Mayan Girl

My Inspiration for this Painting:

In testament to the resilient Mayan spirit, their culture today is alive and thriving throughout parts of Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras and nowhere is this more ovbious than through their beautiful arts, namely their colorful weavings, hammocks, masks, clothing, sculptures, and paintings. Young Mayans, such as the girl who became the subject of my painting, are becoming increasingly aware and proud of their heritage and are passionate about creating a better future for their people.

Summary of Mayan History:

The ancient Maya civilization was a Native American culture that represented one of the most advanced civilizations in the western hemisphere before the arrival of Europeans. The people known as the Maya lived in the region that is now eastern and southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, and western Honduras. They thrived for more than 2,000 years. The Maya built massive stone pyramids, temples, and sculpture; developed a system of writing using hieroglyphs; and recorded their achievements in mathematics and astronomy.

After 900 the Maya mysteriously declined in the southern lowlands of Guatemala. They later revived in the north on the Yucatán Peninsula and continued to dominate the area until the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. Descendants of the Maya still form a large part of the population of the region. Although many have adopted Spanish ways, a significant number of modern Maya maintain traditional cultural practices.

Spanish domination of the entire Maya region was achieved in 1697. Many Maya were killed or died of European diseases that the Spanish brought with them. The Spanish forced most of the remainder to labor on Spanish farms or in gold and silver mines. In the 18th century, increased demand for fiber internationally, resulted in Mayan village lands being seized by Spaniards who planted huge plantations.

The suffering did not end there however and continued right up to the late 20th century. During the years of Guatemala’s thirty-six year long internal conflict in the 1970s and 80s, the longest in Latin America, the military turned on the Indians, accusing them of anti-government leftist leanings. A truth commission set up after the war ended said that more than 200,000 civilians were killed during the conflict and some 400 Mayan villages were razed. More than 38,000 people were taken by military death squads and never seen again. Thousands of children were orphaned, and one million people uprooted to become refugees.

In 1992, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, a Maya Quiché Indian, won the Nobel Peace Prize for her work on behalf of Guatemala’s Indian peoples. The prize put a spotlight on human rights abuses directed at Indians in Guatemala.