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I had been chatting with Robyn after our trip to Semuc Champey about festivals in Guatamala. So subsequently John and I were invited to travel with them and other friends to visit a little known Mayan festival in the mountains.
Day 1 traveling:
We all met up at Jane’s beautiful property on the banks of the Rio. There we loaded our bags into our special transport and set off for Zacualpa where we were to stay.
The route took us to Guatemala City, through the city traffic and out towards Antigua, passing Antigua and on towards Lake Atitlan, then onto the roadway for Chichicastanengo and finally onto Zacualpa.
We had all taken packed lunches and snacks and the driver stopped at gas stations every few hours so we all could stretch our legs, use the restroom and enjoy an ice-cream or so. Yes, it was a long journey, but comfortable and the scenery was lovely.
Zacualpa is a small town where we found our Airbnb – Casa Esmerelda. We were greeted by the home owners and welcomed. The house was somewhat lacking as we had 1 less bedroom, so the owners appeared with a double mattress for the floor of the living room where Robyn and Tony volunteered to sleep. Then we found out the water had been turned off at 5:00pm not to come on till morning, but “luckily” 1 shower had water and also the backyard had a tap that worked in the laundry sink. So we realized we were roughing it. There was also a resident dog, a lovely female husky, she also had new born pups on the front porch.
Robyn had brought the evening meal, a South African dish called, Bobotie. She set about heating up dinner while we helped and had drinks. It was a wonderful meal! And off to bed we all headed. Not many of us slept very well.
Our mattress was just a few inches thick, the bed really small and very uncomfortable. Then the chickens started crowing, dogs on the street fighting and the puppies crying. We were up at 5:00am to head to Joyabaj for a 7:00am start of the festival.
Most of us were quite weary and we all agreed we needed different accommodation.
Joyabaj for “La Danza Del Palo Volador” festival
After breakfast off we set. Our driver accompanied us for the day. He was a wonderful fellow, a very good driver and such a considerate man. Upon reaching Joyabaj we found that the setting up had begun, the dancers were prepping, the music just setting up and the locals arriving.
We wandered around the square and down the street where the dancers were performing. Our time was spent looking at the costumes, watching the musicians and performers, exploring the market and generally enjoying the atmosphere.
Each dance group were dressed differently, guessing they represent different groups of Mayans. At the far end there were shrines set up where candles burned and incense pots/cans burned.
Here also there were men setting up massive bangers. They had what looked like pipes, into which the explosive material was placed, and the fellow would light the end, jump back out of the way before there was a might BANG!!
There were no other tourists, just locals all in their traditional dress. The fabrics, belts, hair accessories were just beautiful.
Everyone was dressed for the occasion, different regions in Guatemala represent different Mayan groups and all have their own regional clothes. The women and men both weave using their own spun threads. I just love the fabrics, the skill of their textile work is absolutely amazing.
About a few hours after we arrived the flying started, this was what we had travelled to witness.
But what was the story behind these festivities?
So after some research I found the story behind the “Dance of the Flying Stick” or “Dance of the Flyers”. It is a Mesoamerican story and dance.
The story is originally found in the sacred book of the Maya Kiché, the Popol Vuh. It tells the legend of the brothers Jun Batz and Jun Ch’owen, who tried to kill their other brothers, the twins Hunahpú and Ixbalanqué, but they failed and were turned into monkeys. Also mentioned is the story in which the first men – made of wood – were turned into monkeys by the creators, and of the death of the 400 boys at the hands of Zipacná.
Popol Vuh tells of how dancers and participants are to practice the Sacred Fire ritual in which they ask nature to help them choose the tree for the ceremony. Before cutting the tree, which is usually a pine tree, certain preparatory rituals are to be performed. These consist of, “sexual abstinence, fasting and libations”.
After preparing the tree, it is transported by 400 men who have also prepared themselves for this ritual. The pole is carried and specially placed in front of the catholic church of Joyabaj.
The tree trunk being a pole is the axis or stick around which the dancers revolve. The dance itself consists of several men hanging from bows at the top of this pole.
The dancers wear costumes that represent monkeys and dance with funny movements to the beat of the marimba , while preparing to climb. The dancers/climbers of this ancient and daring aerial dance are young people, who are called flying or mashines.
After the Spanish conquest, the Maya Kiché were forced to accept the religion of the Spaniards – the Catholic Christian church. This gave rise to a religious and cultural amalgamation or attempted amalgamation that can be seen today in the ritual of the Flying Stick.
In Joyabaj Quiché they celebrate this ancestral rite in honor of the Virgin of Transit, patron of the place. From the top of the trunk of approximately 30 meters high, two indigenous people fastened by their feet with ties descend, and fly to the sound of the marimba. Popol Vuh records the flying stick as a fight in which good triumphs over evil. This rite was declared by UNESCO as Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010
We watched as the flyers climbed the 90 foot pole, not wearing a harness, just holding on, some were young maybe 11 or 12 dressed as little monkeys. Others were older and having wings on their backs I guess their costume represented angels from the catholic church.
All climbed to the top, 2 men would lay across the arrows while the other two would grasp the ropes and simultaneously swing off the top and start to rotate while holding the line.
