San Juan Chamula, about 11km/7mi north-west of San Cristóbal, is the ceremonial centre of the Chamula Indians, the largest Tzotzil-speaking group. A large number of the more than 40,000 Chamulas live in surrounding small settlements. As is often the case in the mountain villages of the Maya tribe, three large crosses, symbolising the tree of life
, can be seen in the village and on the hills. It is worth visiting the small church in which people burn candles in memory of their dead. Catholic rites and old Mayan myths blend intensely here. A nominal fee is charged to enter the church (tickets are obtained from a small office, nearby, on the square).
Over their white cotton trousers and shirts the Chamulas wear woollen capes, often with an orange belt. On special days they wear straw hats with coloured ribbons hanging behind them. Men holding official posts in the community wear black capes. The women wear mid-calf length black wrap-around skirts with orange, red and green striped belts. Their blouses used to be white, but they now prefer blue cotton or dark wool. Fiestas: January 16th-22nd, San Sebastián, Carnival; Easter Week; May 3rd, Santa Cruz; June 22nd-25th, San Juan Bautista; August 30th, Santa Rosa.
Advice
It must be pointed out that people gathered in the village for religious services react extremely sensitively to tourists with loaded cameras. Photography is strictly forbidden in the church and visitors are strongly advised to abide by this prohibition.
Less well-known, but certainly equally impressive, especially during the fiestas, are other Indian villages, e.g San Andrés Larainzar, San Pedro Chenal-ho and Amatenango del Valle.
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