Last week was one of celebration, marked by the International and National Day of Indigenous Peoples (Día Nacional e Internacional de los Pueblos Indígenas).  Bianca Gras, a volunteer with Ak’ Tenamit’s We Must Educate the Girls program, attended the many events that took place and shares her experience with us.

“Here at the project students, community members, and workers celebrated by participating in traditional Mayan ceremonies, cultural activities, and dancing the Baile del Venado.  As a volunteer and essentially an outsider, it was extremely rewarding and I feel so honored to have been a part of it.  The most moving ceremony that I participated in was one in which spiritual guides and elders led the community in a consecration of site I.  Although the ceremony was in Q’eqchi which meant I didn’t understand a word, the sense of solidarity and spirituality of the people was so empowering that at that moment I truly felt a part of the community.  The most impressionable moment for me in the ceremony was when everyone we prayed to the four cardinal directions, to the sky, and to the earth simultaneously— out loud, in whispers, or in silence and it would last for about 2-3 minutes and then everyone would cease to talk.  The sense of community emanating from that space is one that I seldom experience in the United States.

Students perform the Dance of the Deer

The week was also filled with performances of the famous Baile del Venado (Dance of the Deer), a traditional Mayan dance that tells the story of two hunters (a man and a woman) who kill a deer without asking Mother Nature’s permission and the animals of the jungle seek retribution by sacrificing a dog in return.  The dance is about four hours long and is performed by boys from the school dressed in colorful and beautifully adorned costumes.  It serves as a test of their endurance and a sign of their cultural pride.”