Divine and human creations: the ontological condition of the human being and of ritual lacandon utensils

Abstract

The article proposes a comparison between the creation process of human beings, narrated in the Lacandon ontogenic myth, and the elaboration of clay and rubber ritual utensils. The Lacandon people consider these objects as subjects, and give them the condition of person (winik in Mayan language). This allows reflecting on the ontological notions of the studied group, clarifying which is the conception of persona in the local thinking. For such purpose, a comparative study is offered, which takes into account ethnographic data from other contemporary Mayan groups, as well as works inherent to prehispanic Mayas.  It is argued that the condition of a person is not depended on the primary material of which the bodies are constituted, nor the emotional supply, but of a creation process that entails the establishment of a relationship between a Creator and the created subject. Additionally, a new interpretation of the ritual utensils is offered, no longer studied from a symbolic point of view, but from an ontological one, in accordance to the ideas expressed by the informants.