RELIGION: Maximon Inspires Good Business in Guatemala

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

GUATEMALA CITY, May 3 1998 (IPS) - A long line of people slowly winds its way to the altar amidst a dense cloud of smoke, carrying candles, guaro (liquor), herbs, or simply prayers.

They lay their offerings at the feet of popular saint “Maximon”, who they believe helps and protects them in times of trouble.

The deep impression left by a visit to the temple of Maximon, also known as “Saint Simon” in the town of San Andres Itzapa, in the western department of Chimaltenango, is hard to erase. The temple is visited by Guatemalans from all walks of life – who make the pilgrimage to the temple to pay tribute – along with hordes of curious foreigners.

A visitor to San Andres Itzapa, located 60 kms from the capital of Guatemala, can take in the aspects that give life to this magical-symbolic thinking, such as the rites, the clothing in which the statue is wrapped and the worship itself.

The Maximon chapel on the outskirts of town is the area’s main attraction. The route to the temple, a narrow dirt road, is lined with street stalls selling images of the “saint” and a rainbow of coloured candles.

The rites vary according to the requests put to Maximon, explained one of the temple’s caretakers. Some devotees sacrifice roosters to purify their souls, other offer herbs or food in search of good harvests or prosperous business ventures. Small bottles of liquor, mainly rum, as well as cigars, are also bought, to be left as offerings.

The candles play an important role, because each colour has a different meaning. One vendor told IPS that the most popular colours were green for prosperity, red for love and yellow for protection for loved ones. But, he said, there are those who buy black candles “to do evil or protect themselves from envy.”

Several residents of San Andres Itzapa are somewhat evasive about their feelings toward Maximon. “We townpeople don’t often go there, it’s all people who come from outside,” said a middle- aged woman who called herself Carmen.

Several indigenous persons wait outside the temple, offering to “cleanse” and purify visitors of “bad vibes” on their way out of the temple, using with incense and herbs like rue.

The rites are surrounded by an air of mystery, and leave a deep impression on the spectator. At times the faithful join together to chant a prayer in both Mayan languages and Spanish, repeated over and over by indigenous and non-indigenous believers, many of whom have tears in their eyes.

“Brother Simon, Brother Simon, ye who has suffered so, do not allow this poor servent of yours to feel the same pain by losing my child. Do you not see, dear brother, how much I would miss him in the cornfield?

“I want to dream of you, Brother Simon, to know whether the white candle with its smoke and fire have reached you. I promise you, Brother Simon, that you will not go without your tortilla, cigar and glass of guaro as long as I live. Amen.”

This is part of a prayer with which mothers ask for protection for their children.

Celso Lara, a historian specialising in Guatemalan traditions, told IPS that the cult of Maximon in San Andres Itzapa dates back to last century, and involves a kind of witchcraft organised by indigenous people in the region. Maximon “does good and evil, people can go to him for a good harvest or to get rid of an enemy.”

He added that the statue also dates back to last century. It is generally dressed in a black suit and hat and a white shirt, and has a cigar in his mouth, although on some occasions he is dressed in military or indigenous garb.

Lara also distinguished between Maximon of Santiago Atitlan, in the western department of Solola, and Maximon of San Andres Iztapa. “The first is religion and the second is magic,” he said.

“Maximon of Santiago Atitlan is a deity arising from a synchretistic mix of ancient pre-Hispanic customs and Catholic, mainly Holy Week, customs. It is a magical deity dedicated to fertility, and is characteristic of the Tzutuhil indigenous people of lake Atitlan,” he said.

But Maximon of San Andres Itzapa is caught between the sacred and the profane, and uses magic, he explained.

Years ago, the statue was located in the town’s Catholic church. But it was removed because San Simon is not a recognised and canonised saint, and devotees collected funds to build the statue its own chapel.

According to Lara, the cult to San Simon is good business for the indigenous association that manages it, due to the money offerings left by believers as well as the sales of liquor, candles, cigars and food.