Keep in mind these are just observations and bits of interesting information I´ve learned along the way, and I´m sure many a cultural anthropologist could say all this better with more clarity and precision. However, I feel like I´ve devoured enough stellar corn tortillas, and spent enough time in the company of those who can make a mean one, in my three months here to be able to write a musing little blog.
As an Iowa girl, I know corn. I grew up literally surrounded by it, and ate it for dinner an average of three times a week, and that was in winter. However in Guatemala, corn isn`t just a diet staple, it`s a thing to be revered. Part of my pre-Guatemala studies also taught me that many Mayan groups perform extensive ceremonies asking permission of the earth before planting or harvesting the crop. I would like to see an Iowa farmer perform such a task before climbing into his combine.
According to the Popul Vuh, the Mayan sacred text which translates to The Book of the Community, the Mayan people are literally The People of Corn. The Mayan creation story explains how the gods tried several different materials including wood and mud during the construction of humanity, and found them lacking, until they built men and women of corn. This is a small exerpt-
¨They came together in darkness to think and reflect. This is how they came to decide on the right material for the creation of man. ... Then our Makers Tepew and Q'uk'umatz began discussing the creation of our first mother and father. Their flesh was made of white and yellow corn. The arms and legs of the four men were made of corn meal.¨
As they play such a crucial role in the Mayan cosmovision it`s not a surprise that, corn and corn tortillas aren´t just food sources in Guatemala, they´re cultural and spiritual icons. I´ve seen corn tortillas integrated into Guatemalan culture in a number of different ways over the past 12 weeks. In the Mayan-Catholic church in Chichicastenango they were brought up to the altar as an offering. In Guatemala City they were small, almost perfectly round, made of black corn, and were on the table at every meal. In Chamelco they were thick, soft, and the size of dinner plates. Here in Xela they often appear in the form of a tamalito, a small slice of husk-wrapped cornmeal. Working at Bezaleel School, I knew I´d finally arrived when I could down an entire bowl of soup using only tortillas. Corn is also present in the form of tamales, chuchitos, atol, and other local fare. I remember reading in ¨I, Rigoberta Menchu¨during my Guatemala preparations, that she and her large family subsisted almost entirely on tortillas and maiz atol, a thick, sweet, milky drink made of ground corn. If they were lucky they had some chile as well.
In some areas of Guatemala the word for tortilla in that region´s native language (there are 26 in Guatemala) is the same word for food itself. In the Kekchi language for example, the word for tortilla is ¨cua¨and the primary verb for ¨to eat¨is ¨cuac.¨ As some fellow volunteers, who speak quite decent Kekchi, explained to me, you can down an entire meal, but if you haven´t had tortilla yet, you haven´t actually eaten.
So, I´ve identified just one more way Guatemala has changed me. This isn´t a huge change, it`s more of a palate expansion than anything else, but maybe a little more than that. Guatemala`s culture and values have rubbed off on me a bit, and have yet again left me feeling a little more reverent of the world around me and my own connection to the earth, and I`m left wanting to learn more. Even if I can´t relate to corn and corn tortillas the same way a native Quiche or Mam Mayan would for example, I now have more context to understand and respect the connection they feel. Pass the tortillas please.