legs, afraid the shawl was falling off the back of my head, not sure where to look, getting smoke from the freshly lit incense in my eyes, completely lost with the cofradie speaking Tz’utujil, painfully aware that my whole class was standing around the room wanting to go to lunch and having to wait while I went through a long ceremony, and anxious that at any moment I would do something inexcusable and insult the cofradia and their deity. I was on the verge of a full anxiety attack. At the very moment that thought went through my head I caught sight of something I couldn’t really believe.
Maximón has been gifted with probably thousands of scarves through the years; we watched a video in my class of the cofradia’s moving his gifts and they filled several very large packages. The cofradies switch those scarves around frequently to give Maximón time to wear them all. As I knelt before him, on the verge of tears, I looked at him and realized that, tucked behind another, was my favorite scarf I had made myself and given to Maximón over seven months ago. I was so enthralled by this discovery I was distracted for the rest of the ceremony until the cofradie removed the shawl from around my head and shoulders.
After the ceremony, when I stood, I was in a daze (and also in a good amount of pain from my legs coming back to life). I thanked the cofradie and walked from the small building that housed Maximón. For the rest of the day I sat in wonder; of all the scarves this effigy had, all the thousands, he was wearing the one I had given him. Over and over the thought circulated through my mind. It is at times like these that I can’t help but question circumstances and wonder about coincidence. Why, on the day I went to do a full prayer to him, would this effigy be wearing, of all the scarves he has, the very scarf I had given him? During lunch, our boat rides across the lake, and even late into the evening, I kept asking myself this question. A question, I am sure, that will confound me for the rest of my life.
Copyright 2011, SK Hampton
