CULTURAL |
CULTURAL |
Monday, February 22, 1999 Online Edition 146 |
Modernization in the markets of Comayaguela Market holds vestiges of twin city's indigenous past
To Comayaguela: ¡Oh, si! -- Ella es una bizarra amazona indigena, con su luenga y negra cabellera extendida al aureo sol como un manto triunfal; de carnes fuertes y morenas olorosas a nuestra amada serrania; que reposa muellemente en el ribazo maternal del altivo Cucuterique arrullada eternamente por los ritmos orquestales de nuestro majestuoso Rio Grande, y que siempre ha amado con amor inmenso, infinito, el trabajo regenerador, la justicia inmanente y la Santa Libertad! -- Salvador Turcios R., 1927 By MARK D. MORRIS Special to Honduras This Week (First of three parts) Walking from Tegucigalpa into Comayaguela on one of the three bridges over the Rio Grande, one crosses into the legacy of the colonial state. A former pueblo de indios, this part of the Capital Municipal District (M.D.C.) "pegada a Tegucigalpa" is poorer, more crowded and more dangerous. A bridge is a boundary that hardens in the night. As we step off Puente Soberania, Lilia says, "Cuidase Marcos. Es peligroso aqui." She disappears into the barely lit corridors of the market, a daughter of the pueblo. But, there is no ethnic problem in the M.D.C. and there are no indios. Comayaguela is one half of the Honduran capital, a sprawling urban area of 500,000 people, almost all mestizo. With Tegucigalpa, it is the political and administrative center of the nation. This marriage is unequal. In Tegucigalpa's center, a mix of colonial, 19th-century and modern buildings house the nation's important business. Through the center of Comayaguela, a jumble of official and informal markets spread block after block, washing around the substantial commercial enterprises and into the marginal colonias that climb the mountains. The disparity is not some quirk of neo-liberalism. The difference is an artifact, a pottery shard, belying a hidden history of ethnic conflict and discrimination. The market, the telling sign of Comayaguela's difference, also is an archeological site that holds within it vestiges of Comayaguela's indigenous past. The indios long ago disappeared from Comayaguela, but the heritage of the Comayaguelas who served the Real Minas de Tegucigalpa persists. The market is an entry point into that legacy and into the recondite history of Comayaguela's metamorphosis as a mestizo city. This essay traces the history of Comayaguela's markets as a history of ethnic politics. This is a story of modernization in a Caribbean-Central American nation -- these nations' most important shared experience since independence. The very name Modernista was its defining artistic movement. It is not, though, a stage, but an ongoing battle. And, a painful one because modernity is precisely what Central America and the Caribbean do not have. For these poor nations, modernity is an elusive dream of many meanings. This, Chilean sociologist Jose Bengoa notes, is the key to modernity's power. It is an ambiguous, changing goal always beyond the reach of those who would chase it. BITTER DISPUTE On June 29, 1888 to the accompaniment of speeches and military music, the market "El Progreso" was inaugurated in Comayaguela. The event brought resolution to a bitter dispute between the municipalities of Tegucigalpa and Comayaguela, its former reduccion de indios. Although the record is spotty, it is clear that this dispute over a marketplace was a battle over identity -- the vendedoras', Comayaguela's, the elite's and the nation's. In this confrontation, the positivist liberal elite of Tegucigalpa and the Comayaguelas squared off over the right of Comayaguela's vendedoras to participate in an American nation as equal members. Who would sit at the banquet of civilization and modernity? For whom were impressive, modern public works? Comayaguela's "El Progreso" was a decisive turning point in the unique course Honduras took to incorporate indigenous peoples into the nation. Central American and Caribbean nations have created identities, often, in confrontation with Western ideas like modernity. These identities take shape in specific situations and events that may have little, by nature, to do with the issues at stake. C.L.R. James' remarkable study of the emergence of Trinidadian nationalism in the sport of Cricket is an excellent example of this. Facing his rival in the pitch, the hero cricket player represents a present and potential collective identity on display within a symbolically charged arena. A market is like a Cricket pitch; it is a theater or an arena, where ethnic, national, and municipal identities are forged in dramatic, cultural contests as authorities, buyers and sellers of diverse backgrounds exchange goods, information and ideas. The history of Comayaguela's market has been a history of the creation of these identities within a local variation of a Western state model that responds to larger trends in a global capitalist economy. SOCIAL QUESTION The social question of Comayaguela's vendedoras developed simultaneous with the search for national stability. Since the 1850s, Tegucigalpa had made efforts to restrict the activities of market women on its sidewalks, the Cathedral Plaza and the Cabildo's entranceway. For example, in response to the complaints of "the authorities and various persons of Tegucigalpa against the vendedoras" Comayaguela's Municipio passed an ordinance that restricted those women to a "tiangue" until after 12 noon when they could pass from house to house, though without sitting. After Marco Soto became president in 1876, these efforts to reclaim public space for "decent people" took on a greater sense of purpose and urgency. Soto, like his patron Justo Rufino Barrios, subscribed to the positivist liberalism common