Religion for the Poor and Indigenous

http://guatemaleando.blogspot.com/2011/01/sincretismo-religioso-los-maya.html

posted by Cody Ryan on March 4

This blog post relates how the writer observed Christmas Eve at the church of a small village in Guatemala. There were no pews. There was no priest or leader of any kind. On this day, they all gather there to socialize, letting their children run amok and even drinking beer inside the church. Despite appearances, they don’t lack reverence, and pray spontaneously throughout the day. At night, they light incense to the saints and put on a procession for the Virgin Mary, all without guidance by some more educated clergy member. According to the blogger, there are undeniable moments of spirituality.

It reminds me of a short story by Leo Tolstoy: Three Hermits. A great bishop goes to see three ignorant hermits who are said to be saints, because they are so happy. He is appalled by their failure to adhere to the correct rituals. As he is leaving, he sees them walking on water and repents. The lesson is that sometimes those living the most modest lives are the closest to God, and we don’t need an intermediary or a great education to know Him (Luther!)

http://www.online-literature.com/tolstoy/2896/

I don’t necessarily see any Mayan influence in their worship practices. I think it's possible they just couldn't afford to pay a priest or buy any pews, and they may not have had another good space for everyone in the village to gather . But the situation definitely resembles religious syncretism. There is a large adobe church I've seen at an Acoma pueblo in New Mexico, the San Esteban Rey mission, with a dirt floor, no pews, and paintings of growing corn--something central to Acoma life--covering the walls. The people worshipped through a Christian structure, but let their own ideology transform the content. It was a really hopeful moment to see how their cultural ways had not been extinguished by white intrusion, but had gone underground and survived.

http://museum.acomaskycity.org/exhibits/view/3