Watching Lacandon Maya Lives

R. Jon McGee is currently Professor of Anthropology at Texas State University, where he has taught since 1985. His research has focused generally on anthropological theory, field research methods, and the anthropology of culture and religion. More specifically, he has conducted extensive studies on Maya religion, language, and culture. He leads an annual study abroad program in Canterbury, England. Among the many books he’s written or edited are Watching Lacandon Maya Lives (2001) and Life, Ritual and Religion Among the Lacandon Maya (1989). With Richard Warms and James Garber, he authored Sacred Realms: Readings in the Anthropology of Religion, Second Edition (2008) and, with Warms, coauthored Anthropological Theory: An Introductory History, Fifth Edition (2011).

Introduction

Chapter One: The Myth of Lacandon Origins.

Romantic ImagesArchaeological, Linguistic, and Historical Sources.

Sixteenth-Seventeenth Centuries: Chol-LacandonEighteenth Century: Yucatec LacandonLacandon in the Nineteenth Century

Lacandon in the Twentieth Century

Lacandon 1980-2015

Chapter Two: Reconstructing the Historical Lacandon:

Who Is Lacandon?

What Does Traditional Lacandon Mean?

Lacandon Life from 1790-1903

Men and Women’s Work

Religion

Marriage and Household Life

Selling Lacandon Religion

Two Case Studies and Concluding Thoughts

So, How Can I Write About “the Lacandon”?Chapter 3: Watching Life in a Lacandon Community

An Overview of Women, Men, and Work.

Women’s Work

Men's Work

Family Examples

Chan K?in Viejo and his Household

Koh III and Koh IV, Summer1985

Child Birth, and Infant Mortality

The Death of Nuk

Chapter 4: 1970-2020, Five Decades of Change

Government, Oil and Immigration, an Overview

Family Relations, Work, and Historic Lacandon Horticulture

Roads, Bows and Arrows, and Tourism

Adapting Agricultural to Tourism: Comparing Two Communities

Men, tourism, and Agriculture in Nahá.

Agriculture and Tourism in Lacanha.

Women, Tourism, and Work

“Traditional” women

Women in households oriented to tourism

Widows

Chapter 5: Finding an Income in the Lacandon Jungle

Providing Food and Lodging for Visitors

Household-Level Entrepreneurial Activities

Archaeology in Mensäbäk

Working for CONANP

Four Families in Mensäbäk

Economic and Cultural Changes

Shifting to a Money-Based Economy and Culture Change

Changing diet and health

Changing household-based reciprocity

Changing status

Changing household demographics

Growing Up in a Changing World: The Cases of K?in and Chan K?in Quinto

Chapter 6: Decline of Non-Christian Religion

Cosmology

Ritual Places: Classic Period Ruins

Caves and Rock Shelters

God Houses

Ritual Implements

Types of Offerings

Edible Offerings

Ritual and Agriculture

Healing and Ritual

The End of the World

Conclusions: The End of Non-Christian Religion

Chapter 7: Changing Healing Practices

Lacandon Categories of Sickness

Curing Through Prayer

Therapeutic Incantations

Curing Strings

Medicinal Plants

Decline of Healing Rituals

Chapter Eight: Forty Years Among the Lacandon: Some Lessons Learned

What is Lacandon Culture?

What People Say is Different from What They Do

Marriage, Fatherhood, and McGee’s Position in the Community

The Fire: 6/9/99

Glossary References Cited