in late 19th-century Latin America inspired by Auguste Comte and Herbet Spencer, who stressed order and security as indispensable requisites for progress. La Republica late in 1878 gave space to a citizen's grievance that "in Tegucigalpa all, its seems, have the right to use the sidewalks, except the pedestrian," as that they were "continually obstructed by vendedoras," obligating "the most decent people to cast themselves into the middle of the street to avoid seeing themselves bathed by the water of an unstably perched water jug, or his best dress stained by the grease of chicharrones or oily chorizos." During Soto's administration, the vendedoras of Comayaguela had been expelled from the Municipal Cabildo of Tegucigalpa and had set up on the bank of the Rio Choluteca, exposed to rain and sun, at the foot of Mallol bridge. In 1884, prompted by complaints from the vendedoras, Comayaguela's Cabildo obtained a pledge of 1,000 pesos from the national government for a public market building. Meanwhile, public condemnation of Comayaguela's vendedoras rose to higher levels. In June of 1878, the redactors of La Paz publicly complained to chief of police, Luis Blum, about prostitution at the foot of Puente Mallol during the early hours of the evening, "to great disgust of the people who, coming from or having business in Comayaguela, found themselves condemned to pass the vicinity at those hours." In the next issue, Blum protested that "it is not my fault if remedy to prevent such scandals has not been put in place." In fact, he recently had arrested several prostitutes, but they were "put in liberty, without the least punishment, making a joke of authority." PUBLIC MARKET BUILDING Four years passed without action on a public market building. But, then, in February of 1888, the newspapers announced a modern market building, complete with a sanitary butcher's facility underway in Tegucigalpa's pardo barrio, Los Dolores. Prominent advertisements for carpenters, masons, and runners for the municipal project appeared in La Nacion just before work began. The government's newspaper, La Republica, applauded the project, not only for the accommodation it would provide the vendedoras, but "because it will change the aspect of the area of the Presidential palace." Once construction was underway, Tegucigalpa's Alcalde (Mayor) and Gobernador Militar took action against Comayaguela's vendedoras, leveling accusations that the women were a public nuisance and a sanitary hazard, invoking the traditional colonial charge against indigenous women of poisoning the water. The act seemed to have had the intent of forcing the women to beg for a place in the new market being built in Los Dolores. And, it met with vigorous protest, both on the part of the vendedoras and Comayaguela's Municipal government, represented by leading citizens Carlos A. Sosa and Erasmo Velasquez. Comayaguela's past and the future were at stake in the dispute. By 1888, Comayaguela had emerged from its colonial status to become an independent municipality that jealously guarded its rights. Since 1812, the Comayaguelas had struggled to break from their colonial caste through liberalism, first embracing the Constitution of 1812, then the Central American Federation, and finally the liberal caudillos. The community had, then, sacrificed its colonial indigenous identity to the liberal doctrine of "equal citizenship" in exchange for a more equitable political status. Yet, well into the 19th-century, the community continued to stage traditional protests, as when, "Much against their will," William V. Wells writes, fish were caught out of the Comayaguelas' artificial irrigation lake "and on the ensuing summer the country was afflicted with a severe drought. A deputation was sent to Tegucigalpa, demanding that double the number of fish should be restored and a hundred candles burned at the expense of the city, to appease the wrath of the saint. The money was raised by subscription, and the lake restocked by fish brought from the Rio Grande amid the rejoicings of Los Comayaguelas." "PROGRESS" The positivist liberals, however, were a new challenge for Comayaguela. This liberal elite sought progress and civilization, and Comayaguela's indigenous heritage made it a doubtful garden for these blossoms because the ideology of "Progress" current in Tegucigalpa mirrored the ideas of Europe and the United States. Civilization advanced through industry, enterprise, public order, sanitation and democracy. This philosophy described as well as prescribed; hence European supremacy was tautologically written into it. As elsewhere in Latin America, the elite of Tegucigalpa often embraced white supremacy as a condition of civilization. Even republican liberals like Trinidad Cabanas, for example, strongly favored North American immigration and encouraged North American entrepreneurs and adventurers to advertise Honduras' vast potential in the United States. However, substantial white immigration neither from the United States nor Europe came to Honduras. In the absence of such a clear sign of civilization, at the end of the 19th-century an alternative vision of racial progress developed in much of Central America. Culture, civilization, and racial superiority were ascribed to social not biological conditions. By cultivating education, industry and order, a people might rise above American or African ancestry to become civilized, or figuratively white. Inspiration for the Modernistas, the press was regarded as a principle motor for progress. Second, stood public works such as public markets, typographs, post offices and public monuments. Comayaguela's "El Progreso," therefore, was an extremely important symbol of this alternative road to civilization. It was a seed to bear the fruit of modernity. The market was an