Travel Guide San Juan Chamula

San Juan Chamula is known for its stubborn resistance to the Spaniards, the Catholic clergy and authorities outside the commune in general. The locals set very clear rules for visitors: pay and, above all, don't take photos!While the church is at the heart of village life, the Chamulans observe their own syncretic rites: they worship the sun and consider Christ to have become part of it. Their worship of the saints is accompanied by the ingestion of an extremely strong home-distilled alcohol, posh. The interior of the church differs completely from the traditional Catholic layout, the usual arrangement of pews having been replaced by an open space, where the floor is covered with pine branches whose scent mingles with that of incense and the wax of hundreds of burning candles. Walls, ceilings, statues and glass reliquaries are all blackened with soot. Chamulans worship in small groups, at altars either already established or spontaneously created from candles arranged in a rectangle. Offerings of food or Coca-Cola are placed in the center. Thick clouds of incense can be seen rising in the candlelight and sunlight entering the church. Worshippers kneel, chant and intone chants that seem akin to Buddhist mantras, while the sound of fireworks set off in front of the building accompanies the ceremony. A sack filled with eggs is intended to free the baby from the evil spirits that inhabit it, after which the sack is thrown behind the church and its contents fed to the village dogs. It's worth noting that families sometimes sacrifice chickens, considered to be intermediaries between the living and the dead, to purify bad energies. Sensitive souls are advised to abstain. Since the 1970s, Chamula has been the scene of considerable unrest. Several thousand Chamulans have suffered violent reprisals for converting to Protestantism, and over ten thousand have been forced to leave their communities as a result. In July 2016, clashes broke out over protests against municipal management, resulting in the deaths of dozens of people, including the village mayor. Despite these challenges, efforts are underway to bring peace and reconciliation to the community. Visitors are encouraged to be aware of these complexities during their visit. The village has also set up training programs for local guides, to provide tourists with nuanced information about local culture and beliefs, making it possible for tourism to be both enriching and respectful.