To: richter <lrichter@mail7100.skowheganms.sad54.k12.me.us>

Subject: Maya/ Palenque

Did you meet the Maya Q. people?. The only "Maya" are in Yucatan, the descendants of

the Yucatec Maya, who were a different group. There are a handful of

different Indian groups in that area of Chiapas; the only ones I had

personal contact with were Tzetzal or Chol speakers (I think it's Chol,

Ican't remember what it's called, the language). These people are

unrelated to the ancient Maya. They were workmen at the site and lived in a nearby

village. The others were the women who would sell coconuts at the site;

they were from the same village, and contrary to romantic idea, they did

not harvest coconuts to sell; they bought them in the town of Palenque.

it's all business...

My workman did show me a couple of edible plants, but I forget their

names.

One looked like the thing inside a cat-tail pod - i don't remember what

they were, these things we would find when we were kids, peel this pod

open...the plant in chiapas is starchy and grows on a thorn tree,

slightly bitter.

The workmen would eat, for breakfast and lunch, a drink called "posol,"

which is a sort of cold corn gruel, water and corn. I had some in a

restaurant once, but what i ate was mixed with sugar and cacao, so it

had a grainy, slightly sweet taste; i liked it, but it is definitely an

acquired

tast. I don't know how the workmen drink it. The people in Chiapas who CLAIM to be, and are often considered to be,

the actual descendents of the lowland Maya are the Lacandon, of whom only

about 200 remain. They sell arrows and such at the entrance to the site.

Everyone basically sells the same type of artesania (crafts etc), which is

usually unrelated to what a group of people would traditionally make; again,

it's all business. The Lacandon are recognizable by their dress; white tunics; sort of like

a nightshirt. The men have long hair and cut bangs across the forehead. I

don't remember seeing any Lacandon women.

Other writings say that the Lacandon are not Maya descendants; the name

"Lacandon" actually means "people from outside," and because the

Lacandon do not have any customs similar to the Maya ones, they do not practice a

similar religion, and they do not physically resemble the ancient Maya,

there's evidence that they came from a different part of Mexico (maybe

Yucatan) not so long ago. They may have simply stepped into a void; in

the absence of anyone to claim the title of descendant of the Maya, they

picked up the title. Keep up the good questions

Love, student Just back from Palenque Chiapas, Mexico