important step on a trail toward a modern and mestizo identity and away from Comayaguela's indigenous identity. In raising the first public market, "El Progreso," Comayaguela won the right to participate in the "Progress" of the elites of Tegucigalpa. Comayaguela would become a modern and civilized town, a center of efficient enterprise and educated citizens. In the face of the action by Longino Sanchez, the municipality of Comayaguela made the decision to build its own market resolving that "it is a duty of the municipalities to respect their independence and autonomy that the Constitution guarantees them in the exercise of the important administrative functions that promote the betterment and progress of the peoples who have entrusted them with their most precious interests." It further resolved to petition President Bogran to revoke Sanchez's order and authorize Comayaguela to construct a market at the designated site. It raised 1,500 pesos for the lot and placed the work under the authority of carpenter Hermenegildo Valle and surveyor Pedro Reina. With the labor of the community, the market was completed in one month. |
Farming customs, practices reflected in Miskito dances By WENDY GRIFFIN When most people think of the Indians of the Mosquitia, they think of rain forest and the hunting of tapirs, peccaries, iguanas, pacas, and agoutis. However, the Miskitos also consider themselves farmers and this is reflected in their dances. The crops they grow include rice, a banana variety called "pilipitas", coconuts, manioc, dasheen, yams, chili peppers, pejival palm or "supa," some corn, and a few other crops. One of the most common dances is "Miskitu Kuka Nani," which means Miskito grandmothers. At the beginning of the dance, the girls are sitting around gossiping and getting lice out of each others' hair while the boys do movements as if they are cleaning out weeds from their gardens. Then some boys get a fire ready and others go over and chat with the girls. During this part of the dance, a band plays a Miskito waltz. These bands include two guitars, maracas, a small regular drum, a turtle shell drum, a coconut shell drum, a coconut grater, and perhaps a comb with a leaf on it. The Miskitos used to play an upside down washtub with a stick on the side and a string in between, called a gut bucket in the Southern U.S. and a Mosquito drum in the Caribbean. This instrument is of African origin, as is the jawbone of a horse -- another Miskito instrument. Then the boys pull the girls over to form one line of girls and one line of boys. The dancers also sing. "Miskito grandmothers clean off you feet. Come dance with your grandmothers. The people from the sandy beach are coming now." In other verses they sing the same, except Tawahka grandmothers, Pech grandmothers, Mulatto or Ladino grandmothers are invited to dance, as the dancers imitate the movements of washing off their feet, going in circles as if they were arriving, and then they dance. Now the rhythm is no longer a waltz, but a guitar style known as Miskito "whip hand." This song shows the unity of the Mosquitia, said Miskito Jairo Wood when his group INGWAIA performed the dance at the National Theater in Tegucigalpa. WORKING MAN DANCE Another work-related dance is "Wark Taraka" or the man who is working. It is interesting that the verb "to work" in Miskito, "wark," comes from English, and like many English words in Miskito shows a Scottish burr of many of the settlers in the region, who had names like MacLaughlin and MacClean. In the song, "Wark Taraka" the son is singing to his father. The father does the actions the words say, like sharpen your machete, cut the weeds, and finally rest. Most Miskito dances like this include a balance between rest and work. Such is also the case of "Tat Sap." This song is performed in work clothes and with a digging stick. First, the boys enter in single file, pounding the sticks on the ground as they sing. "This sap, tap sap." The girls bend down behind them, planting rice or beans in the hole made by the stick while they sing "pingui, pingui", the sound "ping, ping" as the seeds fall in the ground. When the boys and girls face each other, the boys flirt, complementing the girl, "Sabilita with the wide skirt." The girls reply, dancing forward and saying, "Before you can eat rice and beans, you have to work," showing the chopping movement of an axe with their hands. It is not clear if these dances used to be part of the ceremonies performed for Sihkru, also called "Krismas," because the ceremonies were held between Christmas and New Year. This ceremony asked for a good harvest, something that was not granted this year. Cecilio Tatallon, a Miskito teacher, believes they are more modern dances that have replaced even older dances performed at Sihkru, such as Kungbi or Drum Dance. Kungbi and Drum are two different forms of drums whose dances are mainly preserved in Lakatabila, an area that was strongly affected by the flooding of Hurricane Mitch. FLOODING IMPORTANT Because most people do not know the Miskitos are also farmers, what they cultivate and in what season, not much attention has been paid to the effects of disasters such as Hurricane Mitch or projects such as the proposed Patuca dam on Miskito agriculture. Although this year floods were disastrous for the Mosquitia, such flooding puts down new top soil on riverside areas where the Miskitos and Tawahka plant. One of the principal concerns of ecologists analyzing the proposed dam is that it will block this renewing sediment, which will leave the Miskitos with soils too poor to continue their traditional subsistence agriculture. Having seen the power of rain, it is understandable why traditional Miskitos previously held Sihkru to try to get blessings for a good year and to avoid or forecast hurricanes.
