Atitlan Digital Archive - Project Description May 2009 Pdf

Atitlan Digital Ethnographic Archive Santiago Atitlán, Sololá, Guatemala 1. Context 2. The proposal I. II.

Description of the Database Repatriation and Networking

III.

Community Engagement

IV.

Documentation

1. Context Santiago Atitlán is on the south shore of Lake Atitlán in the highlands of Guatemala. Atitlán is made up of the Tzutujil Maya, one of the three principal ethnic groups in Guatemala at the time of the conquest. During the colonial period (1524-1821), Atitlán was an important regional center, both administrative and religious. For a variety of reasons, from its regional importance to the attraction to visitors of its natural beauty and cultural richness, through its history there has been a considerable quantity of ethnographic production about the community. Ranging from administrative and church records from the colonial and post-independence periods, works by national historians and chroniclers from 1542 on, writings by travelers from the mid-1800s on, to academic ethnographies in the 1 20th and 21st century, they constitute a large and interesting body of information. Photographic works, beginning as early as 1870, include: Carl Dammann (1870), Alfred P. Maudslay and Alberto Valdeavellano (1880s), Elsie McDougall (1928), F.A. Mitchell-Hedges (bef. 1931), Roberto Eichenberger and Adolfo Biener (1930s), National Geographic (1945, 1947, 1974), Time Life Pictures (1945), Felix McBryde (pub. 1947), E. Michael Mendelson (1952), John D. Early (1970s) Despite the richness and breadth of materials produced, there has been an unfortunate absence of the return of these works and materials to the community. Even currently, aside from a few copies distributed by authors, for structural reasons it is difficult for an enduring and wide access to be provided on a community level. Until very recently, the majority of the population was unable to study or become literate. In recent history, Guatemala’s Civil War (1960s-1997) contributed to the general lack of access to information in many different ways. Today, access to 1

For a list of important works in the last century, see appendix I.

a high school level education in Atitlan is less than 10 years old. There are now a small handful of libraries in the community that have just begun to enable students to do research for their schoolwork and to promote reading. This issue of lack of access to information and information production is a key issue in development. Our project is conceived as an attempt to counteract and reverse a tendency that has for the most part prevailed until now.

2. The Proposal Our objective is the formation of a digital Archive, which could be accessible from public computers, in places such as municipal and private libraries, museums and schools. This archive will consist of digitalized ethnographic material about the town and area, including photographs and postcards, film and audio, manuscripts and other available historic media of relevance to the Atitlán area. Nearly all reside in museum and university archives in other countries, and have never been accessible locally. While in the past the possibility of repatriation of cultural materials held abroad has depended on the establishment of physical housing and displaying institutions like museums, which require strong sources of funding, we believe that currently with the increased availability and access to technology, we can achieve a durable mechanism for repatriation in the community with a relatively small amount of resources. Currently there are many members of the community (especially young people) who use computers and are learning different applications, so we feel that this is an appropriate and practical medium for making available information in a way that was never possible before. The purpose of the Atitlán Digital Archive would be to promote valorization, learning and reexamination of history on a local level by serving as a repository for visual and textual ethnographic materials about the area of Santiago Atitlán freely accessible to members of the community. Areas of work to pursue: 1. Database system 2. Relationships with national and international institutions 3. Community engagement 4. Documentation of processes

I.

Description of the Database a. Database Content b. Database Functions: Storage and Presentation c. Disclaimers and Copyright Protection

a. Database Content As stated above, the Atitlan Digital Ethnographic Archive Database2 will consist of digitalized ethnographic material about the town and area, including photographs and postcards, film and audio, manuscripts and other available historic media of relevance to the Atitlán area. The material can de divided as follows:

Photography 1870-????

Film

SoundMusic

SoundOral History

Manuscripts 15??-????

Published Materials ????-????

