Reports on the Maya Indians of YucatanGarcía Cubas, Antonio
History
Reports on the Maya Indians of Yucatan
García Cubas, Antonio
Indians of Mexico -- Mexico -- Yucatán (State); Mayas
Their bodily cleanliness almost borders on superstition, for they
consider a person who does not wash her body everyday as not quite
sane or reasonable. For their daily bath they heat a stone they call
_sintun_ in the fire, and when it is well heated they throw it into
the water they have prepared for their bath.
It is very seldom that they are happy in their love affairs, because
it is generally their parents who choose their husbands. After the
choice is once made, the parents of the prospective husband come to
ask for the girl's hand, and if accepted they present an offering of
two pesetas, which is known under the name of _pochat tancab_ or
_buhul_. One peseta is for the bride-to-be, the other for her mother.
From the day following this ceremony the bridegroom-elect has to
furnish daily a fagot of firewood to the house of his future
parents-in-law. On her wedding day the bride is dressed in a _hipil_
or loose garment over a petticoat or skirt, the border of which is
adorned with ribbons of deep purple; while another wide ribbon of the
same shade is tied around her hair. Her head is covered with a cloth
of white muslin. She also has to wear shoes, a rosary around her
neck, earrings and finger-rings with big cheap stones. All this jewelry
may be borrowed from someone. Once the religious ceremonies over, they
all proceed to the banquet, at which the newly married couple and
their godfathers (sponsors) are assigned a prominent place. If the
girl is not to continue living with her parents, she returns there,
nevertheless, and remains for eight days, after which time the
godparents come to get her and turn her over to her husband.
The husband is the recipient of all the attention and care of his
wife. She sews, she washes, and she grinds the corn and makes the
tortillas, the _pozole_, the _atole_, and all the rest of his food
with her own hands. She does all the work of her household; she has to
prepare his bath when he comes home from work in the evening. These
are her daily duties. In the evening, by the light of the home fire or
in the pale light of a tropical moon, she sews or mends his clothes
and hers and those of her children. Whenever the husband leaves home
to go on a journey to some neighboring town or hacienda, the wife has
to follow him; she is never allowed, however, to walk by his side, but
behind, in his footsteps so to speak. If this husband gets drunk,
which occurs rather frequently, and he should fall by the roadside, it
is the wife's duty to remain by his side and take care of him until he
is able to continue on his way. Neither the scorching sun, nor heavy
rains, nor thunderstorms, nor any other danger of the road has power
enough to take her away from his side.
Even the fact that a woman has just been delivered of a child does not
serve as an impediment to her going with the husband; she simply
carries the new-born baby with her, either in a piece of cloth on her
back or else mounted on one of her hips.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account