Chuu: The Use and Cultural Impact of Sweat Baths by the Ixil Community in Cotzal, Quiché, Guatemala

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Heat, Steam, and Health: The Archaeology of the Mesoamerican Pib Naah (Sweat Baths)" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In recent times, sweat baths are customary within Indigenous communities of the Guatemalan highlands; specifically, in the Ixil population, in places such as la sierra de Los Cuchumatanes, San Gaspar Chajul, San Juan Cotzal, and Santa María Nebaj. This region is known for its cold climate due to its altitude (between 1,200 and 3,837 m asl) and has extensive archaeological remains. The steam baths, also known as Chuu in the Ixil language, are used for various purposes, especially those associated with hygiene, health, gestation, reproduction, and birth. This presentation is possible thanks to the people of Cotzal who agreed to share information about the modern use of the Chuu, its ancestral and cultural importance, and what it represents for them and their past generations. The Chuu tradition survived and overcame the atrocities and human rights violations against the Ixil Indigenous communities during the Civil War in Guatemala.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Heat, Steam, and Health: The Archaeology of the Mesoamerican Pib Naah (Sweat Baths)   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36893.0