Reviewed by Mark D. Walker
During a recent visit to Guatemala, my Guatemalan wife picked this book up at the Museum Miraflores, which focuses on the ancient city of Kaminaljuyu. My grandchildren were fascinated with an interactive exhibit to identify one’s “Nawales” or ancient ones. After reading the book, I realized it offered a rare window into Maya Cosmology.
Vincent James Stanzione’s limited edition work (one of only 750 printed copies) offers readers an extraordinary glimpse into the enigmatic cult of Maximon and the complex spiritual landscape of contemporary Maya communities around Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. Francisco Goldman (The Are of Political Murder) referred to the author as a “rebel anthropologist” since the author is not associated with academia. The authors’ approach emerges from over two decades of immersion in these communities, resulting in a work transcending traditional ethnographic boundaries.
The book centers on the figure of Maximon (also known as MaXimon), a powerful and ambiguous deity whose worship represents one of the most fascinating examples of religious integration in Mesoamerica. Stanzione skillfully illuminates how Maximon embodies the collision and reconciliation of pre-Columbian Maya spirituality with Catholic traditions imposed during colonization.
The cult of Maximon reveals a spiritual worldview where seemingly contrary elements coexist without contradiction. He is simultaneously a saint and trickster, helper and punisher, indigenous and foreign. Through Stanzione’s narrative, we understand how Maximon represents the Maya’s adaptive resilience—their ability to incorporate external religious elements while maintaining core spiritual concepts from their ancient cosmology. I visited the Maximon in Santiago Atitlán many years ago. Although I didn’t comprehend much of the ceremony, I did appreciate the reverence the local population gives this local saint.
Perhaps Stanzione’s most impressive achievement is how it breathes life into what many consider a dying traditional world through traditional Maya storytelling and imitating the voice of Maya storytellers. This is not a scholarly monograph but a blurring of oral and written genres with ethnographic interpretation, breathing life into what some assume is a dying traditional world of the Maya today.
The author’s approach of melding narrative and textual analysis, as well as his interpretations, mirrors the Mayan worldview, which does not recognize rigid distinctions between myth and history, sacred and profane, or past and present. By adopting this fluid structure, Stanzione allows readers to experience Maya spirituality as its practitioners do—as a living, breathing reality rather than a collection of abstract concepts.
I appreciated the author’s less academic approach. He writes with the intimacy of someone who has obviously participated in ceremonies, formed relationships with spiritual leaders, and witnessed the evolution of these traditions over decades. This perspective allows him to capture subtle cultural dynamics that might escape the notice of researchers conducting normal field studies.
Thanks to another long-term resident, Angelika Bauer, the book is enhanced with fascinating graphics throughout. The author refers to her as “…my lifetime love and colleague, who has lived and worked with me as the perfect partner, always there to help me bring my writing to fruition through both her illustrations and faultless support.”
Stanzione also recognizes the support and inspiration from his mentor, David Carrasco, a well-established anthropologist who invited him to lecture and teach at Harvard.
As one of only 750 printed copies, “Los Nawales” is a valuable cultural document. It is neither a mass-market publication nor an academic monograph but a labor of love created by individuals like Stanzione and Bauer, who have dedicated significant portions of their lives to understanding and preserving Maya traditions.
The book’s rarity also underscores a sad reality: as globalization transforms indigenous communities worldwide, such intimate portraits of traditional worldviews become increasingly important. Stanzione’s work serves not only as a fascinating examination of religious interaction but also as a testament to the enduring vitality of Maya culture despite centuries of external pressure.
This limited-edition work offers rare insights into how religions interact, Mesoamerican spirituality and Indigenous traditions adapt to external influences. It stands as both a scholarly contribution and cultural preservation, documenting a worldview that, despite predictions of its demise, continues to evolve and endure to this day.
The Author
Vincent James Stanzione is an American who has studied Maya culture for most of his life. He has spent 40 years in Guatemala, living with the Maya people in the highlands near Lake Atitlan. Recently, he finished translating the Popol Wuj to English – a task that first required learning K’iche’, the indigenous language in which it was written. Vincent’s goal is for Maya youth worldwide who don’t know much about their heritage to read the translated Popol Wuj and reconnect with their culture, even if they don’t speak the Mayan language.
Stanzione’s publications include Rituals of Sacrifice: Walking the Face of the Earth on the Sacred Path of the Sun, The Sacred Count of Days, Mayan Gods and Goddesses, Cave, City and Eagle’s Nest: An Interpretive Journey through the Mapa de Cuauhtinchan Dos.
The Reviewer
Mark Walker was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala and spent over forty years helping disadvantaged people in the developing world. Walker’s three books are Different Latitudes: My Life in the Peace Corps and Beyond, My Saddest Pleasures: 50 Years on the Road, named Best Travel Book, and The Guatemala Reader: Extraordinary Lives and Amazing Stories. He’s written 80 book reviews, and of his 30 published essays, two were recognized by the Solas Awards for Best Travel Writing. He’s a contributing writer for “The Wanderlust Journal,” “Literary Traveler,” and “The Great Writers You Should be Reading.” His column, “The Million Mile Walker Review: What We’re Reading and Why,” is part of the Arizona Authors Association newsletter. His honors include the “Service Above Self” award from Rotary International. He’s a Board member of SEEDS for a Future, Advance Guatemala, and the Arizona Authors Association. His wife and three children were born in Guatemala. You can learn more at www.MillionMileWalker.com