Evening star., 1941-08-14
Of Stors, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Laboratory, Field
And Study
BIZ Thomas r. Henri.

By Thomas r. Henry.
A town of 10000 whose inhabitants
are tenants of their dead ancestors
Such is the proud city of Chichicas-
tenango in Guatemala, nearly all Of
whose people are of pure Indian blood
and closely related to the ancient Mayas,
as described by DR.. Ruth Bunzel, pro-
fessor of anthropology at Columbia
University. in the current issue of Psy-
chistry, journal of the William A. White
PSychiatric Foundation here.
They are, she explains, mostly small
farmers living on little patches of land
around the central town. The belief is,
she says, that the land belongs to the
dead ancestors, who graciously permit
their descendants 10 use it. For this
use they must make payment to the
dead in the form of candles and other
offerings left at the shrines in the hills
and at the church.
Land passes directly to the male
children by inheritance" she says. This
causes constant pressure upon the father
to divide the land before his death. So
long as he retains his position at the
head of the household his authority has
no limits. He owns all property, ar
ranges work, negotiates marriage. The
earnings of his children belong to him.
Children are trained to absolute and un-
failing obedience on pain of offending
the ancestors.
I'm making requests of their parents
they approach them on bended knees
and kiss their hands To escape this
despotism children who are married and
have children of their own press their
parents to divide the land. The father
resistS this pressure as long as he can,
but must yield if the children insist, be-
cause discord within the house is an
oftense to the ancestors, who can punish
all within by sending sickness and
death
When the land is divided the father
takes his place as former owner Of
the land and in giving thanks for their
land children offer candles in the church
to their own parents along with their
deceased ancestors.
The ancestors who live in the house.
and from whom no thought or act Is
hidden, are the guardians of morality.
ANY lapse is punished by the dead.
Sometimes it is the wrongdoer himself
who suffers but the people have the
widespread belief that children are pun
lshed for the sins of their parents Dis
aster can often be averted or sickness
cured by prescribed penitential rites"
The displeasure of the ancestors, how
ever, is far from the chief worry of these
Indians. After all, these spirits can be
placated by proper behavior and offer
mgs. But every mans life is tied to a
destiny which cannot be placated be-
cause it cannot be known. Says DR..
Bunzel:
The life of each individual is linked
to some animal. These animals wander
IN the forest prey to hunters Should
such an animal be killed the man to
whom its life is bound dies that instant.
Should man meet his destiny animal
and recognize it he will have good luck.
but this occurs rarely. Usually he does
not know to what animal his own life is
linked. His destiny animal is unknow-
able and unapproachable 1t represents
blind force Of destiny which cannot be
influenced and against which there is
| no protection.
SO inscrutable is this force that men
| tell of killing the destiny animals of
their own children, thereby causing their
deaths. In addition to this personal
RIGHTEOUSNESS, mems lives are ruled bv
great
mathematical precision. They conceive
life as being governed, not by divine will
but by the concatenation of impersonal
forces. This concept of destiny is en-
bodied in a ritualistic calendar. Each
day has special character derived from
its name, which is the name of the force
that dominates the day and its position
In the numerical series.
According to this calendar the In
dian orders his life Manipulation of
the calendar gives man limited control
over the impersonal forces of destiny
destructive as well as creative-and one
OF the uses of the rituals of the calendar
is to destroy enemies. There are two
ways OF taking vengeance on an enemy
by appeal to the ancestors to punish
minor by sorcery. a direct appeal to
the destructive forces at work in the
universe. This taking of vengeance into
ones own hands is not legitimate. It is
considered in defiance to the natural
order of the universe and extremely
dangerous. Through such sorcery de-
structive forces are 'let loose in the
world and may injure the sorcerer if he
ooes not protect himself and his cause
is not just"