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8The church of St John the Baptist in Chichan k’u’ was a typical example of Mayan rituals and Catholic syncretism.
Twenty steps led to double front doors set in a whitewashed facade on the east side. Predating the Spaniards, the steps represented the twenty days of the Maya calendar. Inside, at the west end of the church, above an altar where the Maya conducted their ceremonies for the dead, hung a wooden crucified Jesus. Inscribed at the base of the crucifix: Itzamna – the Maya equivalent of Jesus. Shafts of sunlight from the stained glass above the east entrance illumined the altar and lightened the orange pallor cast by hundreds of flickering candles. Alcoves in the walls held statues of Catholic saints, but their pedestals bore names of Mayan deities. Wax from countless candles spi
