Upon returning from our second two week long visit to Belize in the last two years, my friend Celia and I made a confession to each other...we admitted that secretly we believed that there was no way in God's green earth that this trip could top last year's adventure...and people were we ever wrong! From the moment we stepped off the plane the universe aligned to create the space for us to have yet another epic adventure.
Maybe we are more aware or simply more open while traveling in Belize, but things just seem to come to us during our travels there. People come from seemingly out of nowhere to help us and provide information...like the 9 passenger van we drove for free from the airport to our car rental agency which then happily stored our bags for free for several days while we hung out on the island of Caye Caulker. Ah...Caye Caulker where the motto is "go slow". There Celia & I were reunited with our friend Mandingo, a local celebrity and Garifuna drummer. He is well connected on the island and instantly we were off on boating excursions to the reef and beyond, swimming with the rays and drinking our One Barrell rum. Evenings we would listen to the drumming while the steady wind blew in from the reef.
In dramatic contrast to Caye Caulker we then traveled south by car to spend a week with our Maya friends Ponciano and Elvira and their four children Magdalena, Carlos, Marcelino and Chrelina in Cuxlin Ha, a small village in the Toledo District. This was our second time living with them and my fourth time visiting the village. Elvira is the consumate hostess preparing each meal in the traditional Mayan style. Homemade corn or flour tortillas, rice and beans, fry jacks are the main stays of their diets. Elvira has an expanding garden with bananas and papayas, peppers and cilantro. Her brother Alberto fishes in the Jacinta River that flows past their village and catches tuba fish and snook for the families. He also grows coco yams and cassava and has a rice and pineapple plantation up the river.
Celia and I jump right in to help with the chores and cooking. It's always fun to do laundry in the river while the kids splash and swim. Celia got real proficient with washing dishes at the "pipe", the outdoor spigot. Many days we are either traveling to town in Punta Gorda to pick up fresh meat or vegetables or we are visiting relatives in other villages. At one point during a visit to Elvira's sister Martha's, forty miles away on nothing but bumpy dirt roads, we had 8 kids, 7 adults and 2 chickens jammed into my 5 passenger SUV...2 pigs and one more adult made the return trip!! This experience gave new meaning to the term "chicken bus"!
While I was in Belize in January 2008 Belize's "Artisit for Peace", Andy Palacio, died suddenly at the age of 47. He is known for resurrecting the Garifuna language and culture through his music and for bringing a global awareness to this unique music style. I had just been introduced to Andy's music in Januaray of '08 and for some reason his passing hit me hard. So, we (Celia, Ponce, Elvira, Cheri and myself) made the pilgrimage to Andy's home, the village of Barranco, a Garifuna fishing village close to the Guatemalan border. When we arrived we were welcomed by Ferman, a local guide, who walked with us throughout the village, sharing the rich history and culture of the Garifuna people. For me this was somewhat of a spiritual journey...and at Andy's grave Ferman and I held eachother as I wept...Next stop in Barranco was Flavian the drum maker. I was on a mission to buy a local drum for Mandingo and found the perfect one beautifully made out of mahogany and deer skin. At this point I had my sights set on Garifuna Settlement Day, November 19, and Celia and I were determined to celebrate in a big way on Caye Caulker.
Returning to Caye Caulker after our week in Cuxlin Ha we were warmly welcomed by our island friends. Right away plans to celebrate Garifuna Settlement Day were set in motion. The drum and marachas Celia & I bought were key to the celebration. Just before dawn we gathered at the water taxi dock, rum in hand, and set off for the northern end of the island to make our preparations. Penny, Jay, Charlie and Mandingo made their way into the interior of the island and returned with salt water palm fronds. Dingo began making his signature hats and skirts while Charlie, Jay and Penny decorated the boat. Celia and I wandered the beach looking for horse eye seeds and sea hearts as we watched dawn break over the reef.
Adorned in our palm frond wear we cast off and the drumming began, honoring the day, over 150 years ago, when the Garifuna first came to Belize. Taken as slaves from Africa they were shipwrecked in 1635 on the island of St. Vincent in the Caribbean and intermingled with the Caribe and Arawak Indians. For political and cultural reasons the Garifuna were eventually forced to relocate to Honduras, Nicaragua and in the early 1800's Belize. Today the Garifuna culture is very strong with great emphasis on music, dance and story-telling and with its own brand of religion consisting of a mix of Catholicism, African and Indian beliefs.
So there we were, our boat full of compadres circling the island of Caye Cauker, all the while drumming and singing, drawing tourists and locals out to their docks and onto their beaches, waving as they acknowledged our procession. For me it was very spiritual and I felt a great sense of honor to participate with my Belizean friends. The drums echoed the tribal rhythms of the Garifuna's African ancestors as the celebration continued all day and into the night with much punta dancing and rum drinking!
