PART III - CASE STUDY 6.1
Tourism and Mayan identity in Belize
This study explores the proposition that the process of commodifying culture for tourist consumption may, when linked with new sources of knowledge, provide pathways to re- acquire forms of cultural identity. The study was focused on the village of San Jose Succotz in Belize which lies close to the ancient Mayan city of Xunantunich, one of the most-visited archaeological sites in the country. Claims to a Mayan heritage in San Jose do not, however, rest solely on proximity to a key site since the village also possesses a Mayan past of its own, with ethnographic studies conducted in the early twentieth century reporting significant populations of Mopan and Yucatec Maya, integral use of Mayan ritual in the agricultural cycle and some use of the Mayan language. However, the subsequent decline in the role of agriculture in the village has seen a reduction in traditional ritual practices, whilst population change has led to a marked reduction in the number of villages who identify themselves as Mayan or possess knowledge of Mayan language. Indeed, at the time of the study (1999), over 80 per cent of the villages identified themselves as Mestizo – a blend of European and indigenous ancestry. The key attributes of Mayan identity – ancestry, language and ritual
– had tended therefore to become highly marginalised.
The key to the local revival of interest in Mayan identity has been the archaeological excavation of Xunantunich. This work has made the site available to tourists whose interest in the Mayan civilisation and their active demand for local souvenirs that reflect Mayan culture has stimulated new levels of local interest in, and respect for, Mayan identity. This has entailed several local developments that enable villagers to satisfy the tourist demands for authentic experiences of the Maya. For example, some of the local guides have acquired a basic understanding of the Mayan language which they deploy as part of their interpretations of the sites. More typically, many guides have spent time in acquiring knowledge – from books and from courses of study based at Xunantunich – about Mayan cosmology, history, customs and practice, to impart to the visitors. Beyond the framework of the guided tours, local production of souvenirs – especially carved stone and pottery – has also developed, with the artisan craftsmen using images and designs that have been uncovered at Xunantunich or are presented in written texts on the Maya as the basis for their work.
Thus, by resorting to materials generated by modern scholarship, villagers have developed new ways of acquiring knowledge that can no longer be transmitted through the traditional pathways of social contact between generations, but which allow at least some elements of lost cultures to be recaptured. The authenticity of this re-invented form of Mayan identity may, of course, be less than perfect and the study showed that local people were themselves unsure of the extent to which a real Mayan identity had been reasserted in their community. The author of the study describes the process as producing ‘a shared vision of “Maya culture” [that] is continually produced and consumed through the actions of archaeologists, tourism promoters, tourists, tour guides, artisans and vendors of artisanal products’ (Medina, 2003: 357). But if we accept the notion that authenticity can be a negotiated attribute, then the experience at sites such as San Jose Succotz suggest that authenticity and commodification are not necessarily incompatible concepts.
Source: Medina, L.K. (2003) ‘Commoditizing culture: tourism and Maya identity’, Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 30 (2): 353–68.
Tourism and Mayan identity in Belize
This study explores the proposition that the process of commodifying culture for tourist consumption may, when linked with new sources of knowledge, provide pathways to re- acquire forms of cultural identity. The study was focused on the village of San Jose Succotz in Belize which lies close to the ancient Mayan city of Xunantunich, one of the most-visited archaeological sites in the country. Claims to a Mayan heritage in San Jose do not, however, rest solely on proximity to a key site since the village also possesses a Mayan past of its own, with ethnographic studies conducted in the early twentieth century reporting significant populations of Mopan and Yucatec Maya, integral use of Mayan ritual in the agricultural cycle and some use of the Mayan language. However, the subsequent decline in the role of agriculture in the village has seen a reduction in traditional ritual practices, whilst population change has led to a marked reduction in the number of villages who identify themselves as Mayan or possess knowledge of Mayan language. Indeed, at the time of the study (1999), over 80 per cent of the villages identified themselves as Mestizo – a blend of European and indigenous ancestry. The key attributes of Mayan identity – ancestry, language and ritual
– had tended therefore to become highly marginalised.
The key to the local revival of interest in Mayan identity has been the archaeological excavation of Xunantunich. This work has made the site available to tourists whose interest in the Mayan civilisation and their active demand for local souvenirs that reflect Mayan culture has stimulated new levels of local interest in, and respect for, Mayan identity. This has entailed several local developments that enable villagers to satisfy the tourist demands for authentic experiences of the Maya. For example, some of the local guides have acquired a basic understanding of the Mayan language which they deploy as part of their interpretations of the sites. More typically, many guides have spent time in acquiring knowledge – from books and from courses of study based at Xunantunich – about Mayan cosmology, history, customs and practice, to impart to the visitors. Beyond the framework of the guided tours, local production of souvenirs – especially carved stone and pottery – has also developed, with the artisan craftsmen using images and designs that have been uncovered at Xunantunich or are presented in written texts on the Maya as the basis for their work.
Thus, by resorting to materials generated by modern scholarship, villagers have developed new ways of acquiring knowledge that can no longer be transmitted through the traditional pathways of social contact between generations, but which allow at least some elements of lost cultures to be recaptured. The authenticity of this re-invented form of Mayan identity may, of course, be less than perfect and the study showed that local people were themselves unsure of the extent to which a real Mayan identity had been reasserted in their community. The author of the study describes the process as producing ‘a shared vision of “Maya culture” [that] is continually produced and consumed through the actions of archaeologists, tourism promoters, tourists, tour guides, artisans and vendors of artisanal products’ (Medina, 2003: 357). But if we accept the notion that authenticity can be a negotiated attribute, then the experience at sites such as San Jose Succotz suggest that authenticity and commodification are not necessarily incompatible concepts.
Source: Medina, L.K. (2003) ‘Commoditizing culture: tourism and Maya identity’, Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 30 (2): 353–68.