Saturday I joined a guided tour to the nearby native towns of Chamula & Zinacantan, about five miles from San Cristobal.
Chamula, at 80,000 population the bigger of the two, is home to a Mayan tribe called the Sotsil who have their own particular dress, religious customs, and language. The town features a small market, a municipal government building, and a large central square.
At the center of town is a medium size cathedral where the locals pay polytheistic tribute to a number of gods, spirits, and Catholic saints.
The floor of the cathedral is covered in pine needles as families gather around on their knees in small groups to light candles and worship.
Women wear distinctive black wool skirts and colorful woven tops, and some men wear black wool tunics over jeans or trousers.
The Vatican hierarchy has no direct or indirect control over this unique church but sends a priest once a month to baptize the children.
People were very welcoming and friendly to our group under English speaking guide Cesar who conducted a highly professional and informative tour. My group of about a dozen came from Holland, Germany, and France.
Zinacantan--population 30,000--is home to the same Sotsil tribe but its cathedral is much more mainstream.
In this town we visited the home of a family of textile weavers and watched as they worked their loom and prepare tortillas for the next meal.
Cesar was an excellent guide but he was very critical of Western missionaries who come to communities such as these to 'change the culture' as he described it.
For my part, I was happy to have a local act as my own medium to a fascinating minority culture that otherwise would've been a complete mystery to me.
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