Archaeology

Photography: Carl Dammann circa 1870s Alberto Valdeavellano 1880-1910 Alfred P. Maudslay- 1881-1882 Tempest Anderson 1907 Elsie McDougall 1928 Carnegie photographs (Lothrop and Kidder) 1929-1957 F.A. Mitchell Hedges early 1930s Bruce Scherschel – National Geographic and Time/LIFE (1945,1947) Felix McBryde (pub. 1947) E. Michael Mendelson early 1950s Postcards 1920s-1960s (Roberto Eichenberger, and Adolfo Biener in 1930s, Guillermo Mata Amado in the 1960s, etc.) CIRMA (Centro de Investigaciones Regionales de Mesoamerica) Fototeca, Antigua, GuatemalaPhotograph Collections from Guatemala (1880-present), John D. Early Photographs (1960s-70s) 2 For Database Fields, view Appendix II

Manuscripts and Documents: Administrative Documents (Colonial - present day) Tribute Rolls, Censuses, Encomienda and Land Titles, Residencias, Judicial Documents, Government Correspondence, Relaciones Geograficas. Ecclesiastical Documents Censuses, Pastoral Visits, Church Correspondence, Parish registers of baptisms, confirmations, marriage petitions, marriages, births and deaths, Grammars and Dictionaries, and other church documents. Indigenous Documents Titulos and Testamentos, Cofradia Documents

The database is bilingual (Spanish/English) and made in FILEMAKER PRO.

b. Database Functions The database system will perform two functions: Storage and Presentation.

i.

Storage:

The primary function of the Database system is to organize and safeguard the Database Content. In order to properly safeguard the information, steps have been taken to have multiple copies of the database. This will be achieved through the use of backup CD’s and storage units such as external hard drives, etc. the use of external hard drives also facilitates the updating of the kiosks.

ii.

Presentation: Ethnographic Kiosk Program

The Ethnographic Kiosk Program contemplates the establishment of public access points in the Atitlan area, for the sole purpose of visually presenting ethnographic material held in the Archive. Through this program, members of the Atitlan community will be able to browse through the content, organize it by media type, topic, dates, etc. The visual interface should be a simple set of windows designed for people with rudimentary computer skills. As stated above, these will be housed in different educational facilities, which could include libraries, schools, or museums.

The visual interface for the Kiosks is a Runtime Solution developed using Filemaker Pro, which allows for the creation of a stand-alone version of the database that does not need the original program to run (Runtime Solution with kiosk settings). Using Runtime Solution kiosk settings on Filemaker Pro, all menus and windows are limited, ensuring complete control over the content displayed. This also avoids any software copyright infringement, as Runtime Solutions are nonproprietary to Filemaker. Through the use of Internet Café software, the host computer is locked down to only allow for the use of this program or others such as audio/video players. In the event of a re-boot, this software will automatically restart the kiosk software. Physical Kiosk The Kiosk will be 50 inches tall (4ft 2 inches), 20 inches wide, 20 inches deep. The shell will be constructed of 1 1/4 inch square metal tubing covered with 3/8 inch plywood sheet. The bottom will be reinforced with concrete to create a solid base. The Kiosk is composed of two shelves: The bottom shelf will house the CPU and Line Conditioner. This will be locked for protection but will need to be ventilated. This will be achieved using four 12v computer fans. The top shelf will have one face open to house the monitor. Right below this there will be a Keyboard and Mouse for navigating.

c. Disclaimers and Copyright Protection To limit the commercialization and misuse of materials, there will be an obligatory signup and login page and the user will be asked to agree to the Terms of Use. Unless otherwise noted, materials held in the Atitlan Digital Ethnographic Archive are for educational purposes only. Any other petition for use will be dealt with on an individual basis, depending on the final use of the materials. Taking this into account, petitions will be directed to the person or institution that holds the original copyright of the material.

I. Repatriation and Networking An important part of the project will be networking and forming alliances with national and international entities that currently possess materials of interest or have experience with repatriation. This will be important to both obtain permission for the repatriation of information and to learn about similar efforts and experiences. Some national and international institutions housing archival material from Santiago Atitlan: Photographs: Fototeca of CIRMA-Centro de Investigaciones Regionales de Mesoamerica (Guatemala), the Royal Geographic Society, Yorkshire Museum, Pitt Rivers Museum-Oxford University (UK), Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology- Harvard University, Middle American Research Institute-Tulane University, Time/Life/Getty Images, National Geographic, Library of Congress, Smithsonian Institution (USA) Pierre Verger Foundation (Brazil), Archival Documents: Archivo General De Centroamerica, Archivo Ecclesiastico(Guatemala), Archivo General de la Nacion (Mexico), Archivo General de Indias (Spain), Genealogical Society of Utah, Stanford University, Princeton University, Benson Latin American Collection-University of Texas at Austin, Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley (USA)

To begin with, the archive will focus on gathering photographic images and obtaining permission to digitally repatriate them. Manuscript and historical materials that are already available as pdfs on the internet (such as those made available by the Pares digitization project of contents of the Archivo de Las Indias in Seville undertaken under the auspices of Spain’s Ministry of Culture) will be included. In the future, the archive plans to raise funds and obtain assistance to digitize different manuscript collections that have been located that relate to the region held within Guatemala and abroad.

