Guatemala: Solala – Chichicastenango Cemetery

We have visited many cemeteries, but none quite like this.

In the West we usually sombrely celebrate death, so most graveyards are grey and gloomy. This is not the case in parts of Central America. Indigenous Maya culture honours the dead and encourages the living to make peace with the inevitability of death. The colours are not chosen randomly, they have meaning. White represents purity, turquoise is for protection, yellow represents the sun’s life force, and others pay homage to the favourite colour of the deceased.

Things are not always what they seem and there is a darker side to these cemeteries in Guatemala. Tombs are on lease, and if a family fails to pay rent, grave cleaners may exhume the bodies, package the remains in plastic bags, and transfer them to mass graves—a practice that disproportionately affects poor families.

Roman Catholicism is the dominant religion in Guatemala, but as we’d seen in the churches the religious practices of the Maya are a fusion of Christianity and pre-Columbian rituals.

The Popol Vuh is a sacred text that documents the creation of humankind according to Maya. It was discovered in Chichicastenango in the 18th century and continues to inform the beliefs and practices of the K’iche’ people. According to the ancient manuscript, the dead dwell in the underworld of Xibalba, where they communicate with the living through dreams. But a person’s transition to the afterlife hinges on the observance of proper burial rituals. If a body isn’t properly buried, some believe the soul becomes trapped between the realm of the living and dead, and lines of communication are severed.

During the 36-year Guatemalan civil war (1960-1996) upwards of 150,000 lives were lost. During the brief presidency of Ríos Montt—who was later indicted for genocide—the Maya were declared “enemies” of the state and brutally massacred. Many were dumped in mass graves without proper burial Their families left to mourn their disquiet spirits. When these gravesites are discovered, special ceremonies are conducted to properly send them to the afterlife.

We spent some time exploring the grave sites. Paths lead through the cemetery, but we decided to take a closer look and found ourselves on steep sections of the hillside. 

Many tombs looked unfinished. They had flat tops with steel rebars protruding – we could only assume that these tombs would be added to in the future to entomb new family members.

Not all the tombs were large. There were many less affluent gravesites with simple markers. Even these sites were clearly loved and neatly tended.

It was an immensely spiritual place and being here was a deeply moving experience. We were so pleased we had visited.