The Maya of the Yucatan have long been drawn into the Mexican state's attempt to create modern Mexican citizens (mestizos). At the same time, they have contended with globalization pressures, first with hemp production and more recently with increased tourism and the fast-growing influence of American-based evangelical Protestantism. Despite these pressures to turn Maya into mestizo, the citizens of the small town of Maxcanu have used subtle forms of resistance-humor, satire, and language-to maintain aspects of their traditional identity. Loewe offers a contemporary look at a Maya community caught between tradition and modernity. He skilfully weaves the history of Mexico and this particular community into the analysis, offering a unique understanding of how one local community has faced the onslaught of modernization.

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables Preface Acknowledgments Introduction: Nationalism, Mestizaje, and Anthropology Part 1. Organizing the Polity: Structures of Coercion and Control 1. A Town in Yucatan: Maxcanu in Historical and Economic Perspective 2. The Gremio System: The Social Organization of Religious Life 3. Making Maya into Mestizo: Identity, Difference, and Cultura regional mestiza Part 2. Critical Perspectives from Below 4. Yucatan's Dancing Pig's Head (Cuch): Parody as a Weapon 5. The Journey of Way Kot: Myth as Cultural Critique 6. Caught in the Spirit: Possession, Prophecy, and Resistance Conclusion: Linkages in the Global Economy Appendix: The Tale of Way Kot: Four Versions Glossary Notes References Index

Author Biography

Ronald Loewe is Professor of Anthropology at California State University, Long Beach. His work has been published in a number of journals, including the Journal of American Folklore, American Anthropologist, and Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry. He is currently an editor of the journal Practicing Anthropologist.