On our last full day on the island Celia, Mandigo and I hopped on Charlie's boat and were taken to a private island off shore. A delightful day was spent basking in the sun and water while Mandingo brought Celia and I our Belikin beer upon demand. We were the island goddesses! Later we tried our hand at spear fishing and snagged enough fish for a meal which was cooked seaside with coconut milk and rice. As were made our way back to Caye Caulker reality was setting in...tomorrow we must leave.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
ELVIRA
A cheerful, hard working, twenty six year old devoted mother of four, Elvira epitomizes the qualities of a bare-footed traditional Kekchi Maya woman. At daybreak you’ll hear her sweeping or washing the previous night’s dishes at the outdoor spigot otherwise referred to as the “pipe”. By the time you rise and head out to the open-air kitchen for breakfast the water is on for instant coffee and fry-jacks or tortillas are in the skillet on the open wood fire. Keeping her home neat and tidy and bellies full whenever possible are Elvira’s top priorities...not to mention keeping four very active children in crisp clean clothing that’s she’s laundered in the nearby Jacinta River! Other duties include gathering firewood in the bush, tending to her garden, managing the family finances, and caring for the needs of her children and extended family.
San Benito Poite, where Elvira was born, is a remote village deep in the “bush”, a dusty and bumpy forty mile drive from Cuxlin Ha where she now lives with her husband Ponciano and children Magdalena, Carlos, Marcelino (Marc), and Chrelina (Cheri).
ROSARIO
Rosario is a quiet Maya woman who came to Belize from Guatemala. Like her mother-in-law, Catalina, you will always see her in the traditional Maya dress and is most often barefoot. Rosario is married to Elvira’s brother, Alberto, and they have four children, Oscar, Benjamin, Alicia, and Brenda. They live a stone’s throw across the road from Elvira & Ponciano in Cuxlin Ha Village.
Rosario grew up in Guatemala and speaks primarily Spanish and Kekchi. She depends on her husband and sons to communicate with visitors. She is a skilled crafter and somehow manages to find the time to make baskets, hand bags, belts and jewelry. Like every Maya woman, Rosario is very hard working and takes great pride in caring for the needs of her family.
PRIMA
Along the Rio Blanco River in the village of Santa Elena, an hour’s drive into the bush from Cuxlin Ha, lives Ponciano’s brother Eucebio with his wife Prima and their four children. Eucebio is a farmer and the “chairman” of the village. His father, Hillario, lives in the village too. Hillario is a gentle man who has recently lost his vision so he depends a great deal on his family. There is no electricity in Santa Elena.
Prima is kind, soft spoken and shy until she gets to know you. There are few visitors that come to her village so the opportunities to sell baskets and other crafts are few. Many Maya women in remote villages like Santa Elena will leave on the bus long before dawn and travel a great distance to a tourist town in the hopes of selling some items. Quite often their sales are not even enough to cover the bus fare. They will sit all day without food or water asking passers-by if they would like to buy something. Then, returning to the village after a long day, the women will resume their duties of preparing the evening meal and tending to their family.
A cheerful, hard working, twenty six year old devoted mother of four, Elvira epitomizes the qualities of a bare-footed traditional Kekchi Maya woman. At daybreak you’ll hear her sweeping or washing the previous night’s dishes at the outdoor spigot otherwise referred to as the “pipe”. By the time you rise and head out to the open-air kitchen for breakfast the water is on for instant coffee and fry-jacks or tortillas are in the skillet on the open wood fire. Keeping her home neat and tidy and bellies full whenever possible are Elvira’s top priorities...not to mention keeping four very active children in crisp clean clothing that’s she’s laundered in the nearby Jacinta River! Other duties include gathering firewood in the bush, tending to her garden, managing the family finances, and caring for the needs of her children and extended family.
San Benito Poite, where Elvira was born, is a remote village deep in the “bush”, a dusty and bumpy forty mile drive from Cuxlin Ha where she now lives with her husband Ponciano and children Magdalena, Carlos, Marcelino (Marc), and Chrelina (Cheri).
ROSARIO
Rosario is a quiet Maya woman who came to Belize from Guatemala. Like her mother-in-law, Catalina, you will always see her in the traditional Maya dress and is most often barefoot. Rosario is married to Elvira’s brother, Alberto, and they have four children, Oscar, Benjamin, Alicia, and Brenda. They live a stone’s throw across the road from Elvira & Ponciano in Cuxlin Ha Village.
Rosario grew up in Guatemala and speaks primarily Spanish and Kekchi. She depends on her husband and sons to communicate with visitors. She is a skilled crafter and somehow manages to find the time to make baskets, hand bags, belts and jewelry. Like every Maya woman, Rosario is very hard working and takes great pride in caring for the needs of her family.
PRIMA
Along the Rio Blanco River in the village of Santa Elena, an hour’s drive into the bush from Cuxlin Ha, lives Ponciano’s brother Eucebio with his wife Prima and their four children. Eucebio is a farmer and the “chairman” of the village. His father, Hillario, lives in the village too. Hillario is a gentle man who has recently lost his vision so he depends a great deal on his family. There is no electricity in Santa Elena.
