The pilgrimage-fair and the classic Maya variations on a theme
Date
1984
Authors
Landon, Thelma
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Abstract
The pilgrimage-fair model was originally proposed by Freidel (1981) as one way to account for the Maya pattern of dispersed residence and production in a socially and economically complex society. This study expands on that proposal by looking at the Maya situation in more detail, by adding a cross-cultural perspective, and by stressing the integrative aspects of the concept. The general suitability and explanatory potential of the model are reviewed using three different modes of inquiry: (1) an archaeological, ethnohistorical, and ethnographical reconstruction of Classic Maya civilization; (2) comparative analogy with three other early civilizations--the Khmer of Southeast Asia, the Yoruba of West Africa, and the Tibetans of Central Asia; and (3) settlement pattern analyses of eight subregions within the Maya area.
The cultural traditions that we call Classic Maya civilization extended over a large part of Mesoamerica and persisted for many centuries. However, there was very little centralization of political authority, settlement, or production, in spite of the presence of characteristics that usually exert centralizing pressures (e.g., intensive agriculture, social stratification, specialization). The pilgrimage-fair, with its intrinsic coalescence of religion and economics, contributed to this unusual configuration. Pilgrimages and fairs both required travel to central places, or focal points, at regular intervals, one for spiritual purposes and the other for material ones. When the pilgrim was also a trader, the conjunction of sacred and secular motives, goals, and benefits had profound consequences. It discouraged regionalism, promoted economic interdependence, and effected wide distribution of culture traits including language, art and architecture, and cosmology. A high degree of integration was attained without a central authority to impose or enforce it. The persuasive power of sanctification, added to the satisfaction of material needs, was sufficient.