We Were Taught to Plant Corn Not to Kill: Secrets Behind the Silence of the Mayan People [Paperback]

Douglas London (Author), Taxa London (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0977810402 | ISBN-13: 978-0977810406

My name is Tax'a Leon and this book is about my family and my people, the K'iche' Maya. My father was murdered three years ago. I still have my mother and 12 brothers and sisters. Nothing was done to solve the murder of my father or the people that turn up every day in the cornfields machetied to death. After all the things that have happened to our family there are times when I feel fear and sadness and despair in humanity. I wrote this book to tell people about the armed conflict that is still taking place in my country, Guatemala. The interviews were conducted in my native language K'iche'. People have trusted me and told me their stories. They told me with fear and anxiety in their eyes. Painting was also a way they could express how they feel without having to come up with words that consciously commit them to forming an opinion. The violence continues because no one wants to remember the past and our lips are sealed. We are afraid.. Not long ago, 200,000 people were murdered only 750 miles from Miami. There are people today in our governments who may not want you know about the worst violence that the Americas have seen in this century. This is a portrait of the Mayan people, written by a young Maya K'iche' artist, Tax'a, and her American husband Harvard Medical School researcher Douglas London. Eighty-one paintings by Mayan artists, including K'iche' children's art and photos, accompany graphic testimonies by Maya witnesses. "We Were Taught to Plant Corn not to Kill" is a stunning art book, an uncovering of the secrets behind the silence of the Mayan people and a look at the daily life and culture of the K'iche'. The Maya need your help because history is still happening to them.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This unusual volume was assembled by Tax'a Leon London, a Quiche Maya artist and human rights activist, and her American husband, Harvard international mental health researcher Douglas London. The book is intended to reveal to a general audience the sufferings of countless Guatemalan Mayas during the brutal counterinsurgency campaigns of the 1970s-80s. The authors have adopted an eclectic method to that end. They include 15 brief, moving testimonials by Guatemalan Indians describing personal encounters with terror and violence. The book is lavishly illustrated with 50-odd paintings and drawings by Tax'a Leon and her Guatemalan art students. Douglas London includes various reminiscences of his experiences in Guatemala, going back to his early days there as a Peace Corps volunteer. The work includes a quick overview of several thousand years of Maya cultural history as well as observations and speculations concerning the effect of agricultural change upon public health, Mayan customs of courtship and marriage, the role of the dead in Maya religion and more. Finally, the authors conclude with proposals for education programs in Guatemala that they hope will discourage conflict and violence and promote peaceful means for conflict resolution. Summing Up: Recommended. General, Public and undergraduate libraries." --Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, March 2008

Review

"Through artwork and personal stories, the authors have compiled a most compassionate account of the ongoing conflict between the military and the people of Guatemala. A native Mayan woman and her husband worked together to create a full portrait of the violence and destruction that faces the Mayan people. The book incorporates touching personal stories and interviews, with original art to complete this grand task. The text is thorough, covering topics from Mayan history and culture to the importance of memories and the horror of genocide. The interviews are also thorough, spanning all generations and all types of reactions to the tragedy. The serves the important purpose of shedding light on a current issue often overlooked. The trauma is still very much alive in the hearts of those involved, and that pain is evident in the art and stories. Because of its incredibly personal and detailed nature, this could be an excellent resource for those interested in the Mayan genocide or general Mayan history."

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Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Back Up Books Human Rights Press (April 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0977810402
• ISBN-13: 978-0977810406
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,282,707 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars We Were Taught To Plant Corn Not to Kill, March 21, 2007

By 

Gary A. Goldsmith (Burlington, VT) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: We Were Taught to Plant Corn Not to Kill: Secrets Behind the Silence of the Mayan People (Paperback)

Like many Americans I had vague understanding Middle and South American politics. I knew there had been terrible conflicts. I knew that we, shamefully, had overthrown governments in one or more "banana republics" at the bidding of large corporations, in fear that their enslaved peasant workers would rise up and demand basic human rights. I knew there had been terrible atrocities committed in armed insurgent conflicts and, regrettably, my government always seemed to back the side of repression. I knew these things, but with so much conflict in the world, it was difficult keeping track of all the parties involved. It seemed like every week there was yet another story of some poor victimized group being hacked to death by yet another poor victimized group.

I came to this book because I had an interest in the pre Colombian Mesoamerican cultures, fueled in part by the romanticism of "lost civilizations" and ruins hidden in tropical jungles. These civilizations had great cities, an accurate calendar, a mathematical system that included a zero at a time when my northern European ancestors were barbarians living in small hunter gatherer societies. I have learned that the Maya today in Guatemala, have survived in large numbers, in spite of the collapse of their city/states, the Spanish conquistadores and their diseases, and the destruction of their written history. They have survived in small self governing communities, in lands that they have occupied since before the birth of Christ, only to be treated as hostile aliens, and a threat to be eliminated, by their own government.

The first step of genocide is dehumanization of the victims. The authors, through their unique perspective, have managed to give a face and a name to Maya of Guatemala. Their passionate desire is to bring the light of world attention to the darkness of dehumanization and genocide that threatens to be the final destruction of these ancient and proud peoples. This book is a must read for anyone who has an interest in Native American cultures or basic human rights.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A profoundly important book that should be a part of every academic and community library collection, June 10, 2007

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: We Were Taught to Plant Corn Not to Kill: Secrets Behind the Silence of the Mayan People (Paperback)

"We Were Taught To Plant Corn Not To Kill: Secrets Of The Silence Of The Mayan People" is about the family of young K'iche' artist Tax'a Leon and the genocide of the Mayan people in Guatemala. Her father was found in a corn field having been machetied to death three years ago. After her father's murder (which was never solved by the authorities) Tax'a continues to live with her mother and twelve brothers and sisters. Just a few years ago some 200,000 Mayan people were murdered within 750 miles of Miami, Florida. Illustrated with 81 paintings by Mayan artists and co-written with her husband Doublas London, the articulate and revealing story Tax'a presents is one of daily life and culture among the K'iche', as well as a plea for help to a people to whom incidents of racially driven mass murder is still happening. "We Were Taught To Plant Corn Not To Kill" is a profoundly important book that should be a part of every academic and community library collection, and read by students of Anthropology, Native American Studies, Human Rights, Latin American Studies, and Mayan Cultural Studies.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Testimony, September 10, 2008

By 

J. agosta (New Mexico) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: We Were Taught to Plant Corn Not to Kill: Secrets Behind the Silence of the Mayan People (Paperback)

A beautiful and heartbreaking expose of the experience of the Maya people at the hands of the Guatemalan government. Through testimonials and paintings,including paintings of author Taxa Leon London, herself indigenous Maya, Taxa and husband Douglas London, a health and human rights worker, present the torture and genocide implemented against the Maya over the last decades and through today -- overall a deeply moving and informative work.