Art and Society in a Highland Maya Community : The Altarpiece of Santiago Atitlán

his study concerns the extent to which the sacred architecture and monumental sculpture of Santiago Atitlán, a Tz'utujil-Maya-speaking community in Western Guatemala, reflects the worldview of traditionalist members of its society. The central altarpiece of the town's sixteenth-century Roman Catholic church is my primary focus. Originally constructed at an unknown date during the early colonial era (1524-1700), the altarpiece underwent extensive reconstruction after it collapsed during a series of severe earthquakes in the twentieth century. The reconstruction effort took place from 1976 to 1981 under the direction of the town's parish priest, Stanley Francisco Rother. To support craftsmanship within the community, Father Rother commissioned a local Tz'utujil sculptor, Diego Chávez Petzey, and his younger brother, Nicolás Chávez Sojuel, to reerect the monument and to carve replacement panels for those sections that were too damaged for reuse. Rather than strictly following the original arrangement of the altarpiece, the Chávez brothers replaced many damaged panels with entirely new compositions based on traditional Maya religious beliefs and rituals familiar to their contemporary experience. The relationship between the artists and Father Rother is best characterized as collaborative, a bilateral interaction in which both Catholic priest and Maya sculptors were active participants. Diego Chávez carried out the project with the intention of asserting the legitimacy of traditional Tz'utujil-Maya faith as an independent complement to Roman Catholicism. The result is a work in which Roman Catholic forms and images are reshaped to reveal uniquely Maya PREFACE xiv Art and Society in a Highland Maya Community xvi ## Art and Society in a Highland Maya Community have consciously avoided those recent social and political changes at Santiago Atitlán for the purposes of this book since my intention here is to convey as much as possible the attitudes and worldview held by the Chávez brothers at the time they worked on the altarpiece reconstruction. This book does not present a unified view of traditional Tz'utujil-Maya theology, for such a thing does not exist. Researchers who have worked in Santiago Atitlán in the past have noted that religious beliefs and practices among the Maya vary from individual to individual. This is because there is no unity of opinion in matters of Tz'utujil faith. Certain core myths are widely known among nearly all segments of the community, but the particulars of these stories are learned primarily through oral tradition and thus are not codified in any single source. Because I draw heavily on extensive conversations I had with the Maya artists who carved the altarpiece, the organization of this book reflects my focus on their unique understanding of contemporary Atiteco beliefs and rituals. I have included a great deal of information concerning Tz'utujil ceremonialism and myth, but only those elements of traditional life in Santiago Atitlán that refer directly to specific elements of the altarpiece as interpreted by the Chávez brothers. With regard to sources outside the Chávez family, I have made every attempt to identify where I obtained specific information. I believe the real importance of this study lies not in my interpretations, but rather in the extraordinary degree to which the Maya artists involved were willing to discuss their work and their deeply felt convictions openly with an outsider. The moment was right for the kind of interaction we enjoyed. In this book I have tried not to stray too far from their voices. xviii ## Art and Society in a Highland Maya Community My deepest gratitude is owed to my mentor, the late Linda Schele. It was her scholarship that first brought me to the University of Texas as a wide-eyed graduate student. It was her love and respect for the Maya people, and her boundless curiosity, that sustained me through the following years. I had hoped to present this book to her as yet another of her intellectual "grandchildren." Linda, to the degree that I was able, you are on every page. I convey my special thanks to the following individuals, who were kind enough to read the manuscript and offer invaluable suggestions