Society & Culture

Sienna Project




The 2017 Sienna Project continues.

We’ve made it into the mountains of Kiche and to the colorful town of Chichicastenango. Sunday was Market Day and the place was bustling with Mayan people in traditional dress. Vendors and consumers exchanging Quetzales for fabric, tortillas, meat, fruit, spices and just about anything you can imagine, and a lot of things you might never imagine.

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We witnessed some traditional Mayan shamanic rituals in the cemetery and in an extraordinary Catholic Church. The Mayan Shamans are allowed to perform their rituals inside the church, simultaneously with Catholic services. Today, we head up to the remote Mayan village, Panajxit, and will begin building a school along with the locals who live there.

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We will travel to build the school daily. Panajxit is too small of a village to stay in and is so remote, Google Maps doesn’t register it through GPS.

With me to build the school is: Ted Bakamjian, Libby Billings, Madeline Butler, Nancy Coryell, Susan Crenshaw, Emily Duensing, John Greene, Laura Hailey Rod Harwood, Robin Hernandez, Gayle Hunt Mary Ellen Jones, Shelley Mackin, Leslie McGuire, Joe Nurre, and Diane Rusher.

Again, I want to thank everyone for helping us continue my daughter’s legacy through the Sienna Project. I look forward to sharing more photos and stories with you soon.

Marlin

 

1 Comments

  1. Home from Guatemala - BeyondBelief

    […] blessed and grateful for the experience we had with them. From the very beginning, we were charmed by the warm welcome, we enjoyed the joyful disposition of the people, we were amazed by the beautiful landscape, we […]

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