In Search of an Adivinador

On Sunday I ventured to Zunil with a friend, whose last wish before heading back to the U.S. the following day was to visit an adivinador (fortune teller, shaman, medicine man, etc.) who he had heard about. I was a bit hesitant at first because over the years I have become less impressed with my visits to these fortune tellers, but I decided what the heck. If anything, it would be a cultural experience and besides, I was to serve as the interpreter.

Zunil is a small agricultural and market town about 10 kms away from Xela. It was a busy day in Zunil, with villagers coming from far away to sell their vegetables, fruits, and flowers. After getting turned down when I asked a group of women if I could take a picture of them with their lovely flowers, I resorted to sneaking in a few pictures. Once that was done, it was time to proceed with the original purpose of this visit.

There was a slight problem, the only thing we knew about this adivinador was that we was on the hefty side and had long hair. We didn't have a name or an address for him. Not much to go on, but we figured that being a town of only 6,000 inhabitants people would know exactly what we were talking about. Well, not really...we started asking around and got plenty of strange looks and negative responses. After a while, this was becoming an absolute joke. Here we were about the only non-Mayans in sight, asking ridiculous questions and to top it off, my friend with very passionate, yet fragmented Spanish, saying things like:

"Estamos buscando por un hombre...un hombre muy especial...es poco gordo y tiene pelo largo" ("We are looking for a man...a very special man..he somewhat fat and has long hair.")

After over an hour, we managed to track down the home of this adivinador. He was very inviting and receptive to speaking with us, despite the fact that it was a Sunday afternoon and he was with his family.

Our first lesson: He was not an adivinador, but a Mayan priest. He has been a Mayan priest for over 30 years and during this time has intensely studied the Mayan calendar, performed ceremonies, etc. By this time I am feeling like a complete idiot....

The priest began to give my friend a reading based on his birth date, place of birth, etc. No cards, stones, or palms, just based on this information he determined his day according to the Mayan calendar. It’s a bit difficult to understand and hence to explain, but according to Mayan beliefs, from birth, one's destiny is determined based on their calendar.

What I found particularly interesting was when he began talking about politics and other religions in Guatemala, predominantly Catholicism and Evangelicalism. He became very fervid, talking about how these religions have divided the Maya and treated them like the devil if they don't adhere to their religions. During the 36-year civil war, Mayan communities were a primary target of persecution and ceremonies had to be held clandestinely. Following the peace accords in 1996, the situation has improved, but he fervently maintained that these religions are divisive.

He shared with us a little bit about his life: His grandparents were also Mayan priests. There were about 7 or 8 times in his life that he came close to dying, but they conducted ceremonies for him and saved his life and told him that his calling was to do the same.

I was blown away by the whole experience and intend to visit him again in the near future to learn more.