Cementerio de Chichicastenango
Municipio de Chichicastenango, El Quiché, Guatemala
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The Cementerio de Chichicastenango is located on a hill near the center of the town of Chichicastenango, Guatemala. Chichicastenango is in the El Quiché department of Guatemala, and is the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name. Its population in 2018 was 71,394 and it is a K'iche' Maya cultural centre. (According to the 2012 census, 98.5% of the municipality's population is indigenous Mayan K'iche.)
The Cemetery contains over 30,000 graves and features rows upon rows of painted crosses and tall mausoleums, making it a perfect example of Guatemala's brighter outlook on burials. In a town where the majority of the population is indigenous Mayan K'iche, the cemetery is also the home to a variety of rituals on the Day of the Dead, including incense, alcohol, and the occasional chicken as offerings to the deceased. Many tombs are colored based on the person's family status. Tombs may be painted white to represent purity; graves of mothers are painted turquoise for protection; grandparents are marked in yellow to indicate that the golden sun will protect humanity. Other graves break this more traditional mold, painted in lime green or red or the favorite color of the deceased.
Many of the Cemetery gravestones have no Birth or Death Dates and many just have a single date, the Death Date, which is listed as Day/Month/Year (often a cross precedes the date).
The Cementerio de Chichicastenango is located on a hill near the center of the town of Chichicastenango, Guatemala. Chichicastenango is in the El Quiché department of Guatemala, and is the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name. Its population in 2018 was 71,394 and it is a K'iche' Maya cultural centre. (According to the 2012 census, 98.5% of the municipality's population is indigenous Mayan K'iche.)
The Cemetery contains over 30,000 graves and features rows upon rows of painted crosses and tall mausoleums, making it a perfect example of Guatemala's brighter outlook on burials. In a town where the majority of the population is indigenous Mayan K'iche, the cemetery is also the home to a variety of rituals on the Day of the Dead, including incense, alcohol, and the occasional chicken as offerings to the deceased. Many tombs are colored based on the person's family status. Tombs may be painted white to represent purity; graves of mothers are painted turquoise for protection; grandparents are marked in yellow to indicate that the golden sun will protect humanity. Other graves break this more traditional mold, painted in lime green or red or the favorite color of the deceased.
Many of the Cemetery gravestones have no Birth or Death Dates and many just have a single date, the Death Date, which is listed as Day/Month/Year (often a cross precedes the date).
Nearby cemeteries
Santa Cruz del Quiché, Municipio de Santa Cruz del Quiché, El Quiché, Guatemala
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- Percent photographed0%
Santa Cruz del Quiché, Municipio de Santa Cruz del Quiché, El Quiché, Guatemala
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Sololá, Municipio de Sololá, Sololá, Guatemala
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Sololá, Municipio de Sololá, Sololá, Guatemala
- Total memorials50
- Percent photographed98%
- Added: 2 Nov 2020
- Find a Grave Cemetery ID: 2717933
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