The majority of the Tajumulco Mam live in small, single family homes. Their houses are made with dirt floors and mud walls. They have tiled or corrugated metal roofs and small windows with shutters. The windows are usually smoky from the indoor cooking fires. From an early age, Mam children are taught basic cultural skills.
Children usually learn by carefully observing others.
Since work is given a higher priority than school, most children do not attend school past the primary level. Young Tajumulco Mam men generally marry in their late teens, while the women marry a few years earlier as soon as they have mastered the skills of weaving and tortilla-making. Young people have long been allowed to choose their own spouses. Rather than evaluating their potential partners by love or beauty, they look for someone who has practical skills and a good character. A popular musical instrument among the Mam is the marimba , which is a large xylophone-like instrument played by three or four musicians at a time.