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Tanah
Art Museum
Maya Culture ~ Garcia Sisters
Cayo District, Belize
In the Yucateca Mayan Village of San Antonio,
located on the Cristo Rey Road there is a humble limestone and
clay building with a simple palm thatch leaf roof known as the
Tanah Art Museum.
On display in the museum are magnificent
slate stone carvings of an ancient Caracol ruler, a famous Palenque
elder, a Xunantunich warrior, a Maya ceremonial table for offerings
of thanksgiving, and a replica of the Sun God Kunich Ahua from
Altun Ha, to name just a few. |
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Once a year
the artists collect the slate stone used both now and by their
ancient ancestors for carving from specific locations among the
creeks and river beds. The artists are drawn to particular stones.
The act of walking through the creek bed, getting soaked, putting
hands on the earth, and feeling the smoothness or roughness of
new stone revitalizes both the body and the spirit. It is a sacred
time. These stones,
some small and others very large and bulky, must now be carried
back to their truck on the roadside several miles upstream.
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Back at Museum,
the stones are respectfully closed in sheds or buried underground
until the time comes for carving. The artists seek out their elders
and the expertise of professional archaeologists so that the images
they create will be authentic and true to their cultural history.
They strive to continue to carry on the tradition of slate carving
which had been lost since the ancient days of Caracol, around
613 AD. And they desire most to preserve their culture through
their art. Slate carvings
from the Tanah Art Museum have been exhibited in Costa Rica,
Nicaragua, Mexico, Jamaica, Dominica, United States, Germany,
England, and Japan. The museum has been featured on Discover
America and the Discovery Channel. And travel guide books
now promote this unique Mayan art museum.
Note: Each
of these pieces took approximately six months of patience
and endurance to etch with chisels, knives, hacksaw
blades, and machetes.
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About
The Artists
The
Garcia Sisters began developing
their artistic talents in 1983 when they discovered a piece
of slate in the field and carved it into a whale. They did not
know until much later that this was something called art. They
just knew that something moved from within their hearts and
souls which had incredible energy and vision. It was not until
1995 that they were awarded the distinguished title of Prominent
Artists by the official judges at Belize's Riverfest. Now they
teach youth how to prepare the materials and etch the slate,
school children come to visit from all over the country, and
their art has been exhibited around the world.
Excurstions to the Mountain
Pine Ridge can include a stopover to view their
slate carvings.
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