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SHELTER CHILDREN'S ART -- THROUGH MARCH 11 -- Women in Art and the Volunteer Artist Association will sponsor an exhibit of the work of children in shelters as a consequence of Hurricane Mitch. The exhibit will be held at the facilities of Women in Art in the Colonia Reforma, Calle La Salle, #1322. Admission is free. ARGENTINE ART EXHIBIT -- THROUGH FEBRUARY 28 -- Portales Art Gallery is currently hosting a painting exhibit of 12 Argentine artists. WOMEN IN ART -- MARCH 19 THROUGH 26 -- Women in Art will sponsor several events throughout Tegucigalpa. Literature, Dance, Film and Theater will be presented. See future Maya Calendars for more details. RENACIMIENTO THEATER GROUP -- FEBRUARY 26, 27, 28 AND MARCH -- Plaza Millennium will host the Renacimiento Theater Group as they begin their new season with the performance of "Castidad Aprobada" (Chastity Approved). Presentations will be on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Admission is Lps. 50, Lps. 30 students with I.D. SAN PEDRO THEATER CIRCLE -- FEBRUARY 25, 26, 27, 28 -- The San Pedro Sula Theater Circle is presenting "The Boys Next Door." Performances are Thursdays through Sundays at the Centro Cultural Sampedrano at 8 p.m. Admission is Lps. 30. GERMAN CULTURAL CENTER -- FEBRUARY 26 -- The German Cultural Center will host their last carnival of the century at 7 p.m. Beer, sodas and sausages will be on sale. The Center is located on Calle La Fuente in downtown Tegucigalpa. Admission is Lps. 20. NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA -- MARCH 9 -- The National Symphony Orchestra will begin a new season with a presentation of chamber music at the Museum of the Honduran Man. See future Maya Calendar's for further details. FAMILIES ANONYMOUS -- Families Anonymous (FA) meetings are held every Tuesday evening at the Union Church at 7:30 p.m. Call Eileen for more information at 239-9779 or 239-9778. AL-ANON FAMILY GROUPS -- Al-Anon helps the relatives and friends of problem drinkers. Groups met weekly in Colonia Alameda (Saturday afternoons) and Colonia Loarque (Sunday evenings). For more information, contact Amanda at 239-2698 (Spanish) or Margaret at 226-6576 (English). WEIGHT WATCHERS -- Weight Watchers, an international weight loss program with over 40 years of experience in helping people maintain a healthier lifestyle is offering classes in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula. To join or for more information, contact Juan Cueva Membreno at 239-0161. ENGLISH SPEAKING WOMEN'S CLUB -- The ESWC invites all English-speaking women to attend its teas held the second Thursday of each month at 2:30 p.m. at the Restaurante La Hacienda on Blvd. Morazan. For more information, call Sara at 211-8369. BALLET CLASSES -- The regional office of the Ministry of Culture and the Hermanas Mondragon Ballet School of San Pedro Sula are offering classes in classical ballet, modern dance, modeling and guitar. More information can be obtained at the cultural offices located in the La Gran Villa Building, 4th floor, #403, Central Park square in San Pedro Sula. HISTORY OF CENTRAL AMERICA -- THROUGH MARCH 25 -- Rodolfo Pastor Fasquelle is giving lectures on "The History of Central America" Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7 p.m. at the San Pedro Sula Museum. For more information, call 557-1496. CHILDREN'S THEATER CLASSES -- MARCH 1 -- The National Theater School will open the Children's School of Theater for children ages 5 to 18. For more information, call 222-5487. NATIONAL PUBLIC LIBRARY CLOSED -- The National Public Library has moved to the old Tipografía Building on Avenida Cervantes, two blocks from the Central Park Cathedral. The Library is closed until further notice due to installation activities. The new facilities will feature a modern interior including an audio-visual department, a children's room and Internet connections with 12 other Honduran public libraries. ART, LEARNING & TUTORING FOR CHILDREN -- The Art and Education Center, BONAMPAK, at the Plaza Millennium, is currently offering hourly art courses for children ages 6 to 12 on Mondays and Wednesdays, as well as Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3 to 5 p.m. Hourly reading courses for children ages 7 to 12 are being held on Fridays from 4 to 6 p.m., as well as for children ages 4 to 6. Tutoring services are also available. Call 222-5487 for more information. CHILDREN'S LIBRARY -- The Centro Cultural Infantil of San Pedro Sula currently has a program titled "The Reading Corner" offering young people a chance to read and listen to stories in a comfortable environment. The library of this center holds a "Story Hour" daily and has a study area where students may do research. For more information about CCI services, call 557-8639. HURRICANE MITCH PRESENTATION -- Biocentro in San Pedro Sula is currently giving a presentation about Hurricane Mitch. MUSEUMS AND GARDENS TEGUCIGALPA MUSEO DE HISTORIA REPUBLICANA The Museum of Republican History is located at the Villa Roy building in Tegucigalpa's Barrio Buenos Aries. It is open 8:30 to 3:30, Tuesdays through Sundays and features portraits, paraphernalia, and other interesting items from past presidents. Admission is Lps. 20 for non-resident foreigners and Lps. 10 for Hondurans and Central Americans. For more information, call 222-3470 or 222-1468. CENTRAL BANK MUSEUM The Central Bank of Honduras located at the Comayaguela annex building is open from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 4 p.m., Monday to Friday. It has a permanent coin and painting exhibit. For special presentations, call the Emision y Tesoreria department at 237-2270 (-78), ext. 2117 (-2120). [CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.] NATIONAL ART GALLERY The Galeria Nacional de Arte features rock art, pre-Columbian ceramics, colonial paintings, religious art and a wide selection of 20th century Honduran painters. The gallery is located at the Plaza de la Merced in downtown Tegucigalpa. It is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10-5 p.m. and Sunday from 10-2 p.m. Admission is Lps. 10 for adults, Lps. 5 for senior citizens, Lps. 3 for students and Lps. 1 for children accompanied by adults. IGUANA FARM The Biosfera Ecocentro Iguana Farm in Colonia La Joya invites the public to come and learn everything about iguanas. Admission is Lps. 5 for adults, Lps. 3 for children. The facility is open every day (except Wednesday) from 9 to 5. For more information, call 230-6346. COMAYAGUA, COMAYAGUA COMAYAGUA COLONIAL MUSEUM Located in the city of Comayagua, 2 hours north from Tegucigalpa, the Comayagua Colonial Museum is in the building that served as home to the government in the 19th century. It contains objects used by indigenous cultures and the Spanish during the pre-Colombian and Colonial eras. COMAYAGUA RELIGIOUS MUSEUM Located in the Casa Cural in front of Comayagua's cathedral, this museum features religious paintings and objects dating back to the 16th century. Hours are 8-12 and 2-4 p.m., Mondays through Fridays. For more information, contact Leonardo Letona at 772-0348. LA PAZ, LA PAZ LA PAZ HOUSE OF CULTURE The La Paz Casa de la Cultura is located in downtown La Paz. It features an attractive exhibit of the Lenca handicrafts and culture. It is open Mondays through Sundays. SAN PEDRO SULA, CORTES SPS MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY AND HISTORY The Museo de Antropología e Historia de San Pedro Sula features exhibits on the development of Sula Valley, from 1500 B.C. to the middle of this century. The museum is open 10 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sundays. Admission is Lps. 10 for adults, Lps. 5 for students and children under 12, and Lps. 2 for senior citizens. For more information, call 557-1496/557-1798 or fax 557-1874. MUSEUM OF NATURE OF SAN PEDRO SULA Sponsored and managed by the Fundacion Ecologista H.R. Pastor Fasquelle, this new museum was inaugurated last December in its current location at the Biocentro on 3 Avenida and 9 Calle Noroeste. It has 24 exhibits on the environment, natural resources and biology of Honduras. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and 8 a.m. until noon on Saturdays. Admission is Lps 5 for students from public schools and Lps. 10.00 for everyone else. YUSCARAN, EL PARAISO YUSCARAN HOUSE OF CULTURE Yuscaran's Casa de la Cultura is located at the former Casa Fortin in downtown Yuscaran, El Paraiso department, just 45 km from Tegucigalpa on the road to Danli. It is open Mondays through Saturdays. OLANCHO PECH CULTURAL CENTER The Pech have built a small house in El Carbon, Olancho to display their modern handicrafts. An exhibit of archaeological finds in the area is planned. You can ask to see the collection and/or get a tour of a Post Classic era fortified site. The Pech Cultural Center also offers medicinal plant tours, nature hikes, Pech dinners, etc. There is no admission fee to the cultural center. Hours: If you ask, they will open it. COPAN COPAN ARCHEOLOGICAL MUSEUM Located in the village of Copan Ruinas, Copan department, the museum exhibits a splendid assortment of Mayan pieces that have been found in the Copan Ruins Archaeological Park just 1 km away. LA PUENTE ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM Featuring a sizeable collection of Mayan handicrafts and photographs as well as a room with Japanese antique ceramics, this museum is located at the El Puente Archaeological Site, about an hour's drive from Copán Ruinas. MAYAN SEPULTURAS MUSEUM Inaugurated in 1996, this is the premier Mayan museum in the Mundo Maya, featuring the finest examples of Copán's tombs, sculptures and architecture. Located at the Copán Ruins Archaeological Park, the museum is open Monday through Sunday. TELA, ATLANTIDA LANCETILLA BOTANICAL GARDENS Located 2 kilometers from Tela on the Atlantic coast highway, the gardens feature one of the largest collections of tropical and subtropical plants, shrubs and trees in all Latin America. It is open from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Mondays through Sundays. There is an admission charge. GARIFUNA MUSEUM This Garifuna-run museum in Tela, Atlantida has an almost complete collection of the different handicrafts made by the Garifunas. If you ask, they have a written guide in English available. The museum also houses the Garifuna handicraft shop and part of the Tela Artist Association's Art Gallery. The rest of the Gallery and the Garifuna restaurant have moved to the Garifuna Plaza on the beach next to the Bahia Azul Hotel. Tours of the Garifuna Museum to home/studios of Garifuna artists, medicinal plant tours, dance presentations, and tours/overnight stays in local Garifuna villages can be arranged at either the Museum or Garifuna Plaza. The museum is open 9 to 5 while Garifuna Plaza is open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Admission is Lps. 5. The museum is located next to the river, one block up from the bridge that goes to Telamar and the local churches. LA CEIBA, ATLANTIDA BUTTERFLY AND INSECT MUSEUM Thousands of butterflies and insects from Honduras and 18 other countries are on display in La Ceiba' private Butterfly and Insect Museum. It is located in Colonia El Sauce, 2nd etapa, casa G-12. Visiting hours are 8-12 and 2-5, Monday through Saturday. The museum is closed Wednesday afternoon. Fees are Lps. 15 for adults and Lps. 10 for students. Tel. 442-2874, e-mail: rlehman@ns.gbm.hn