Thanks to an invitation from Alica's mother Sara, I was able to go with the two of them to Acteal for a memorial mass. As may be seen on the blog entry from February 18, the massacre of 47 persons, mainly women, on December 22, 1997, is commemorated by a mass on the 22nd of every month. Our host today was Father Pedro Arriaga, an old friend of Sara's who also happens to be a priest, living in San Cristobal but responsible for the municipio of Chenalho in which Acteal is located. He also lives less than a block from me, so it was easy to meet up with them for a ride in his comfy truck. On the way, he pointed out many historical features associated with violence and displacement, especially pertaining to the Zapatista struggle, and for part of the time we listed to Zapatista radio as well.
When we arrived at Acteal about 10:30, Padre Pedro had to meet with some people preparatory to the mass, so Sara, Alica and I went into the small church which was the major site of the massacre. As we sat on the church benches, looked at the statues and the crosses on the walls each inscribed with the name of one of the victims, an elder woman came in and began lighting incense. We did not know then that she would play a major part in the mass, and that her name is Juanita. After paying our respects in the church, we went to the cenotaph room below the amphitheatre-like open chapel. I noted a new mural on the largest wall, that had not been there in Februrary. More on that also. Up above, in the open chapel, a marimba band was playing, with drum and guitar backup.
The ceremony began about 11:30. About a dozen men in full traje (white shirt and shorts, black over-shirt with blue crosses sewed on, be-ribboned hats) marched in procession to the church with Padre Pedro. They lined up in front of the church and then a few went in while the rest moved slightly away. Then an equal number of women, also in full traje (blue skirt, striped and brocaded huipil, white shawl with brocade flowers, and ribbons braided in their hair) performed the same ceremony in front of the church. The men who had gone into the church then came out with flags, and others carried out musical instruments. A procession then formed which led up the concrete stairs to the conical memorial at the side of the road. The official men went first, followed by the official women, and then others. They were led by the orchestra consisting of a wood or bamboo recorder, a trumpet made to sound like a conch shell, a violin, a guitar, a harp, two drums, and a rattle. When we got to the top, the procession re-formed. As guests, Sara, Alica, and I were asked to join the procession after the official men and women, as we followed the orchestra and circumambulated the monument three times counterclockwise. Padre Pedro called this, "making the caracol (conch shell, in this case)" and asked us to use the experience to let the memory of the deceased enter our hearts.
We then descended the stairs and entered the open chapel. On the main stage-like area was an altar table, at the front of which Juanita placed a chair from which she kept renewing the incense. Three crosses were placed in front of the altar. Seats were arranged on the main floor on four sides around the altar and crosses. At the back were the leaders of the ceremony. On the right side were the offical men in full traje. On the right front was the orchestra in white traje, without the black over-shirt and hat. On the left side wsa the chorus, women in front and men behind. On the left front were the official women. The rest of us sat in the audience, with men on the right and women on the left. Many very young children, probably age 5-8, were charged with the care of babies up to 2 years old, carrying them on their backs, and entertaining them. Apparently they were filling in for their mothers, the official ladies sitting at the front. I also noticed a Spanish and a Swedish lady sitting in the audience that I had met in the workshop at Frayba the previous Monday.
The ceremony in the chapel began with a speech by the Presidente of Acteal, then us five foreigners were asked to come to the microphone and introduce ourselves, after which the chorus stood to sing a hymn in Spanish and Tzotzil. At other points in the ceremony, other guests were asked to come to the front as they arrived. These included two US couples from Colorado, a group of Italians, a religious school group mainly from wetern Mexico, and three K'iche' Maya from Guatemala.
The Abejas organization provided a speech which was then read, and we were informed that we could obtain copies in the Acteal office. The thrust of the speech was a condemnation of the policies of President Calderon, who uses force and violence. The Abejas testify that this doesn't work, that violence only breeds violence as they know only too well. Denunciations were launched against the arrests of protesters in Merida (protests against the meeting of Bush and Calderon in March), in Oaxaca, and in Atenco.
After the speeches came prayers, the censing of the crosses, reading from a Tzotzil bible, all punctuated by humns from the chorus. Padre Pedro's sermon was in Spanish but after each paragraph a man translated it into Tzotzil. Then the musicians headed a procession of "offerings" for the altar, including the wine and wafers for the ceremony, as well as buckets of huge chrysanthemums.
The ceremony with the host involved much kneeling and praying as well as standing and singing, followed by the officials leading a dance with the traditional orchestra. After this, all present shook hands with those around them, wishing each other peace, and the wafers were distributed.
The chrysanthemums were then passed out to the official men and women and to the foreign guests. Carrying the flowers, we went in procession down into the cenotaph chamber to conclude the ceremony. One of the K'iche' men, a Maya priest, gave an oration and lit candles in front of the pictures of the victims. As we again knelt, Padre Pedro performed a ceremony which I could not see, but seemed to involve holy water. Part of the ceremony was a blessing and inauguraiton of the new mural, which he said had been painted over Holy Week in early April. The names of the deceased were then recited, after which we deposited our flowers in the bucket placed in front of the memorial photos.
The ceremony then concluded, we were invited into a lunch consisting of sopa de frijoles with potatos, tortillas, and a manzanilla tea. On the ride back to San Cristobal, Padre Pedro was kind enough to stop for a minute while I took some pictures of the beautiful church painting at San Pedro Polho.
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