In the eyes of the ancestors;: Belief and behavior in a Maya community,

This book describes and analyzes changes taking place in the 1950s and 1960s in the Tzeltal community of Amatenango del Valle (Tzo?ontahal). These changes were in the economy, relationships to the Mexican government and the surrounding Ladino population, political leadership, and religion. Villagers were beginning to break the pattern of Ladino entrepreneurship through their own co-operatives (trucking co-op and co-op store). Political leadership, which had traditionally rested on the principle of age grading, had in some cases been given to young persons on grounds of their ability to write and speak Spanish. Literacy was increasing among the young people. Belief in the overall importance of the ancestors for the well-being of the community had given way to strong skepticism. As a result certain ceremonies had been dropped, and the healing practitioners were no longer considered as benevolent religious agents but were through-out suspected of witchcraft.