TRUJILLO TRUJILLO RUFINO GALAN MUSEUM A private museum which has a memorabilia section, old chairs, anchors, silverware, beds of famous people locally. There is an industrial archaeology section on how lights, axes, stoves, sewing machines, typewriters have changed over time. They have a good collection of Garífuna handicrafts and the best collection of NE Honduras archaeological pieces -- all unmarked. A written guide to the museum is available at the Trujillo Tourism Office in English and Spanish. The museum is open 8 to 4, closing for lunch. Adults Lps. 20, children Lps. 10. Located on Calle 18 de Mayo, next to the Crystales River and the famous "piscina" or pool, about a 15-minute walk out of town. ROATAN, THE BAY ISLANDS CARAMBOLA BOTANICAL GARDENS The private Carambola Botanical Gardens and Nature Trails is located in Sandy Bay, Roatan, Bay Islands. A wide variety of exotic plants is featured here, including "Roatan's most extensive orchid collection." It is open daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call 445-1117 and ask for Bill or Irma Brady. BAY ISLANDS MUSEUM A private museum at Anthony's Key Resort, Sandy Bay, Roatan, Bay Islands, it mostly includes archaeological pieces, but there is a small section on the modern Bay Islanders. Museum admission is included in the cost of the dolphin show at Anthony Key's Institute of Marine Sciences. Small buses or taxis will take you to Sandy Bay from most Roatán towns. The Maya Calendar is a public service for our readers. If you would like to announce an event taking place in Honduras, please send the information to: Calendar Editor, Honduras This Week, Fax 232-2300, e-mail: hontweek@hondutel.hn |
Monday, February 15, 1999 Online Edition 145 |
Along
the road to Santa Fe By WENDY GRIFFIN (Last in a series) According to Garifuna Sebastian Marin, wizards (hechiceros), people who knew how to do curses, used to be common in Trujillo, especially during the time of the railroad company when there were a lot of Jamaicans and Belizeans in Rio Negro. Once in Tela, his sister was staying at his house waiting for her husband's ship to come into port. She went to take a shower, taking off her wedding band, rings and necklaces and then forgot about them. Marin said that when he got home at 11 p.m, he found his sister crying. Her husband was coming and he would think she had lost or sold the jewelry. Marin went from house to house, asking everyone if they had seen the jewelry. "I told her not to worry," said Marin. "There was a man who knew how to find lost things. He was a man who had studied rosicruz. When we got to his house, he said, 'I have been expecting you. You lost your things. Write your name on this paper.' "After this the man set this paper on fire and lit a candle with the paper behind a curtain. 'The people are trying to sell your jewelry. They will not be successful. And if they do sell it, they will become crazy and there will be no one who can cure them.'" Marin said that shortly after they were back at home, a neighbor who had insulted them came by. "'Here take these things, I can't stand it,' said the man. He gave her three rings and the necklace. My sister gave two lempiras to the wizard as a tip." Garifunas who live in the States are believed to still use this method to protect what they have in Honduras. If someone robs them, they go to witch doctors from Haiti, or from India, and get them to send out a curse on the person. People who die suddenly are thought to have died from witchcraft. One of the best known witches was Mindula of Santa Fe, a village west of Trujillo. Don Chacho said, "You wouldn't guess she was a witch. She was always greeting people. 'Hello, how are you, how nice to see you.' But all the time she was doing bad things to you." One Garifuna man said, "she killed my grandfather and grandmother. She went to my grandfather's house and left him some coconut bread. The first day they did not eat it. The next day my grandmother cut it in half, half for him, half for her. They both died. Mindula killed a lot of people. She had a cemetery for all the people she killed." It is said that those who live by the sword die by the sword, and the same may be true for witchcraft. According to Don Sebastian, one of the Garifunas who was working on a ship contracted a wizard in India or Haiti to send someone to kill Mindula. Janet Mejia who lived in San Antonio told this version of her death. One day Mindula was walking on the beach when she ran into a gringo who greeted her, and then grabbed her by the hand. Mindula began to twist and writhe on the ground. The gringo turned into a flame, went out to sea and disappeared. Mindula called for water with garlic. (Garifunas use garlic to protect themselves against evil spirits.) None of her neighbors would help her, because she was bad. So this is how Mindula died. Only in this way were the people of Santa Fe able to save themselves from the evil things this woman did. The age of witchcraft is not over. While these practices are no longer commonly known around Trujillo, residents of the Garifuna community of Limon, can be heard saying, "There are hechiceros there, people who do bad to others, who know voodoo." Ladinos also believe in witches. Beyond Santa Fe and Guadalupe are the Ladino communities of Betulia and Plan Grande. Janet Mejia, a native of Plan Grande, says there are still witches there. Miskitos also have hechiceros. When botanist Paul House talked to one Miskito sukya about medicinal plants, the man asked, "Well, who do you want to kill?" Maxima Tomas, the coordinator of the Garifuna museum, points out that the job of the witch or brujo of the Garifuna community is quite different from the job of Garifuna shaman or buyeis. The principal task of the shaman is to cure people, particularly through ceremonies for ancestors. |
