Guatemala Culture

When I came to the United States I was twelve years old. I did not know anything about this country or the culture, it was like I was starting my life over again. I needed to adapt, learn and adjust myself to this new culture, and I knew it was not going to be easy because it was completely different from my own culture. Because I came at a young age I think I was able to adapt to the culture very fast, but at the same time I was overwhelmed with all the information and things that I needed to learn. There were a lot of differences between Guatemala and the United States culture, one of the most significant cultural difference was language. I came here without knowing any english, but I knew that I had to made the effort to learn it as fast

Guatemala has more people than any other Central American country, with an estimated population of 11,980,000 it is home to many different cultures. The population can be divided into two groups; Indians and people of mixed Spanish and Indian ancestry. But in Guatemala, being called an Indian or a non-Indian does not depend entirely on a person 's ancestry. It is basically a matter of how people live and of how they categorize themselves. For example, a Guatemalan is considered an Indian if he or she speaks an Indian language, wears Indian clothing, and lives in a community where the people follow the Indian ways of life. The Indians think of themselves more as part of their community than of their country. They pay little attention to

No. if we start to profiling, we are going to be part of scapegoat. For example, if we watch the news from my country, every single day there are more than two murders, robberies, kidnaping and drug dealer news. Event thought, that is the kind of information that the world has access and describe Guatemalan culture, I am not like that. That is not exactly how Guatemalan culture is. Profiling justifies discrimination and racism because focus in specific details instead to analyze everything. The only result I can see from this practice is the increase of xenophobia in our country.

Guatemala is a multiethnic and multilingual country in Central America. The main population groups separate “Ladinos”, mixed Native American-African-Spanish individuals, from Native indigenous people of Mayan descent. Although she faced mistreatment and severe oppression by the Ladinos she encountered, Rigoberta realized that unification was the only way to end repression. She firmly believed that the barrier that divided the Indians and Ladinos was the sole causative factor that kept the both factions oppressed by the wealthy government elite.

Subsequently, many people in Guatemala grew to be numb after the massacre of indigenous people; they did not wish to relive the traumatic experience ever again therefore they stayed in silence as they were taught. As Eduardo Halfon explains, “He waved at me but without looking” (29). This shows how many were unable to look directly in others eyes because they did not want them to see what they have been through because their souls were killed with all those that were tortured to death in the genocide. They were devastated that their population was just disappeared for just for fighting for equality for their people. Halfon also explains, “I was surprised at how silent he’d been in class. I wanted to speak to you, he said, ignoring my comment

this holiday includes festivals and fireworks in both countries. The celebration of Christmas is fairly similar in both countries due to the nativity scene and gift giving under Christmas trees. Traditions, such as baptisms, weddings, funerals, and birthdays also have similarities in both countries. While the color of mourning in the United States is black, at funerals, Guatemalans dress in yellow and give yellow flowers to the dead. Birthdays are celebrated specifically for females who turn 15 and males who turn 18 in Guatemala. Special birthday celebrations in America take place when both genders turn 16 and 18 in America. Though there are some differences, both countries have rituals to bring their society together and to celebrate.

Guatemala’s Congress is coming under fire for “racism and discrimination”, specifically against indigenous women. This issue has not been plaguing Guatemala alone, it is an issue that has been prominent since the beginning of time. Indigenous women are not only discriminated against for their gender, but they are also being discriminated against for being indigenous. Women in Guatemala represent more than half the 15.8 million. After the signing of the Peace Accords in 1996, several mechanisms specifically for women were created. Laws were issued for women’s comprehensive development, domestic violence, sexual violence, trafficking, exploitation, femicide and other forms of violence. Despite all the progress, it still comes down to the

Some traditions from hundreds of years ago still stand today. Discoveries from the past shaped the current and future generations. The past generations have given us their wisdom and knowledge to help us make our way through life. Past cultures such as the Maya, Aztecs, and Incas shaped our knowledge and way of thinking an incredible amount. The innovations from these past societies have created the world we know today.

