¿Cuánto sabes de…?
Guatemala
¿Dónde está Guatemala?
¿Dónde está Guatemala?
How large is Guatemala compared to Illinois?
Guatemala is 25% smaller than Illinois.
How large is Guatemala’s population compared to that of Illinois?
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Guatemala’s population is about 18% larger.
14.213.000 12.482.000 (2001 estimate)
What languages are spoken in Guatemala?
Spanish – 60%
(Doh!!)
Amerindian languages – 40% Quiché -- “Maltiox!” Cakchiquel --
“Matiosh chawe!” Kekchi – “Bantiox!” And many others!
What is the capital city?
Guatemala City (population ~1 million)
Hey, no fair… trick question!!
Reading tasks
Now scan the cultural reading on pp. 106-107 for the answers to the following questions:What are two meanings of “quetzal”?Describe the capital city.What was pre-Colombian Guatemala like?Who is Rigoberta Menchú?Describe the traditional clothing.
What are two meanings of “quetzal”?
Quetzal
The national currency The national
symbol
Describe the capital city.
Guatemala City
What was pre-Colombian Guatemala
like?
Pre-Colombian Guatemala “The Maya are probably the best-known of the
classical civilizations of Mesoamerica. Originating in the Yucatan around 2600 B.C., they rose to prominence around A.D. 250 in present-day southern Mexico, Guatemala, northern Belize and western Honduras. Building on the inherited inventions and ideas of earlier civilizations such as the Olmec, the Maya developed astronomy, calendrical systems and hieroglyphic writing. The Maya were noted as well for elaborate and highly decorated ceremonial architecture, including temple-pyramids, palaces and observatories, all built without metal tools. They were also skilled farmers, clearing large sections of tropical rain forest and, where groundwater was scarce, building sizable underground reservoirs for the storage of rainwater. The Maya were equally skilled as weavers and potters, and cleared routes through jungles and swamps to foster extensive trade networks with distant peoples” (Mysterious Places, http://www.mysteriousplaces.com/mayan/TourEntrance.html)
Pre-Colombian Guatemala
Tikal Pyramids Chichen Itza Observatory
Who is Rigoberta Menchú?
Rigoberta Menchú
Quiche Indian
Activist for human rights of indigenous peoples
Nobel Peace Prize, 1992
Donated the $1.2 million prize to set up human rights foundation
Describe the traditional clothing.
Traditional clothing
Huipiles
“I have seen this woman every time I go to the Mercado de Artesanía in Antigua. Her huipil says she is from the Chajul area northwest of Guatemala City” (http://www.geocities.com/ vonelles/Journey/Guatemala)
Religion in Guatemala
75% Catholic
Protestantism has been expanding since the 1960s
Syncretism is a key aspect of religious life in Guatemala.
http://www.cyborlink.com/besite/guatemala.htm
http://www.countriesquest.com/central_america/guatemala/people/religion.htm
O’Kane, Trish (2003). In Focus: Guatemala
Syncretism
• Catholic
• Evangelical
• Traditional beliefs (“costumbre”)
the “reconciliation or fusion of differing systems of belief” (www.dictionary.com).
Parkyn, D. & Parkyn, L. (2006) “Cuentos Sagrados de Nahualá” Presentation to North Park Faculty Research Group
Con
text
- F
AIT
H
Católico
Photos courtesy of Drs. David & Linda Parkyn
Con
text
- F
AIT
H
Evangélico
Photos courtesy of Drs. David & Linda Parkyn
Con
text
- F
AIT
HCostumbre
Photos courtesy of Drs. David & Linda Parkyn
