What would it be like to rent a holiday cottage in a Mayan village? Have you ever imagined living close to a Mayan community in the Yucatan Peninsular, Mexico?
The Mayan people still live in a very traditional way, speaking Mayan as their first language, and many women wear typical embroidered dresses every day, not just for special occasions.
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Each village has its main square or plaza, and a church, and the homes are grouped together in walled family compounds. The plaza is the social hub of the village - every evening people gather and enjoy the balmy warm night air. Life is very safe - the kids roam freely with everyone looking out for them.
A typical Mayan compound has several oval-shaped cottages with thatched roofs made from palm leaves, surrounded by a low dry-stone wall. Families live together in several generations, from grandparents to great-grandchildren. Each house has many functions - during the day, it serves as a place for the family to live, work together to prepare meals, make handicrafts, and at night the hammocks are shaken out, and sleeping space is ready.
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Cooking is done in the cooking house, and generally carried out by women on open fires. In the morning the fire is lighted, and burns all day while various meals are prepared. Traditionally, Mayans have meals which they always eat on certain days, eg. Frijol con Puerco (pork and beans) is always served on Mondays.
In the compound there are always hens and turkeys scratching about, and maybe also a couple of pigs, or even a cow. Dogs are an important part of the Mayan culture. They guard the compound, and help hunt for deer and rabbit.
Corn or maize is a fundamental part of their diet, and every home-owner in the village has the right to a piece of common land where they can grow their corn.
The Mayan language is an oral tradition, and has developed over the years according to its location. In the Yucatan, the Mayan spoken in one village is slightly different to that of a nearby village. In the very heart of the Yucatan, where few foreigners venture, Mayan is their only language, with only a few words of Spanish. However in more accessible villages, both Mayan and Spanish are spoken. The older generation may not speak Spanish, but most people of working age are bilingual.
To stay for a while in a Mayan community is a fascinating experience. The villagers are extremely hospitable, and proudly show their homes and their traditions to empathetic visitors. Even if your Spanish is not up to much more than 'buenos dias', where there is goodwill there is communication. A far cry from the luxury hotels of Cancun, and the hectic life of a colonial city like Merida, a Mayan village is a different world - quiet and peaceful, with clean, unpolluted air, and a slow pace of life.
To experience a different world, a different culture, a fascinating insight into contemporary Mayan life, why not rent a holiday cottage in a village in the Yucatan.
Yucatan Vacation - Holiday Rental in a Mayan Village
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