This paper examines the narratives of the Ixil Maya of Guatemala, focusing on oral tradition, historical memory, and contemporary testimonies. The study explores how Ixil relationships with sacred landscapes are cultivated through ritual, ceremony, and communication with earth-beings.
Paper long abstract
This paper examines the narratives of the Ixil Maya of Guatemala’s Western Highlands, which continue to be woven into the landscapes of sacred mountains and caves, coffee plantations, and hydroelectric projects despite histories of war and genocide. Focusing on oral tradition, historical memory, and contemporary testimonies, the study explores how Ixil relationships with sacred landscapes are cultivated through ritual, ceremony, and communication with earth-beings—practices often described as Maya spirituality or costumbre. Particular attention is given to the role of women Ancestral Authorities in sustaining ecological knowledge and articulating the Ixil philosophy of tiichajil (“good life”). By foregrounding these voices, the paper highlights Indigenous perspectives on spirituality, ecology, and resilience in the face of extractivist pressures, while reflecting on the renown, ontological attention to animism and analogism within Maya studies. The paper is based on my recently published monograph, Dreaming with the Mountains: Maya Spirituality and Sacred Landscapes in the Ixil Region of Guatemala (2024).