Maximón (), also called San Simón, is a Mayan deity and

folk saint Folk saints are dead people or other spiritually powerful entities (such as indigenous spirits) venerated as saints, but not officially canonized. Since they are saints of the "folk", or the ''populus'', they are also called popular saints. Like o ...

represented in various forms by the

Maya peoples The Maya peoples () are an ethnolinguistic group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica. The ancient Maya civilization was formed by members of this group, and today's Maya are generally descended from people ...

of several towns in the

Guatemalan Highlands The Guatemalan Highlands is an upland region in southern Guatemala, lying between the Sierra Madre de Chiapas to the south and the Petén lowlands to the north. Description The highlands are made up of a series of high valleys enclosed by mount ...

. Oral tradition of his creation and purpose in these communities is complex, diverse, and born of the ancient Maya traditions centuries ago.

Origin

The worship of Maximón is believed to have begun at the time of the Spanish conquest of the Maya. The designation of Maximón as a

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Or ...

is the result of religious syncretism.''The Drunken, Devilish Mayan God Still Worshiped in Guatemala'', VICE, Benjamin Reeves, December 18th, 2013
/ref> The modern character of Maximón is thought by analysts to be a blend of several historical, biblical, and Mayan mythological figures. These include

Pedro de Alvarado Pedro de Alvarado (; c. 1485 – 4 July 1541) was a Spanish conquistador and governor of Guatemala.Lovell, Lutz and Swezey 1984, p. 461. He participated in the conquest of Cuba, in Juan de Grijalva's exploration of the coasts of the Yucat ...

Judas Iscariot Judas Iscariot (; grc-x-biblical, Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώτης; syc, ܝܗܘܕܐ ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ; died AD) was a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to all four canonical gospels, Judas bet ...

Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupat ...

, and

Mam Mam or MAM may refer to: Places * An Mám or Maum, a settlement in Ireland * General Servando Canales International Airport in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico (IATA Code: MAM) * Isle of Mam, a phantom island * Mam Tor, a hill near Castleton in th ...

.''A Mayan and Catholic Easter Tradition? Yes, in Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala'', NBC News, María Martin, April 12th, 2017
/ref> Maximón's appearance varies greatly by location. While he's popularly depicted as a man in a suit and hat, this isn't a constant. In Santiago Atitlán, he wears colorful garlands and scarves, while in

Zunil Zunil () is a town and municipality in the Quetzaltenango department of Guatemala with a surface area of .trickster In mythology and the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a character in a story ( god, goddess, spirit, human or anthropomorphisation) who exhibits a great degree of intellect or secret knowledge and uses it to play tricks or otherwi ...

. He is both a womanizer and a protector of couples. According to some legends, Maximón was an elder who reincarnated to protect his people. During the Spanish Conquest, an elder named Ri Laj Mam, upset by the evils of the Spaniards, encouraged his people to start a rebellion. He was eventually executed, but returned to life in the form of a judge named Don Ximon, who fought to give land back to the native people of Guatemala.''The Legend of Maximon'', Organization for Mayan and Indigenous Spiritual Studies, October 14th, 2014
/ref> Another legend states that Maximón was hired by traveling fishermen to protect the virtue of their wives. Instead, Maximón disguised himself and slept with all of them.''Meet Maximón: The Liquor-Drinking, Chain-Smoking Saint'', National Geographic, Bethany Jones, January 24th, 2018
/ref> In Santiago Atitlán, an alternative tale says that Maximón was never a man, but a wooden figure created by

shamans Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spirit ...

to defend the village from witches. However, Maximón used trickery to harm the people of the village, so the shamans twisted his head around and broke his legs to stop him. He then did his job properly and protected the people of the town from evil.Santiago Atitlán, Maximón
/ref>

Veneration

Maximón is venerated in the form of an

effigy An effigy is an often life-size sculptural representation of a specific person, or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certai ...

cult image In the practice of religion, a cult image is a human-made object that is venerated or worshipped for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents. In several traditions, including the ancient religions of Egypt, Greece and Ro ...

. Worship varies greatly by location. In Santiago Atitlán, Maximón's effigy resides in a different household every year. His image is normally only taken out of this house during

Holy Week Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, w ...

, whereafter it will change households, but is on display year-round due to the popularity of

pilgrimages A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

. The effigy has special attendants that stay by the altar year-round, drinking and smoking alongside it. They deliver offerings from the public to the image. Popular offerings include money, tobacco, and

moonshine Moonshine is high-proof liquor that is usually produced illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of creating the alcohol during the nighttime, thereby avoiding detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial dist ...

. In the town of San Andrés Itzapa, there is a large temple to Maximón. Here, offerings such as corn, flowers, and candles are burned in public by shamans for the deity. Pilgrims travel to this temple from all across

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...

. Guatemalan press has claimed that the worship of Maximón has declined in recent decades, but this is difficult to measure with much certainty.

Outside of Guatemala

As many Guatemalans have migrated to areas such as Mexico, the United States, and Canada, the veneration of Maximón has traveled beyond the borders of Guatemala, where he is more commonly known as San Simón. There are temples dedicated to him in New York, California, and Florida.''Maximón or San Simón: the Mayan folk saint who drinks, smokes and offers protection'', LifeGate, Sarine Arslanian, 26 July, 2017
/ref>

Notes

External links

* Rilaj Maam - Spanish Wikipedia page {{DEFAULTSORT:Maximon Catholic Church in Guatemala Christianity and death Christianity and religious syncretism Death gods Fertility gods Folk saints Fortune gods Guatemalan folklore Love and lust gods Maya gods Maya mythology and religion Religion in Guatemala Supernatural beings identified with Christian saints Superstitions of the Americas Trickster gods Vengeance gods Miracle workers

Origin

Veneration

Outside of Guatemala

See also

Notes

Further reading

External links