Jan262021
The Chichi market primarily serves locals who come from throughout the El Quiché department of Guatemala to buy and sell products. There are merchants whose handicrafts target tourists, but for the most part, vendors sell fruit and vegetables, medicinal plants, candles, incense, grindstones and other tools to locals.

By David DeVoss

Photography By David DeVoss

Travelers on the Mayan Trail often visit Copán in Honduras, Chichén Itzá in Mexico’s Yucatan and Caracol in Belize. If you want to meet today’s Maya, however, head for Chichicastenango on market days. Located on Guatemala’s Altiplano at an altitude of 6,447-ft, “Chichi” is  about 87-miles northwest of the capital. The town of 71,500 comes alive every Thursday and Sunday when it becomes the largest market in Central America. Sunday is the busier of the two market days because of student bus trips from schools in Guatemala City.

The Chichi market primarily serves locals who come from throughout the El Quiché department of Guatemala to buy and sell products. There are merchants whose handicrafts target tourists, but for the most part, vendors sell fruit and vegetables, medicinal plants, candles, incense, grindstones and other tools to locals.
Intricate wooden ceremonial masks used in traditional Mayan dances have been crafted and sold in Chichicastenango for centuries. Chichi is also known for leather goods like shoes, boots, belts and hats
Some villagers walk for hours carrying their wares to reach Chichi's market. It's a rich mix of the traditional and the tourist, where local women shopping for a new huipil rub shoulders with travelers looking for blouses and skirts.
Chichicastenango was a holy Maya site until the 17th century, when the Spanish destroyed Maya buildings and used the stones to build churches
The market here is most famous for its textiles, in particular huipils, traditional garments worn by indigenous women and girls in Guatemala. Usually decorated with intricate designs, every huipil takes between 3-12 months to make. Different regions of the country use different tones and patterns, but arguably the best quality huipils are found in Chichi.
Colorful fabrics are piled up at stalls and can be bought as raw material or as tablecloths, place sets and wool blankets. Other popular products include handmade jade and silver jewelry, pottery, backpacks and embroidered clothing for children.
Chichicastenango has been a main trading center since before the conquistadors arrived in the Americas. For hundreds of years vendors and buyers throughout the Quiche region met to trade and now groups from much further afield come here too. The K’iche’ Maya of the neighboring region use Chichi as their main market, and many of Guatemala’s other ethnic groups such as Kaqchikel, Mam, Ixil and several others are also regulars on market day.
Handicraft stalls selling masks, textiles and pottery occupy much of the plaza. Things villagers need – food, soap, clothing, sewing notions, toys – cluster at the north end of the square and in the covered Centro Comercial Santo Tomás, which has an upper deck perfect for photographing all the bustle below.
Santo Tomás is a 400-year-old church built by the Spanish atop a Pre-Columbian temple. The site still is considered sacred Maya ground. The steps that used to lead to the temple now climb up to the church. Each of the 18 stairs stands for one month of the Maya calendar year. Nearby is the Cofradia of Pascual Abaj, an ancient carved stone venerated by Maya shamans who perform several rituals there.
Chichicastenango is a K'iche' Maya cultural center. According to the 2012 census, 98.5% of the municipality's population is indigenous Mayan K'iche. 21% of the population speak only K'iche while 71% speak both K'iche and Spanish.
Chichicastenango is not only Guatemala’s biggest and best market, but also its most historic.
On market days steps leading to Santo Tomás church are crowded with shoppers and rural folk just taking in the scene. Both the church and its steps are blanketed with swirling incense called copal lit by Maya making offerings to the gods.
Category: Photo Essays