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Lesson 1 - Maya Arts: What Are They?
Why do Guatemalans use them, and where they are made and sold
(Grades 3-5)

Background

Anthropologists say that the Maya peoples came from Asia as long as 12,000 years ago. As the original inhabitants of Guatemala, the Maya have a long history of making many of the arts and crafts seen in the drawings in the coloring book.

Since over many centuries the Maya have made their living as farmers, most of their traditional arts and crafts have been especially useful for people who live and work in the countryside. Using the plants and natural materials found in their environment to make all the things they needed in everyday life, they developed techniques for weaving, twisting ropes, carving stone and still more ways of making things. These ancient craft skills helped the Maya to be self sufficient and enabled them to make their clothing; baskets, bags and nets to carry items and store food; mats for sleeping upon; grinding stones for preparing corn dough for tortillas; pottery for cooking and eating utensils; and many other products.

With fibers from the maguey plant, an artisan from San Pablo La Laguna makes a net such as have been made and used for thousands of years.

Reed mats as made by a man of San Antonio Palopó utilize natural biodegradable materials. Both men and women make this and other kinds of mats.

See pages 11, 12, 15, 17, 18, 19, and 20 in Maya Arts and Crafts of Guatemala. Today, many Maya people do not have enough land to grow all their food. This and other reasons prevent the same level of self sufficiency as among ancient the Maya or even in the recent past.

The hand weaving of traditional clothing is one of the most important arts and crafts of Guatemala. Textiles are such a strong of part of culture — the customary beliefs, social patterns, items commonly used by a particular group — that they are considered part of Maya identity, have become a part of "who they are." In fact, the color and beauty of hand woven clothing has come to be considered as one of the most important cultural symbols of the Maya of Guatemala.

In countries where people still wear their traditional clothing they are often outnumbered by people who dress the same (for example in tee shirts and jeans). It is remarkable that the Maya have retained traditional attire to the extent that they have. Because weaving traditional clothing is time consuming and expensive, it has become impossible for some Maya people wear the traditional huipil and other items which are such an important part of their cultural identity.

See pages 1,7, 8 and 9 that show traditional Maya clothing being worn.

Masks and other kinds of wood carving comprise a very different aspect of Maya arts and crafts since they are used in traditional dances and plays as well as in religious ceremonies. See page 24 "A Traditional Mask Carver."   Along with their arts and crafts, Maya culture and traditions include many languages, customs, music, plays, stories, traditional medicine, etc.

The arts and crafts shown in the coloring book are generally made in the artisan's home or in a small workshop by family members and friends working together. Often, they are very time consuming to produce and learning the skills to make them requires years of practice. Some Maya towns specialize in making particular crafts such as weaving, pottery, bags or nets. A long list could be made of places that produce different kinds of products. Traditional artisans then sell what they have made in markets or small stores in their own towns and other places. In Guatemala it is the custom to have weekly markets, and such towns as Chichicastenango and San Francisco El Alto have very large markets which attracts thousands of people. Page 21, "Making Traditional Leather Sandals," shows a market scene.

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