Cayucos
are dugout canoes that are used on Lago Atitlan, Guatemala for tending fishing
lines and freshwater crab traps, and occasionally just for fun. Now, they are only large enough to carry two
people, but before the advent of fiberglass launches with outboard engines,
huge ones were built to provide transportation across the several-miles-wide
lake. These would be paddled by the
dozens of men and women who were the passengers of the cayucos. In bad weather, it could take days to cross
the lake.
The
information presented here comes primarily from the relation of Juan Vasquez
Tuiz, "Historia de una canoa," found in "Tecnicas del Lago
Atitlan," Quetzltenango: CAEL/ Muni-K'at, 1999, but is also informed by
the other articles listed below.
"Tecnicas del Lago Atitlan" is the result of the inhabitants
of the area of the lake's efforts to preserve in writing their cultural
heritage through the program "Patrimonio Cultural de los Pueblos del Lago
Atitlan."
The
wood for cayucos is obtained in four locations near Lago Atitlan: on the slopes
of Volcan San Lucas, on the southern slope of Volcan de Atitlan, on the hills
around the town of Santiago, and on Cerro de la Burro, a three-and-a-half-hour
walk from the lake.
Before
one begins cutting the wood for a cayuco, a shaman should conduct a ceremony
for asking the permission of the lord of the mountain. Four candles are lit. One is white, which signifies day. This is placed to the east. That to the west is black, which signifies
night. To the north is the color red,
which signifies fire, the wind, and the dry season. To the south is a blue candle signifying water and the
universe. In the middle of these is lit
a green candle which signifies nature.
Later,
the lord of the mountain and Saint Joseph are both invoked, the lord of the
mountain to give permission for the taking of the tree and Saint Joseph because
as a carpenter, he is the patron saint of lumberjacks, woodcutters, canoe
makers, and of everyone who works with wood.
Before the first stroke is taken, one gives a breath which signifies the
asking of permission.
In
the days of the giant cayucos, whole towns would turn out for the work of
lowering the log by means of ropes down the mountainsides to the water’s
edge. The small dugouts of the present
day, however, only require the efforts of a few to bring them to the lake.
The
wood is all chopped out of the center.
Measurements are taken with the hands or fingers to ensure the proper
size and shape of the boat that is taking form. At the shore of the lake, the gum of a pine is cooked. Boards are cut to raise the sides of the
cayuco so the waves can't wash in, and to make the high, pointed bow that will
ride above the waves. These are firmly
pegged in place and sealed with the pine gum.
Sometimes,
many people who want to buy a cayuco will come to arrange to buy one. If not, then the canoe maker has to go out
and offer the canoe all around the shores of the lake, looking for a
buyer. The value of a cayuco is about
two hundred Quetzales, or twenty-six American dollars.
Bibliography:
From
Tecnicas del Lago Atitlan, Quetzltenango: CAEL/ Muni-K'at, 1999:
Cruz
Chepir, Pedro. "Tecnicas para la
fabricacion de canoas" pp. 165 -
167.
Gonzalez
Chavajay, Jose Maria. "Siempre se
utilizo un cayuco para navegar" pp.
128 - 131.
Gonzalez
Coche, Magdalena. "A los cayucos
los traian amarrados con lazo" pp.
216 - 218.
Ixcaya
Xelemango, Pablo. "La technica de
pescar" pp. 68 - 70.
Quiacain
Tuch, Juan. "Casi siempre eran
Atitecos los que hacian el cayuco"
pp. 135 - 138.
Pop
Gonzalez, Feliciano. "Cuando se
deteriora un cayuco" pp. 144 -
149.
Puac,
Francisco. "En las montanas de San
Juan hacian los cayucos" pp. 153 -
156.
Trejo
Chipir, Rafael. "El cayuco del
primer regidor municipal" pp. 123
- 124.
Vasquez
Tuiz, Juan. "Historia de una
canoa," pp. 61 - 64.
Yojcom Tepaz, Pablo. "Hacian cayucos de 4, 5, y 6 brazadas de largo" pp. 159 - 160.