Eating in Fear: Hunger Narratives in a K’iche’ Mayan Community in Guatemala

Miguel Cuj

In this article, published on the Graduate Association for Food Studies page, Miguel Cuj discusses the history and consequences of food insecurity in Totonicapán. Referring to oral history testimonies which he conducted in K’iche’, he comes to conclusions regarding gender inequality and ethnic discrimination in terms of access to food during the Guatemalan armed conflict. Miguel Cuj is a native K’iche’ speaker from Guatemala currently undertaking graduate studies in Anthropology at Vanderbilt University.

Q’iij Metaphysics: Vico’s Theologia Indorum and the Gods, Ancestors, and Idols of the 16th Century K’ichee’ Mayas

Phillip Salazar

Domingo de Vico completed the Theologia Indorum, a K’iche’ Christian manuscript, in Guatemala in 1554. In the manuscript, Vico distinguishes between the idols, ancestors, and gods of the K’iche’s. This paper shows that Vico believed the idols to be inanimate objects, ancestors to be the older generations that have passed away, and gods to be demons. This paper then develops a theory of animist ontology for the K’iche’s. Using that ontological theory, this paper argues that, for the K’iche’s, their idols and gods were indistinguishable and that their ancestors were still alive, present, and active among them.