In this chapter the author describes the religious impact specifically Catholic Church on the politics of Guatemala; while Catholic influence was strong in Guatemala, the church had to work to keep out other religious influences such as Protestantism. The primary source is about archbishop Oscar Romero, he taken aback by the death of his friend who died at the hand of the government security forces; in his speech he says while there is a lot of suffering in the country, in the end God has a plan for all of us, he encourages the people to work for reform and freedom; he also pleads to the soldiers to stop killing because the message that comes from God is something they should follow over any order given by a government.

The Mayans try to preserve their traditional culture. Traditional culture is ways of life and customs handed down from ancestors. Mayan homes are one room, and made out of brick or mud called adobe. They are simple, with packed Earth floors and little furniture. The family might have a table and chairs, and hammocks for sleeping. There is a cook fire in the middle of the home, with clay pots around it. The most important thing in the traditional Mayan home is a family altar, for religious worship. One traditional custom of their culture is to ask the Earth for permission to build a home. The Mayans are also adapting to modern life. Adaptation is the change in a way of life so you can suit new conditions. The modern Mayan homes in larger town might have running water and electricity. Some homes might even have televisions or radios, and cooking utensils are becoming more common. Homes also may have blenders, gas stoves, and other appliances.The roles of traditional roles of men and women are very different. The men work in the fields, and they sometimes thy hunt. They plant, weed, and harvest all of the crops. The women work at home. They cook, take care of the children, and weave clothes for the family. They make beans and tortillas, and the some tortillas are made the old way. They pat the corn dough out by hand, and fry it on a griddle. Although, some women make tortillas with a tortilla press made of metal. The roles of men and women are part of their traditional

The Ancient Mayan civilization contained nearly two-thirds of Mesoamerica. The area included mostly volcanic mountains to porous limestone, also referred to as the lowlands in the more central regions. Mayan civilization extended from Belize and Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula in the north, to Honduras in the south. What made the Mayans stand out to me the most, were their complex societies, which were built and modernized far ahead of its time in a tropical rainforest climate (Aissen, 1992). Normally, ancient populations lived in much drier climates, where irrigation practices served as the foundation of societies. The Mayans excelled at pottery, hieroglyphic writing, making calendars, science, and mathematics. The Mayan Civilization, which

Syriac literature accounts for 90% of the total Aramaic literature. The literature was written in the Esṭrangelā (Classical) form. The earliest forms of Syriac literature were based in Edessa and were written by pagans, agnostics, Jews, and Christians. The exact origins of these works were never found. By the start of the third century the Old Testament had already been translated into Syriac from Hebrew. Around the same time is when one of the earliest versions of the New Testament known as the Diatessaron came into being. This work was used by the Syriac Church for two centuries until a prominent bishop claimed that the author, Tatian was a heretic. This book consisted of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and was morphed into one

The Maya culture was one of the most prominent in the ancient Mesoamerica region. The people of the Mayan civilization lived in the tropical areas of modern Guatemala, the Yucatan Peninsula, and surrounding areas (“Maya” history.com). Their culture was complex and remarkably intricate for an ancient civilization. The number of accomplishments were an amazing list that encompasses the categories of hieroglyph writings, farming, astronomy, mathematical advances, the creation of a calendar system, and complex stone architecture (“Maya” history.com) . Maya history spans over thousands of years, this large span of time is usually divided into several different periods by historians. These time frames include the Pre-classic, Classic, and Post-classic

Tradition is a very significant lifestyle to most people and their families. Traditions are generally the beliefs of one whom teaches their child to live and act one way so that they can do the same with their own. Tradition lives on and on. The life style of a Mayan child was that of the abnormal. All children had to have their foreheads unnaturally flattened while their nose and ears were pierced. The Mayan people were very fond of these things. In their culture, squint eye was said to be a beauty mark (source). To get this look, mothers would take pellets of wax and put it between their child’s eyes. This is what gave off the squint eye look for their daughters. As for males, having facial hair was not normal (source). To keep their sons

Mayan culture was one of the most complex civilizations of the Mesoamerican societies. Mayans are well-known for their refined mathematical and astronomical system, monumental architecture, and astonishing artworks. I will not focus on specific artwork and writing but the context in general. I have obtained great facts upon Mayan culture and writings. The ingenuous data that I will be discussing can be found in the book titled “The Hidden Maya”, a short text consisting of veiled information upon the survival and aspects of Mayan culture.