Maximón & Mayan-Catholic Syncretism
Joshua 24:14-15
Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped...choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve...
1 Kings 18:21
How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.
Isaiah 28:15
We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we have an agreement.
The origin of Maximón is uncertain, but he is likely a syncretic assimilation of Chac, the Mayan god of rain and thunder, fertility and agriculture and Mam; "grandfather", "the ancient one" combined with Judas Iscariot, Simon the Zealot (San Simon sharing the same Feast Day Oct. 28), and Simon Magus (the Samarian sorcerer/magician of Acts 8:9-24), conquistador Pedro de Alvarado, and Spanish Saint Pascual Bailon (also called San Pascualito and Santo de los Pobres).
Among the Tz'utujil Mayas, Ri Laj Mam or Mam became Maximón, the "patron saint" of merchants, prostitutes, gamblers and drunkards (borrachos), narcotraficantes, and of witchcraft/sorcery/spell casting. Ceremonies are conducted by Nahuales (Shamans) or Aj Kij (Day Keepers) speaking Tz'utujil.
San Simon is worshiped throughout Central American and southern Mexico, especially in highlands north and west of Guatemala City in the states of Sololá, San Juan Sacatepéquez, and Chimaltenango; in the cities of Nahualá, San Jorge La Laguna, and especially in Zunil, San Andrés Itzapa (site of the largest temple), and Santiago Atitlán. In San Lucas Toliman he lives in a large community Casa de Cofradía Santa Cruz with other Catholic figures and altars.
http://www.academia.edu/4643591/Maximon-religious_syncretism_in_Guatemala_for_journal
https://kamranonbike.com/preservation-of-indigenous-spirituality-through-syncretism/
https://edgeofhumanity.com/2016/01/05/maximon/
The Mayan had/have a very complex pantheon, and rituals are still conducted by the Kaqchikel (Sololá), K'iche' of the Guatemalan western highlands (esp. to the earth god Huyup Tak'ah), and the Mam in Quetzaltenango, Huehuetenango, and southern Mexico in Chiapas. The Xinca (Cakchiquel tioh) southeast of Guatemala City in Santa Rosa, Jalapa and Jutiapa are a non-Mayan people group that may blend Maximón with other religious practices.
Kaminaljuyo "The Hill of the Dead" in Guatemala City
https://www.themayanruinswebsite.com/kaminaljuyu.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBPEfKhafSg
Clueless Anglos participating in a Fire Circle ceremony by Lake Atitlan and learning their Nahaul
https://www.guatsp.org/2019/08/25/mayan-fire-ceremony-and-learning-my-nahual/
K'iche' Cofradia Nahuales enter Iglesia de Santo Tomás (Saint Thomas Catholic Church) in Chichicastenango to offer sacrifices on stone alters in the sanctuary
Good Friday Salida Procesión del Señor Sepultado led by Maximón, Santiago Atitlan