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Monday, February 8, 1999 Online Edition 144 |
Women say NO! to machismo, domestic violence By W. E. GUTMAN
In Latin America concepts of masculinity are encapsulated in the word "machismo." At its most extreme, writes the London-based Panos Institute, an organization dedicated to stimulating debate on global environment and development issues, machismo maintains a man's superiority and dominance over women, granting him the right to do as he pleases within and outside the family home and the authority to restrict the freedom of his wife, sisters and daughters. Machos subscribe to the saying: "Women are like shotguns; they should be kept loaded [pregnant] and indoors." If machismo translates into strength, machista attitudes are no more than the armor men wear to hide their weakness and complex of inferiority. According to Michael Kimmel, a specialist in gender relations, "most men feel ... impotent. Even though they know that the definition of masculinity is 'to be in power, to be the captain of my fate and master of my soul,' they feel trapped in old, suffocating roles, unable to make the changes they want in their lives." This sense of impotence, exacerbated by unemployment, poverty, ethnic disorientation, and heightened by alcoholism and depression, frequently leads to violence, perpetuating a pattern in which men who were beaten as boys by fathers and who saw their fathers beat their wives react to challenges to their authority in the only way they know. In rural Honduras the vast majority of women spend their lives dependent on men for survival -- first their fathers and brothers, later their husbands, finally their sons or sons-in-law. Such dependence affects every facet of a woman's life, from a childhood in which she receives less food, care and education that her male siblings, to an adulthood in which she can neither choose her own husband nor the number of children she will bear. Poverty and intractable social attitudes underlie most women's dependence on men and impels them into situations that they might otherwise reject. Additionally, the opposition of the Catholic Church to the liberalization of women's roles continues to place serious obstacles in the path of efforts to reduce the effects of machismo. In a country where 90 percent of the population is Roman Catholic, the Church wields enormous power and influence both on the government and the people. Playing the nationalist card, it claims that campaigns promoting women's rights reflect subversive political interests. It is these "and other indignities to which we are subjected," said a demonstrator, "that we are here to protest." In addition to a non-machista educational curriculum designed to "humanize men" at an early age, and government-sponsored "sensitivity" seminars for adult males, women are also demanding the creation of special tribunals where domestic violence cases are heard.
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Along the Road to Santa Fe Betulia and beyond are the places of enchantment By WENDY GRIFFIN (Fourth in a series) Looking at Hondurans with their hair permed, dressed in American-style clothing and drinking Coca-Cola, it would seem that they live in the same science-dominated world that foreign residents do. But many people in Honduras still live in a world of spirits and magical beings that tourists do not see. To foreign developers who are planning a tourism project at Punta Betulia, west of Santa Fe and Guadelupe, the area looks peaceful. Betulia was once agricultural land of the Garifuna community of Guadelupe that over time has been invaded by ladinos, who have built a school and a church. The proposed coastal highway from Jutiapa/Balfate to Santa Fe will go through Betulia. Garifunas see Betulia principally as a starting point for fishing in Trujillo Bay, but Bay Island-based developers already have plans for a tourism project there. To ladinos, it has long been a place of enchantment. At Punta Betulia there is an old house, almost falling down. Previously this house was used for "entregas." It is believed that when people want to become rich, they make a pact with the devil. They become rich, but at some point they have to pay back what they owe to the devil. This paying of souls is called "entregas" and is done at night. In this house, the spirits of the night still frighten the people, "azoran a la gente," says resident Janet Mejia. Sometimes people stop there at night, but they cannot sleep inside the house, she says, because spirits there touch their fingers, toes, and feet. Finally, they have to sleep outside. Outside, there are strange occurrences too, according to residents. Once the Crespo family of Trujillo had a ranch at Punta Betulia. In the evening, a light would come down the mountain. When it reached the beach, it was no longer a light, but rather looked like a horse. It would rush into the sea and disappear. After dark, people will not pass Betulia due to these mysterious happenings. Tourists usually go to Betulia to swim in the ocean. Nearby, there is a pool of fresh water called the Poza de la Sirena, or Pool of the Mermaid. Legend has it that a mermaid used to live in this pool. But ladino fishermen used dynamite to fish there and these mermaids moved away to live in the sea, according to stories. Next to the pool there are chairs to admire the view, but the pool is too deep to swim in. There are also caves of the mermaid. The people say there are archaeological pieces in the caves, but it is dangerous to get them, because there are snakes. Some of the more unusual archaeological pieces come from