Some held by hand other had the rope around the back of a knee and suspended by just 1 knee as they rotated around the pole. The rope was kept wound at the top so it would unwind as they swung around, thereby unwinding and lowering the men towards the town square below.
It takes a lot of courage to climb that pole and swing off, just remarkable courage. It really was an awesome sight! We all watched for ages, just enthralled by the “Dance of the Flying Stick” or “Dance of the Flyers”.
Around mid morning there was the arrival of trucks with huge speakers and the sounds of the local music was drowned out by the pounding of popular dance music.
The square was roped off, folks gathered around, massive bangers were lit and fired off and costumed female dancers arrived.
These ladies were elaborately costumed. Their head pieces were totally covering their heads, even their legs were covered in similar flesh colored tights.
They must have been boiling inside the suits, but they proceeded to dance to the beat projected across from the speakers. The many costumes seemed to represent different animals and I am just assuming there is a link with Mayan and Spanish represented in them. So we had the dancers dancing, the pole flyers flying and music playing.
When the dancers finished they boarded their truck and they all drove off leaving again just the flyers and the traditional music.
By noon everyone had disbanded, we headed to lunch at a hotel off the square. We had a very nice lunch, relaxed and chatted about our plans.
After our lunch we wandered out and back to the nearly deserted square. Now able to get a good close up of the pole and the ladder used to climb 90 feet up where the flyers launched themselves off. After a further wander we soon headed back to our Airbnb.
Once there we packed and got ready to leave for Chichicastanengo. Before leaving a few of us wandered around the town.
The church again being in the main square was a handsome building. The market was just finishing and the town folks looked to be heading home.
Chichicastanengo
Was just over an hour away. There we checked into a little hotel called Chalet-House hotel. John and I had a much nicer room and a bed with a real mattress. I was really tired and so looking forward to a good night’s sleep. The hotel had a roof garden/patio where we all met for drinks. The evenings get quite cool at between 6,000 and 7,000 feet, we all enjoyed the change from roasting temperatures of the Rio. Off to dinner we went to a hotel that was reputed by friends to be very good, Hotel Santo Tomas.
We gathered for breakfast in the small common room. The day was planned to revisit the hotel from the evening before as it was renowned for its garden and parrots, then we would be off to visit the famous Chichicastanengo market. This was a Tuesday and so not the big market of Thursday or Sunday, but still supposed to be an excellent market.
The Hotel Santo Tomas’s interior was lovely. The architecture, the old furnishings, the gardens and the parrots were wonderful to see. We wandered around taking photos and were pleased we visited.
Off to the market where non of us were disappointed. Admittedly the men were a bit bored, but us ladies definitely were not bored.
I just adore the markets, the sights are so different. There is absolutely everything, fruits, vegetables, items, fabrics, clothing and food available and all so inexpensive.
Some of the vendors were quite persistent trying to get sales, but most just ignored us. We spent several hours just “window” shopping and exploring.
At each end of the market there were churches and each were performing ritualistic ceremonies. My impression was that it was in the form of blessings.
There were flower sellers selling amazing bunches of flowers and stalls selling batches of candles. These were being used in these “blessings”. A shaman, a religious leader, was performing such using a canister with burning incense.
The followers or those wishing to be blessed would enter the church, get on their knees then proceed on their knees with their hands clasped in front to make their way to the front.
There were burning platforms of candles and flower petals, it was a very somber atmosphere. John and I watched, found it fascinating, but found the devotion hard to understand.
We also visited the small museum – Rossbach Archaeological Museum that had some displays pre-Hispanic and colonial artifacts.
Then we were all off to lunch.
The afternoon we spent with Gail and Pete, exploring the local cemetery. We walked there via the narrow streets enjoying the various sights and people watching.
Once there we followed the pathway to the center. The cemeteries are also very different from what we are used to.
The graves are more like tombs where the dead are honored. They are adorned with decorations, photos or maybe flowers and plaques that tell something about the dearly departed.
In the center there was another shaman performing rituals, candles burning along with offerings of flowers. As this week was considered a holy week of ascension many places in Guatemala were performing similar rites/rituals.
Back in the town we walked towards the town entrance which has a bridge across the road which is adorned with a wonderful ceramic mural depicting a Mayan god. We found a good view from the top and that we were able to walk back to our hotel.
Another evening was spent relaxing upon the roof patio, chatting and having drinks. We had a warning from the driver of potential demonstrations on the roads the next day. So we decided to leave later in the day for our homeward trip.
Travel back
Our last morning John and I again wandered around the market and town just enjoying watching all that was going on around us.
It really is a wonderful town and so worth a visit. I managed to get a few lengths of material to take home plus we picked up some fruit.
Travel back
The drive back was reciprocal of our drive out. With four or five exceptions, first we stopped to look out over Lake Atitlan which was stunning, and the traffic was less in Guatemala City so we moved faster.
Gail and Pete had bought us all quesadillas from a restaurant before we left and we feasted on them. The food was excellent. And along the final Rio Dulce stretch of road there was a huge hold up. However our brilliant driver drove us down the side of the road passed miles of trucks, turned into a smaller road that led to a little town, passed the town squeezing by traffic coming the other way and managed to get us back on the main road on the other side of the hold up, which looked to be construction.
It was a wonderful trip!
