Stands of Chichicastenango: customs that persisted despite the Christianization

The oppression of the Mayan culture and the direct attacks made by the Catholic Church failed to stop the entire ancestral traditions.

In some cases this censorship and attacks on their traditions and beliefs only increased the power of religion, in most cases the result was forced to practice all the traditions in secret.

Church of Chichicastenango and bleachers

Each region should have won a sacred center of Christianity, who built it was a symbol and reminder of the loss of local traditions, now supplanted by a new order of teaching. The main church of Chichicastenango is a perfect example of the struggle between beliefs.

The place was a Mayan temple itself was destroyed to build the Catholic Church could find to this day. The original stands were rechadadas by the local Mayan people of constant arguments and then were replaced by a new tiered system: the grandstand is curved, unlike other churches.

These steps are reminiscent of some bleachers of Mayan temples. Their number of steps was not chosen at random and each tier represents each of the 20 days of the Mayan calendar month.

At its top, facing the door, traditional rituals are performed daily with incense and is in the door out of indigenous use. Gate inward Catholic use.

Over time it has manifested itself in some way a mixture of ancient Mayan and Catholic traditions that give rise to new practices. The evangelical faith - Protestant has begun to break through people, some adopting it in full, sometimes becoming a mixture with their ancestral practices.