Guatemala, land of the Maya

The informative narrative and lengthy, detailed scenes make this travel film useful for research. The film surveys many aspects of Guatemala. The film opens with views of a complex of Mayan ruins near Tikal, its temples, plazas, causeways, ball courts, palaces, bas-reliefs of great masks, stelae and altars, and the surrounding jungle with its ceiba, guanacaste, and mahogany trees. At the Dyers' jungle camp near a waterway, the party fishes for dinner. Howler monkeys, parrots, and a column of ants carrying bits of leaves are seen, as well as more ruins and the surrounding jungle. The party crosses the Rio Dulce on ferry boats. The cemetery at Aguas Calientes, Coban and its native market, volcanoes near Antigua, and irrigation methods employed near Zunil are shown and discussed. As textiles are woven in San Antonio, Aguas Calientes, Gurnee Dyer explores the symbols of Christianity woven into the cloth and evident in other native arts, and discusses the interweaving of Christian and pagan elements in religious life while showing scenes of the main church at Chichicastenango, where worshipers burn incense to both the Christian god and the pagan gods. Attention is given to Guatemalan tie-dye weaving in Solcaja, its village of origin. In the Momostenang market, parrots and canaries tell fortunes by pulling cards from drums. The Dyers visit the ruins of Zaculeu near Huehuetenango. While men dance wearing costumes representing monkeys, birds, and conquistadors, Dyer discusses the combination of Christian and pagan elements manifested in the dances. Textiles, weaving, spinning wheels, foot looms, road maintenance, sheep tending, corn beating, and water fetching in the areas surrounding Huehuetenango are filmed. The film ends with scenes of the villages around Lake Atitlan.