Lximche Mayan Ruins



Lximche Mayan Ruins

On our second day in Guatemala we traveled to the Lximche Mayan ruins located in the western highlands of Guatemala. I was quite excited because we didn't have the opportunity to visit any Mayan ruins in March. I wasn't disappointed. We hired a tour guide at the gate and we're glad we did as we all agreed that if we had skipped the tour guide then we would have walked around the grounds reading the placards and left in fifteen minutes.

The history of the Kaqchikel people sounded very similar to periods of history in North America and Europe--battles between clans, sacrificial practices, the Spanish conquest, people decimated by smallpox, etc.

Raul & Brad at the Lximche Ruins

Raul, Brad, Izzy, Bruce at the Lximche Ruins

Where the heads were chopped off...


 

 

 



Of course, we asked our guide if life for the Kaqchikel people was similar to the life of Mayans portrayed in the movie Apocalypto. He responded with a confident, "Yes." Like most movies, I imagine there were some liberties taken here and there with some of the historical facts and the level of brutality. Well, maybe not (see image caption to the right).

We often think about people like the Mayans as being primitive but when you compare their history to the history of the Spanish and the British during the same time period then they were equally as brutal, if not worse.. Remember the Spanish Inquisition--over 5,000 people died, the Tower of London, etc.?


On a lighter note, the Kaqchikel people hunted, planted crops, practiced the Maya religion, washed clothes, played sports, fell in love, held business meetings, told stories around fires, and enjoyed festivities. It would have been amazing to have seen Lximche in its former glory..

Brad meeting a new friend..

There was a Mayan ritual going on at the very back of the ruins, where the least of the royal families would have resided. We thought it was staged for tourists, however, we were wrong. There was a colorfully dressed Mayan Priest surrounded by local followers.  We couldn't hear or understand what he was saying (the Kaqchikel have their own language). Instead, we stood in the rear, quietly watching the Service and left early wondering what was going to be the sacrificial offering that day (I think it may have been a chicken).

After visiting the ruins we returned to Hope Haven and met the first group of mothers and children..