Women in Santa Eulalia, Guatemala through theConcepts of Rootedness, Community, and Migration.

This essay explores the experiences of Maya Q’anjob’al women in the villages of Santa Eulalia in Huehuetenango, Guatemala. Women from eleven communities participated in group interviews during the four months I spent conducting fieldwork in 2024, thus building upon my findings from 2022 and 2023. Questions focused on their daily lives, their connections to people and places, strategies for generating income, and the impact of migration on their lives and the community. Two broad themes emerged from the interviews. The first relates to their relationships to the land and community, and how this rootedness supports a wholistic (Indigenous) sense of well-being, including economic possibilities. The second theme that emerged centered on their experiences with migration. The women shared intimate stories of coping with the pain and uncertainty of losing contact with loved ones, family breakdown, and abandonment. Their rootedness to their spiritual beliefs and practices, as well as family agreements, accompany them as they face fear and injustice.