Summary:
Entitled La sexualidad de los indígenas, this article found in El Periodico began with a quote: “sólo hacen eso los mañosos” [roughly translated, “Only the Mafia do that”], referring to “that” as any sexual position other than where the man is above the woman. The article continues by describing the relation of power that manifests in the bedrooms of the Mayan people – who initiates sex, and how they might initiate it.
Until the mid 20th century, little to no research was done to explore sexuality in Guatemala. However, when this research began to be conducted, recorded and analyzed, the emphasis was placed on health and education, and was mostly funded by health agencies. This changed in 1990, when the first focus groups and recorded in-depth interviews were conducted by three researchers; Jane Bertrand, Francisca Puac and Victoria Ward. These young women had a keen interest in studying sexuality in Latin America and were the first to orchestrate research on the sexuality of the natives in Guatemala. They published a report on this entitled “The Mayan Sexual Behaviour” which noted that any talk of sex and sexuality in Mayan communities was taboo, given their conservative and traditionalist beliefs, and most individuals only learned about sex on their wedding night.
Since then, other researchers have come to Guatemala to study the intimate lives of the Mayan people, including Spanish anthropologist Manuela Camus and Chirix Emma Garcia. Both are now well recognized in academic circles as individuals who study indigenous sexuality. Garcia writes his reasoning for this particular area of research by stating that, “[He] is happy to come to light a taboo subject, which is another way to deal with dominance, fear and the sacredness of the bodies and the racialization of sexuality”.
Some of the points developed in his studio include:
-Menstruation (where few mothers explain to their daughters the process before it arrives)
-Virginity (it is valued as much as marriage – individuals married at approximately 20 years of age)
-Courtship (where touching is frowned upon before marriage and masturbation or ‘kaqchikeles’ is considered a sin)
-Appropriate/Prohibited places (ie: the bedroom at night is and accepted place for intimacy, whereas a cornfield is prohibited)
-Power (the man says when and how, and the woman accepts)
This article was of great interest for me, particularly because of the power dynamics within Mayan households that it emphasized. Much research has been conducted in the western world with regards to sexuality, but a part of me questions the idea that more needs to be developed and researched among indigenous populations in Latin America to “bring to light knowledge and practices ignored or censored”. I question the means in which this research may be conducted – only because prior research seems to have a very western orientation. Although these findings unveil many aspects of sexuality among indigenous Mayan communities in Guatemala, I wonder if any indigenous knowledge about sexuality still exists and, if so, how it can be returned back to the community. The Mayan views on sexuality thus far discussed are very conservative. I wonder if it was through colonization of Guatemala that sexuality was taken away as a means to take away power. Any thoughts?
Hasta luego,
Katrin
Hey Katrin,
ReplyDeleteThis article was particularly interesting, and I couldn't help but think about your last thought as to wondering whether the colonization of Guatemala had any influence on the sexuality of the indigenous people. It seems as though many of the values, and the view of sexuality as taboo, are very similar to those of Europeans at the time they had conquered Latin America. The church was a central power in Spain, and the stringent values of Catholicism seem to be very similar (i.e. menstruation taboos, the value of virginity, appropriate courtship, and power). For an institution that held such power, it would not seem difficult to believe that many of these customs were forced or adopted. It is interesting to think about where and how they conducted their study on a subject that is so taboo in Guatemala. It also makes me think that the "racialization of sexuality" would have interesting explanations as to the functioning of society, for example the importance and centrality of machismo power in many Latin American societies.