Betulia. No study of the area has been done to determine the impact of the road or tourist project on these sites. Beyond Betulia is Plan Grande. Archaeological pieces have also been found here, but Janet Mejia says the people do not pay attention to them. They give their children the pieces shaped like monkeys and dogs, who in turn break them. So much for archaeological preservation. It is also in Plan Grande where Mejia's grandmother had a "diamante." This was a light that came from the sea. Mejia says her grandmother knew how to catch it and hold it in her lap. This light had the form of a person. One day an uncle came and mistreated the light, and it went away. In Southern Honduras, these are called carbuncos and according to legend they show where gold is located. As people walk from Plan Grande at night, lechuzas come and cause their flashlights to go out. The lechuza looks like an owl and is believed to bring bad luck. People who see it are afraid, and say it is a bruja or witch. Some Plan Grande residents are believed to be witches, and one of the characteristics of Honduran witches is that they can change into animal form. One of the families in Plan Grande also had problems with a duende, says Mejia. The duende reportedly took one of the community's little girls and wrote a prayer on her body. When he saw her, he gave her a head scarf with something in it that made her fall in love with him. Afterward, she was able to escape. But the family had to have a curandera or traditional healer remove the prayer that was written on her, since they believed it could have caused her to die. It will be interesting to see what happens when the tourism complex and road go through. In countries like Thailand, superstitious construction workers performed ceremonies to get rid of evil spirits. Ladinos tend to use holy water sprinkled about for this purpose, while the Garifunas in the area still maintain a house purification ceremony.
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Monday, February 1, 1999 Online Edition 143 |
Along
the road to Santa Fe By WENDY GRIFFIN (Third in a series) Crossing the bridge of the Rio Cristales in Trujillo, going toward Sante Fe, one enters the neighborhood Louba, which means "The other side." Ladinos call this area Barrio San Martin. On the left-hand side of the road just past the bridge is a house made entirely of palm leaves or manaca. Nowadays, these houses are built principally to celebrate the dugu, the most important Garifuna ceremony. Garifunas hold a dugu ceremony when an ancestor spirit or gubida asks for it. Students of the La Ceiba campus of the National Teaching University (UNP) collected the following story about gubida from the Garifuna community of Corozal near La Ceiba. One day Aunt Francis went out to work in her garden. In the afternoon she was coming back when suddenly something strange caught her eye. She was so frightened, it made her run all the way back to the village. When people asked her what was wrong, at first she could not even speak. Only later did the people learn she had seen the spirit (gubida) of her uncle who wanted a mass. Ancestors play a wide variety of roles in Garifuna society. They appear in dreams to recommend medicinal plants or teach songs, particularly healing songs (abeimajani and arumajani). One woman even learned to be at midwife in dreams. Sometimes they help their descendant's economic situation by recommending buying lottery tickets. During dugu ceremonies, and in dreams, ancestors also scold their descendants for bad behavior. Garifunas believe that ancestors send messages in different ways that they want a ceremony. If their descendants fail to pay attention, they will become ill, and the illness will grow steadily worse. Don Beto points out, "Aqui no vale doctor." The person will not get well until he or she performs the ceremony. Many have died because they did not want to do the ceremonies that are very expensive, and the ancestors let them die. Ancestor spirits can be seen in different places -- in fields, out fishing, in hospitals, even in San Pedro Sula or New York City. Garifunas at sea and Garifunas in New Orleans have been made ill by ancestor spirits. During the ceremony of dugu, the ancestors are invited to come and live in the manaca leaf house. The people must leave the house standing for at least a year for the ancestors to use. At the end of a year from the date of the dugu, another ceremony called gusiri gayu, the sharing of the chicken, marks the end of the cycle of ceremonies associated with dugu. Similar manaca houses used for dugu-like ceremonies have been reported by Garifuna sailors such as Sebastian Maria in other Afro-Caribbean countries, including the Maroon area of Jamaica, in Cuba, Barbados and Trinidad. One theory is that just before independence, there was a large influx of Yoruba people from Nigeria in much of the Caribbean and their ceremonies remained. The Garifunas received this influence, because slaves brought to islands close to St. Vincent, like Barbados and Dominica, ran away on rafts to live with the Garifunas, causing an upsurge in the Garifuna population in the 1700s. To ensure black slaves had nowhere to run to, the British evacuated the Garifunas from the island of St. Vincent and in 1797 sent them into permanent exile in Honduras. Honduras has become so much the Garifuna homeland, that there are dugu songs that say even if you are buried elsewhere, your coffin will come home to the shores of Honduras. |
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the best possible time in the Bay Islands, try an adventurous
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"No, to machismo! No, to domestic
violence!" (Photo by W.E. Gutman.)
