Today marked the end of Chris's class with Florinda and her swan song didn't disappoint.
It isn't clear how they got on the subject, but Florinda described the Mayan traditions regarding courtship and marriage today. When a man decides he would like to marry a woman, he brings one beer and one soda and presents them to her father and makes his intentions known. After a few weeks pass, he goes again with both of his parents, and he brings two bottles of beer and two sodas. After another month passes, the man brings his parents and his aunts and uncles, and he brings a basket of bread, a case of soda and yet more beer. This visit lasts four to six hours and the man and woman kneel in the center of a circle comprised of their elders who bestow advice upon them. Some more time passes and the man returns, this time with his parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents. At this point, there are usually about 70 to 80 people all in the house and the man also brings a basket of bread, soup, 20 pieces of chicken, a big basket of tortillas, four cases of soda, two cases of beer(and juice for those people who don't drink beer or soda). Again, the man and woman kneel in a circle of family and this time they move on their knees from person to person thanking them and kissing their hands. The fifth and final time, everyone the man knows comes with him and he brings 400 quetzales worth of bread, a huge pan of tortillas, chocolate, sugar and cinammon, soup enough for all, 40 pieces of chicken, five cases of soda, four cases of beer, many juices and a cooked turkey. Under the wing of the turkey, the man places 200 to 300 quetzales as a gift for the parents in exchange for the difficulty they must have endured bearing and raising a girl. Throughout the last three visits, advice is given from the elders to the soon-to-be-wed couple. They tell the woman her responsibilities include washing her children, feeding them and getting up early and making breakfast and lunch, among other things. They tell the man that some of his responsibilities include getting up early, educating his children and giving his wife money, among others. On this fifth visit, her mother gives the woman three pieces of fabric: one for carrying her goods on her back, one in which to pack her husband's lunch and the last for carrying her baby. Then, they are married. Not then they have a wedding. Then, they are married. There is no call for a civil ceremony or even a sacred one, although some people do eventually have those, as well.
In fact, Florinda herself had a civil ceremony, but not until she had been married to her husband for seven years. Unfortunately, they had problems in their marriage. Remember... Chris and Florinda have talked to one another four hours a day for five days in a row. Florinda and her husband had problems; Chris was practicing his Spanish and asking all the appropriate follow up questions and so he stumbled into this: Florinda's husband is a dog. He cheated on her more than once, and she finally put her foot down and demanded a civil ceremony in the hopes that he would straighten out and maybe, too, so that she were to leave him she might have more rights on departure. Chris changed the subject as tactfully as he could in a foreign language.
At different points in her stories, it seemed that Florinda practiced Mayan ways and at others it seemed she was Catholic, so Chris asked her explicitly today. The Catholic Church would probably be distraught to learn that according to Florinda, Maya and Catholic are the same. She goes to Catholic services a few times a year and uses Mayan shaman as often and she says they are equal. He got the impression that she didn't consider herself to be practicing both but that for her they were the same.
Tomorrow, our first day free to travel in a week because of Spanish class, we go to Huehuetenango to see the ruins in Zaculeo. Arranging this trip wasn't easy. Three different travel agents told us three different things. There was some confusion about whether we could take a shuttle directly to the ruins or whether we would need to take a bus headed to Mexico, jump off at some point and then arrange for a taxi the rest of the way. That one didn't seem like a particularly good option, somehow. One man offered to personally drive us anywhere we wanted tomorrow for $175, but we ended up booking with a place that would just take us to the ruins and back for $30. It is a three hour drive so it means being picked up at 7 a.m. so early to bed this evening.
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