COA Beat
Learning from Don Juan
By Todd Little-Siebold, faculty member in history When I met him I knew that Don Juan Witzil Cima was extraordinary, I just did not know how extraordinary. I had come to southern Quintana Roo with my wife Christa and our young children to set up this year's program in Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, and I had been invited to a house blessing of a friend and colleague, Francisco Rosado May. I have known Francisco for years; his new role as rector of the local Intercultural Maya University of Quintana Roo had been one of the reasons we decided to place our students in the communities of this region.
Don Juan shows Todd Little-Siebold his black-blue corn. Photo courtesy of Todd Little-Siebold.
The blessing, known as a Hetz Luum, is a traditional Maya ceremony asking the due単o, or spirits of the land, to allow you to occupy it. As Francisco was finishing his house, he asked Don Juan to ask the due単o to allow him to live there peacefully. The ceremony was an all-day affair involving special sacred tortillas prepared by the men, baked in the ground, and then offered to the spirits. After the spirits consumed the gracia, or essence of the food, we all ate. Watching Don Juan's careful attention to the food, the candles, and the ceremony, I knew he was someone who was a keeper of much knowledge. His thoughtful answers to my questions convinced me he was also an amazing communicator and storyteller. He obviously loved sharing what he knew. Don Juan is a h'men, a Maya healer and a traditional judge. He is also an innovative and successful milpero, a farmer. Three of our students in the Yucatan program worked with Don Juan directly on these aspects of his life and world. Angelica Ullauri '12 lived with his family and learned about Maya cosmology. Don Juan's explanations, especially his stories of the end of the world, led her to a naunced understanding of the simultaneously ancient and contemporary worldview of Maya spirtual leaders. Lamira Alisalem '12 focused on Don Juan's role as a juez tradicional, a traditional judge who metes out local justice in a recent effort by the government to recognize and empower Maya leaders. Don Juan told her that the new judicial reforms were good, but frustrating. Though a local leader charged with serving as a sort of justice of the peace without training, his authority is sharply circumscribed, and he finds it hard to impose fines in a community where people have very little. Instead, he makes them sweep the plaza in the hopes they will feel remorse. Don Juan also shared his knowledge of the milpa with Juan Olmedo '12, patiently explaining why he plants ibes, maiz, frijol, camote, calabaza, rosa de jamaica, the different types of corn, beans, squashes, and succulent hibiscus with which he designs his fields and provisions his family. He proudly showed us all his black-blue corn and delighted in such evocative names as little red dove-colored beans. Don Juan is a farmer, counselor, judge, healer, basket maker, father, teacher, guide, knowledge keeper, and so much more. Our world is enriched by knowing that people like Don Juan are here with us and we are blessed by his feeding of the gods on our behalf.
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