I will be out of town from May 5th to 14th, and so will not be shipping orders or open for visitors at the gallery. The Indigo Arts website will be active as always. I will respond to emails as soon as possible. I will be able to ship orders after May 15th, 2025.

Note:
With the high cost of shipping many of our customers choose to ship by USPS. For small and light shipments this is usually less expensive, but please be aware that their estimates are often wrong and their service can be very slow (sixteen days for Priority Mail from Philadelphia to New York City recently). The service is not always as economical as it may appear, particularly on larger or more valuable shipments. USPS estimates only include insurance up to $100 for its domestic shipments. If you ask for full insurance we will recalculate the shipping cost and send you an invoice for any difference in cost. For overseas shipments USPS will not insure for over $650. On request we can get estimates for overseas shipping from DHL.

Guatemala's Folk Saints: Maximon/San Simon, Rey Pascual, Judas, Lucifer, and Others

SKU: B-Guat
Product Status: 
Sold
Region: 
Central America and Mexico
Guatemala

Jim Pieper

Pieper and Associates, Los Angeles, 2006
246 pages, 402 color photos

The icons documented in this handsome volume appear in many physical forms, ranging from life-size to half an inch tall. They reflect a belief system deeply rooted in the ancient Mayan religion of Guatemala and influenced by centuries of superimposed Christianity. The objects whose photographs appear here are collected as ethnographic folk art by aficionados but they, and the saints they represent, are a living part of Guatemalan culture.

Guatemala's Folk Saints is a rich mélange of observation, interviews, and photographs that combine to give a vivid and intimate portrait of this particular variety of syncretic Christianity. Including extensive information on altars, prayers, and the pantheon of the saints themselves, the book focuses on an entity known both as Maximon and San Simon, a spiritual representative to whom any kind of request can be made. Although petitioners are usually encouraged to pray only for "good causes," San Simon can also be enlisted to get rid of evil spells or even to cast one.

San Simon may be a bundle of woven textile topped with a hat or a life-size figure with his face hidden behind a mask and designer sunglasses. He may wear cowboy boots or be covered in petitioners' offerings of silk scarves. Clouded in incense and addressed in indigenous dialects, he is Mayan. Addressed in Spanish, his Christian veneer becomes clear.

Other chapters address Rey Pascual (a skeletal deity), the Ajitz Judas, Lucifer, Don Diego, and San Gregorio. The book includes a glossary and bibliography. This unique documentation of modern Mayan culture will be of interest to scholars, collectors, and travelers.

$39.95