: Guatemala - Information related to Intangible Cultural Heritage
Other sources of information 
Within UNESCO:
World Heritage in this country
- Date of deposit of instrument: 25-10-2006
- UNESCO Regional Officer for Intangible Heritage: Moreno-Triana, Cesar
Following information is provided for easy reference, but has no official status. For comments or to update information, please contact the regional officer concerned via ich@unesco.org.
Since November 2008, the Representative List contains 90 elements of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
- Proclamation 2001: "Language, Dance and Music of the Garifuna"
- Proclamation 2005: "The Rabinal Achí Dance Drama Tradition"
Proclamation 2001: "Language, Dance and Music of the Garifuna"
© National Garifuna Council
Multinational ICH element: Belize - Guatemala - Honduras - Nicaragua
A population of mixed origin incorporating cultural elements of indigenous Caribbean and African groups, the Garifuna settled along the Atlantic coast of Central America after being forced to flee from the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent in the eighteenth century. Today, Garifuna communities mainly live in Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Belize.
The Garifuna language belongs to the Arawakan group of languages and has survived centuries of discrimination and linguistic domination. It is rich in tales (úraga) originally recited during wakes or large gatherings.The melodies bring together African and Amerindian elements, and the texts are a veritable repository of the history and traditional knowledge of the Garifuna, such as cassava-growing, fishing, canoe-building and the construction of baked mud houses. There is also a considerable amount of satire in these songs, which are accompanied by various drums and dances, which the spectators may join in.
These traditions are still very important to the life and survival of the Garifuna people. The elders are the ones who maintain many of the ceremonies, festivals and oral traditions. However, economic migration, discrimination and the complete absence of the Garifuna language from the school system are endangering its survival. Although the language is still widely spoken, it is now taught in only one village.
Proclamation 2005: "The Rabinal Achí Dance Drama Tradition"
©Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes / GMA PRO
The Rabinal Achí is a dynastic Maya drama, which developed in the fifteenth century and a rare example of preserved pre-Hispanic traditions. It comprises myths of origin and addresses popular and political subjects concerning the inhabitants of the region of Rabinal, expressed through masked dance, theatre and music.
The oral and written narrative is presented by a group of characters, who appear on a stage representing Maya villages, such as Kajyub’, the regional capital of the Rabinaleb’ in the fourteenth century. The narrative, divided into four acts, centres on a conflict between two major political entities in the region. The main characters are two princes, the Rabinal Achí and the K’iche Achí.The other characters are the king of Rabinaleb’, Job’Toj, and his servant, Achij Mun Achij Mun Ixoq Mun, who has both male and female traits, the green-feathered mother, Uchuch Q’uq’ Uchuch Raxon, and thirteen eagles and thirteen jaguars who represent the warriors of the fortress of Kajyub’. K’iche’ Achí is captured and put on trial for attempting to steal Rabinaleb’ children, a grave violation of Maya law.
Since colonization in the sixteenth century, the Rabinal Achí dance has been performed on Saint Paul’s day on 25 January. The festival is coordinated by members of cofradías, local brotherhoods responsible for running the community. By taking part in the dance, the living enter into “contact” with the dead, the rajawales, represented by masks. Recalling their ancestors is not simply a means of perpetuating the heritage of the past. It is also a vision of the future, since one day the living will join their ancestors.
The impact of armed conflict especially in the departamentos of Rabinal and K’iche has almost led to the disappearance of this dance. Today, it is especially threatened by the precarious economic state of the custodians and the community as a whole. It is also confronted with folklorization and trivialization, which seriously threaten the transmission of knowledge and values associated to the performance of this drama tradition.