II. Community Engagement Intercommunity alliances will also be essential to enable the long term preservation of access in the community to these materials. Dialogue within the community will be encouraged through educational activities and the inclusion of different sectors. A)

Establish venues for publicly accessible computers (Kiosks) in different educational and cultural facilities in Santiago Atitlán (libraries, schools, etc.). Ideal locations to begin with would be: i) Biblioteca Puerta Abierta, Canton Xechivoy. The library was designed to create a comfortable and inviting space for local children to explore literature. ii) Municipal Library. Also a small children´s library, attached to the municipality. iii) Museo de Chukumuk: Built but not yet filled. Government agencies, nongovernment organizations and Comunitary Development Comittees (Cocodes- Comites Comunitarios de Desarollo ) from several municipalities are working on the plans for museography and administration.

B) Open a dialogue space within the community through slideshow presentations and other educational activities with different sectors of the population. By encouraging the younger generation to organize showings of this material to the older generation, young people will not only take a proactive part in the preservation of this historical material, but also help span the bridge between the generations. This will hopefully contribute to the promotion and preservation of ancestral values and customs that are in risk. Groups of interests would be: Primary School Students Secondary and Technical School Students Asociaciones de Jovenes Mayas (Maya Youth Associations) Teachers Consejos de Ancianos (Councils of Elders) Cofradias (Religious Confraternities) Family Groups Religious institutions Civil Society COMUDES and COCODES (Municipal and Communitary Development Comittees) Community and Nongovernmental Organizations Local Government

Mayor and Municipal Council

III.

Documentation

Ideally, these activities can be documented by note taking, and film or audio when possible. Any information resulting from these presentations would then be added to the database during the next updating period.

Appendix I Important ethnographic works include: Elsie McDougall, 1955, ¨Easter Ceremonies at Santiago Atitlan in 1930.” Notes on Middle American Archaeology and Ethnology, December 1955); Samuel Lothrop, 1933, Atitlan, An Archaeological Study of Ancient Remains on the Borders of Lake Atitlan, Guatemala; Erna Fergusson, 1937, Guatemala; E. Michael Mendelson (PhD dissertation, 1956, Religion and World-View in Santiago Atitlan; 1965, Los Escandalos de Maximon); William G. Douglas, Ph.D. dissertation, 1969, Illness and Curing in Santiago Atitlán, a Tzutujil-Maya Community in the Southwestern Highlands of Guatemala; Linda Lee O’Brien, Ph.D. dissertation, 1975, Songs of the Face of the Earth: Ancestor Songs of the Tzutuhil-Maya of Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala; John D. Early, 1970. ¨Demographic Profile of a Maya Community: The Atitecos of Santiago Atitlan¨ The Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly, Vol. 48, No. 2, Part 1 (Apr., 1970); Nathaniel Tarn and Martin Prechtel 1981, 1983, 1986, 1990,1995, c1997 Scandals in the house of birds : shamans and priests on Lake Atitlan; James D. Sexton. 1999. Heart of Heaven, Heart of Earth and other Maya Folktales; Orellana, S.L. 1984. The Tzutujil Mayas, Continuity and Change, 1250-1630; Robert S. Carlsen. 1997 The War for the Heart and Soul of a Highland Maya Town; Robert S. Carlsen and Martin Prechtel, 1988, 1991; Vincent J. Stanzione, 2000, Rituals of Sacrifice: Walking the Face of the Earth on the Sacred Path of the Sun: A Journey Through theTzutujil Maya World of Santiago Atitlán; Allen J. Christenson, 2001, Art and Society in a Highland Maya Community: The Altarpiece of Santiago Atitlán.

Appendix II - Database Fields The Fields of the PHOTOGRAPHIC DATABASE are: Tags Photography Collection Photographer

Property of Original Cataloguing Information Date Taken Location URL or website (if online) Code Date of Entry Description Image

The Fields of the MANUSCRIPT AND DOCUMENT DATABASE are: Tags Author Title Language Type of Document Property of Collection Original Cataloguing Information Date Location URL or website (if online) Code Date of Entry Description Image