Grandmothers, Earth, and Corn: The Maya Woman in the Work of Calixta Gabriel Xiquín

Calixta Gabriel Xiquín, writer/poet and Kaqchikel Maya spiritual guide, desires to bring to our awareness the history of the Maya of Guatemala, the cultural identity of the Maya, and the role of women in Maya culture, history, and worldview. In her books, Tejiendo los sucesos en el tiempo/Weaving Events in Time (2002) and La cosmovisión maya y las mujeres: aportes desde el punto de vista de una ajq’ij (guía espiritual) kaqchikel (2008), Gabriel Xiquín tells us that “being a woman, indigenous, and poor condemns one to exclusion” (La cosmovisión…), but at the same time she says, “Native woman, in your hands rests Mother Earth and in you resides hope” (Tejiendo…). She boldly faces the powers of ethnic and gender discrimination and oppression, while at the same time celebrating her community’s heritage and the role of women in both the spiritual and material realms. Gabriel Xiquín demands that the world pay attention to the needs and contributions of Maya women and their right to be recognized.