The little museum at the coffee plantation had this display which is of Maximon. We saw the "real deal" in Santiago at Lake Atitlan. He is the Mayan God of the underworld, according to my guidebook. He is known as the saint of gamblers and drunkards, and is thought to give wealth and worldly success to his followers.
When we visited a place that was worshipping him, we couldn't believe our eyes -- he had a lit cigarette where someone would occasionally remove the ash, and in front of him was a case of 24 bottles of beer! We really didn't know what to make of all this!
There were candles, a Mayan priest chanting, and lots of heavy duty incense burning. I think they were chanting in the Mayan language Quiche. This is just the display at the museum, but the real version that we visited was downright creepy!
When we visited a place that was worshipping him, we couldn't believe our eyes -- he had a lit cigarette where someone would occasionally remove the ash, and in front of him was a case of 24 bottles of beer! We really didn't know what to make of all this!
There were candles, a Mayan priest chanting, and lots of heavy duty incense burning. I think they were chanting in the Mayan language Quiche. This is just the display at the museum, but the real version that we visited was downright creepy! 
