Diario las Américas., 1958-04-24
Know thy
Nei9hboti,
By ONO RUIZ

- Some of the exhibits of the
Archaeological Museum in Guate-
mala City were found at a site call
ed Kamilal-juyu, outside the city
limits. There the tombs yielded
wonderful vases, pieces of deeply
colored jade, necklaces, and many
other items. When the Museum
was re-opened in 1913, it had
added a new Section of Ethno-
logy, organized by an official of
the National Indian Institute. An
important part of this section is
a fascinating collection o fIndian
costumes presented to the Museum
by the United Fruit Company. On
ly part of these picturesque cos
tunes is on view at a time, since
they are rotated, as are the other
exhibits of the Museum. The cos
tunes are a c c m d by a
number of dioramaS on Indian
life, which awake the visitors de-
sire to see the rest of Guatemala
and help him to understand bet
ter the Indian ways.
The purpose of the re-opening
of the Museum was to recover and
reconstruct the elements of the
native cultures of Guatemala and to
claim for these civilizations their
rightful place in the genealogy of
the nation. The Indians in Guate-
mala, whose ancestry goes back
not only to the Mayas and their
predecessors, but also to later in
vaders from the north, are one of
the country'S greatest assets, as
workers, as people of the most in
teresting cultures, and as pictures
que figures in the city or the coun-
try.
Every day of the year many of
these Indians can be seen in Qua.
temala City, going about the
streets or markets in their typical
dress, often of striking colorS.
These Indians are not nomads,
but have for centuries been settl-
ed in villages, each of which has its
handwoven tribal costumes. Wo-
men wear cotton blouses called
"huipiles," made in traditional pat
terms and colors which indicate
to the initiated the home of the
wearer. A length of cloth makes a
wrap-around or pleated skirt, held
in place by a clever twist or by a
woven belt. Mems clothes are OF
cotton or wool, according to the
climate of the village, the higher
the village, the colder the climate.
Coast are usually short and stiff,
and may be embroidered or or
namented by woven patterns,
braid, tape, buttons, fringes, and
pockets. Trousers r long or short
and slit wooden trousers are often
worn over cotton ones; some are
cut with wings and embroidered
With the increasing freedom Of
movement about the country thai
has come with the extension Of
the highway system, there is a ten
dency among the Indians to modify
their costumes or discard them fol
ordinary dress.
On the opposite side of the city
from Aurora Park, that is, to the
north, is Minerva Park, named fol
the temple erected in the 10Th
century and used specially for chill
dren's celebrations at the end Of
the school year. Every day the
children enjoy the well-equippet
playground and its large swim
ming pool lined with cOlored tiles
The gardens and cypress goves
form the setting for parades and
other public ceremonies, and the
rounds include the Northern Race
Track.
The view across the valley tc
the mountains is superb. The mos
memorable feature however, is
concrete relief mao of Guate
mala covering 2,734 square. yards
executed to scale by a Guatemala
engineer, Francisco Vela. From
raised platforms on the edges, tins
visitor may look down upon the
expanse of valleys and VOLCANOES
towns, villages, and water-filled riv
ers, lakes and oceans, and plar
his trip through the rest of the
country.
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