Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-11-15
FIND MAYA INDIANS
STILL |NEXSTENCE
Carnegie Institution Sol
entists Make Intensive Study
in Yucatan.

The Maya Indians, builders Of ont
Of Q the worlds greatest civilizations
which vas In its flower at the start Of
the Christian era are not an extinct
people.
In the towns and villages of Yucatan
they still survive. speaking much the
same language and following many o.
the customs of the great days Of the
race, according to Prof. Robert Red
field of the Carnegie Institution Of
washington, who is here to report on
the progress of a new project under
taken by the institution. This is an
intensive study Of the living Maya
whose findings are to be correlated with
the findings of Psychologists digging In
the ruins of the great temples.
DIR, Redfield, who lectured at the In
stitution building last night, has been
working with Q group OF associates a.
the village Of Chan Kom, In southeast
V,ieatan' near the ruins of the great
city Of Chichen TIA. Its $50 mhabl-
tar1ts are all Mayas, most Of whom have
been in touch with outside civilization
and absorbed some OF its practlces.
They are small farmers.
suryivals Of Rites Found.
Tn the sirnplified catholicism of the
v;llare DR.. Redfield found survivals OF
the rites that probably were practiced
in the great temples a thousand years
ago Planting and harvesting OF corn
is sanctified By ritual offerings to the
esds Who bring the rain and guard the
cernfields. Sacred breads are maze
and dedicated, and turkeys are strangieo
with elaborate ceremony. Beehives nave
their special gods and appropriate pIo-
pitiatory ceremonies. Sanatns 1v w
the outcome Of sickness by crystaa gag
ing or counting trains OF corn OF ,,sn DR.
Radfield said, "still are regarded as
magicaily caused. Sickness IS thougnt 70
be produced by evil spirits empod,eo IA
the winds. or by the gods who punish
failure TO propitiate them when the
corn is planted or the honey taken rom
the hives. Some believe sickness causeQ
by the souls Of dead relatives LOT whom
the appropriate ritual has not peen per
formed, or by the encnanIm at Oh JIG
chan Kom, DR.. Redheld said, rapidly
An deUartinR from the ancestral customs,
INT some Of the ideas introduced py
Carnregie scientists had wierd develop
ynentS One man gave lecture on NIL
erohes. For the next few days the
Naedicine men did o thriving business,
because everybody complained OF nttie
ants crawling In their intestines ano
wanted them exercised. Anotner taLkeu
the local folklore trinity OF mysterl-
ans spirits one of which made bones,
another flesh and another blood.
DencenAed From Famous Civilization.
The archeologist, Dr.: Redneid SAID,
S,as mo doubt but that these people are
direct descendants of the men who
Yeared the great structures ut which the
World wonders, but they themselves nave
IA Knowledge Of the fact. On wall
~ one az the Chiehen temples, for ex-
ample, Is q mural Of four priests known
As "chacs'' holding q human bemg py
the four limbs in order TO sacrlnce Nina
the same four "chacs" stil ofnciate IN
the same way-except that now they
hold the wings and legs Of turkey
about to be sacrificed to the gods.
s"They have no sense Of connection
with the old cities" he said, Except
that Coba has vague prestige, . Ger,
tain uncAnniness. Certain goes anc
mythical monsters dwell there and
shamans who have visited the ruins
have secured unusual powers. Both
Chichen Itza and Cobe are menConeo
in ceremonial prayers. but the meanme
h,iiiders Of these great temples are re-
Rnraed o. Of quite another race ano
not ancestors. They were the 1tzaS
great people Of supernatural powers
who dWelt Q long time ago. Some con-
ftIaA these It1As with gtill another race
4 dwarf people who had the magical
knowledge that made possible the build
inf Of vast cities Of stone. They knew
the whistles that made these stone
A~.%< AL <rf aHe0Fd
ANY vestige Of the ancient Maya Il
simply uncanny, or downright danger
Gus. FRAGMENTS of obsidian knives ans
slinRstones OF the gods who guard thu
cornfields and clay idols are evil mid
gets that it Is best to smash where the!
he, lest they come alive at night ant
work harm to men. In our studies WI
are seeking to look on life Is they do.
Expaoration 10 BE Extended.
Next year, DR.. Redfield announced
enc Of his party Is going into the littl
known territory Of Qutntana Roo,
| ero,in Of Maya villages which turne'
! ff1eir backs definitely ON the Mexican
! civilization following o race war IN tn
| middle Of the last century. Preliminar
+ survey has shown some mteresun
This Is the land Of the talking cross.
m oracle enslrined in a little interio
village which delivers mysteriousl
onefis and warnings that are carried u
Ali the subsidiary villages by men draw
in rotation from each hamlet to DO vigl
before the shrine.
In Chan Kom the dead are buried u
Christian cemeteries. In Quintana 70
they are buried in the streets or unde
the floors of houses. The patriarcha
great family" organization OF soclet
E a well developed. In the mixed pagan
i Christian religion what Dr.. Redfiel
i. describes e. 1.-The cult Of the cross" play
Q larger role. Several villages ar
united ia Q military religious federation
The Carnegie investigators, DR.. Red
Aeld explained, are interested In tn
living Maya not only because of tn
Nslat that viii be shed upon the past
but also because OF the phenomena o
Q Transitional people-ranging all tn
way to modern city jewellers to triba