Prima is kind, soft spoken and shy until she gets to know you. There are few visitors that come to her village so the opportunities to sell baskets and other crafts are few. Many Maya women in remote villages like Santa Elena will leave on the bus long before dawn and travel a great distance to a tourist town in the hopes of selling some items. Quite often their sales are not even enough to cover the bus fare. They will sit all day without food or water asking passers-by if they would like to buy something. Then, returning to the village after a long day, the women will resume their duties of preparing the evening meal and tending to their family.
JIPPI JAPPA
The Jippi Jappa palm grows wild in the rainforest and often in abandoned fields of the southern Toledo District of Belize. The shoots and flowers are edible and the young palms can be used as a material to be woven into beautiful baskets.
The young palm frond is first stripped of its “bark” or covering and then very thin strips are peeled away just like a stalk of celery. Once the strips are thin enough to fit through the eye of a needle, the palm is boiled for 15 minutes and then dried in the sun for 2-3 days.
A bundle of fibers (maybe 6 to 8) are then held tightly together while another is twisted around the outside of the bundle. Once a few inches of a rope-like covered bundle are produced a tight coil will then be formed and thus the bottom of a basket begins to take shape.
The Jippi Jappa palm grows wild in the rainforest and often in abandoned fields of the southern Toledo District of Belize. The shoots and flowers are edible and the young palms can be used as a material to be woven into beautiful baskets.
The young palm frond is first stripped of its “bark” or covering and then very thin strips are peeled away just like a stalk of celery. Once the strips are thin enough to fit through the eye of a needle, the palm is boiled for 15 minutes and then dried in the sun for 2-3 days.
A bundle of fibers (maybe 6 to 8) are then held tightly together while another is twisted around the outside of the bundle. Once a few inches of a rope-like covered bundle are produced a tight coil will then be formed and thus the bottom of a basket begins to take shape.
THE ANCIENT MAYA
The earliest known inhabitants of southern Belize were the ancient Maya. Great Maya cities and ceremonial centers grew and flourished throughout the region until about 900 A.D. Eventually, these great cities disappeared beneath the dense jungle canopy. The reason for the collapse of the Maya Civilization is hidden in the mists of time. Some sites still remain relatively unexcavated and others have only recently been discovered, such as Nim Li Punit (“Big Hat”) in the 1970’s.
Throughout the 16th and 17 centuries a group of people called the Manche Chol Maya remained unconquered in southern Belize, resisting attempts by the Spanish to rule them. Disease and small pox eventually all but eliminated the Chols and in the 18th and 19th century the entire population of Chols was transported to the highlands of Guatemala by the British.
After this forced exodus out of southern Belize, the Toledo District was mostly unpopulated until the mid 1800’s. In the late 19th and early 20th century two distinct groups of Maya Indians, Mopan and Kekchi, began migrating into southern Belize from Guatemala, fleeing oppression and heavy taxation. The Mopan Maya settled the uplands of Toledo. The Kekchi Maya spread out into the isolated lowlands and along the many rivers.
Today the Mopan and Kekchi Maya comprise the largest percentage of the population in the Toledo District of Belize and have remained the most traditional and culturally distinct. The Mopan and Kekchi Maya have together formed over thirty communities throughout Toledo. The foundation of Mayan society is still based mostly on subsistence agriculture, family units, communal assistance, and self-government. They subsist on staple crops of beans, corn, rice, tubers, cacao and sugar cane. Increasingly they are becoming involved in cash crops of citrus and rice.
The earliest known inhabitants of southern Belize were the ancient Maya. Great Maya cities and ceremonial centers grew and flourished throughout the region until about 900 A.D. Eventually, these great cities disappeared beneath the dense jungle canopy. The reason for the collapse of the Maya Civilization is hidden in the mists of time. Some sites still remain relatively unexcavated and others have only recently been discovered, such as Nim Li Punit (“Big Hat”) in the 1970’s.
Throughout the 16th and 17 centuries a group of people called the Manche Chol Maya remained unconquered in southern Belize, resisting attempts by the Spanish to rule them. Disease and small pox eventually all but eliminated the Chols and in the 18th and 19th century the entire population of Chols was transported to the highlands of Guatemala by the British.
After this forced exodus out of southern Belize, the Toledo District was mostly unpopulated until the mid 1800’s. In the late 19th and early 20th century two distinct groups of Maya Indians, Mopan and Kekchi, began migrating into southern Belize from Guatemala, fleeing oppression and heavy taxation. The Mopan Maya settled the uplands of Toledo. The Kekchi Maya spread out into the isolated lowlands and along the many rivers.
Today the Mopan and Kekchi Maya comprise the largest percentage of the population in the Toledo District of Belize and have remained the most traditional and culturally distinct. The Mopan and Kekchi Maya have together formed over thirty communities throughout Toledo. The foundation of Mayan society is still based mostly on subsistence agriculture, family units, communal assistance, and self-government. They subsist on staple crops of beans, corn, rice, tubers, cacao and sugar cane. Increasingly they are becoming involved in cash crops of citrus and rice.
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