The Maya Culture

General Overview

The Maya are an ancient race of people indigenous to the part of the world that is now called Guatemala. Currently, they make up approximately 50% of the Guatemalan population, and they tend to live in rural areas. Though the Maya have been around for hundreds of years, their customs and traditions haven’t changed very much over the centuries.

For the Maya, life differs greatly from other Guatemalans. In the rural areas, each village has its own customs, traditions, festivals, and colorful clothes. For example, the women wear trajes, which are uniquely patterned skirts paired with vibrantly colored blouses. The pattern of the skirt identifies the wearer as being from a certain village or a speaker of a specific Maya dialect. During the age of colonialization, this was the Spaniards’ way of keeping track of the Maya. Although women continue to wear the traditional traje today, most men now wear western-style clothing.

The Maya consider themselves as more part of their community rather than of their country. Community affairs, instead of country affairs, tend to be more important to them.

Typical, rural villages are seriously underdeveloped, especially when it comes to transportation. Many villages have no connecting roads, or, if they do, a four-wheel drive vehicle is often necessary to get to where one has to go each morning. The rainy season only make these conditions more difficult and hazardous.

Only around half of those living in the rural areas have access to safe drinking water or proper sanitation.