Houses of Other Persons: Ruins in Lacandon Maya Ritual Landscapes

Abstract In this article, we analyze Lacandon Maya communication with nonhuman persons (deities) residing in ancient Maya ruins in the lowlands of Chiapas, Mexico, and Petén, Guatemala. Through archaeological and ethnographic evidence, we examine ruined sites in the ritual landscape where Lacandon Maya have undertaken religious pilgrimages. We discuss Lacandon perceptions of ruins within the anthropological contexts of animism, pantheistic religions, and communicating places. Lacandon Maya consider materials and living things to be permeated by unifying life forces ( k’uh , kuxa’an , and pixan ) and perceive ancient ruins as a living landscape invisible to human eyes but necessary for their social life, health, subsistence, and community prosperity. These sites are not ruins but the houses of nonhuman persons: Lacandon have to visit these sites and their owners directly to persuade them to help humans. Lacandon beliefs in ruins may explain the importance of ruined sites in Mesoamerican societies, particularly among Postclassic Maya who also undertook ritual visits to ruins to burn incense and leave offerings.