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"This is the first book I am aware of that focuses primarily on the issue of domestic violence in Mexico and Central America. . . . It is a courageous undertaking for the author to write on this topic, and she carries it off with grace, humility, and honesty. . . . This book has far more potential to be of interest to a general readership than most academic books."--Lynn Stephen, Professor of Anthropology, University of OregonMarriage among the Maya of Central America is a model of complementarity between a man and a woman. This union demands mutual respect and mutual service. Yet some husbands beat their wives.In this pioneering book, Laura McClusky examines the lives of several Mopan Maya women in Belize. Using engaging ethnographic narratives and a highly accessible analysis of the lives that have unfolded before her, McClusky explores Mayan women's strategies for enduring, escaping, and avoiding abuse. Factors such as gender, age inequalities, marriage patterns, family structure, educational opportunities, and economic development all play a role in either preventing or contributing to domestic violence in the village. McClusky argues that using narrative ethnography, instead of cold statistics or dehumanized theoretical models, helps to keep the focus on people, "rehumanizing" our understanding of violence. This highly accessible book brings to the social sciences new ways of thinking about, representing, and studying abuse, marriage, death, gender roles, and violence. ... Read more

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Belize has recently come to the attention to global strategic planners.This report puts these executives on the fast track.Ten chapters provide: an overview of how to strategically access this important market, a discussion on economic fundamentals, marketing & distribution options, export and direct investment options, and full risk assessments (political, cultural, legal, human resources).Ample statistical benchmarks and comparative graphs are given. ... Read more

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The Maya Atlas was made by the forty-two Ke'kchi and Mopan Maya communities of southern Belize. The maps, text, drawings, photographs and interviews were done by Maya village researchers and cartographers elected by the communities. In their own words and with their own maps, the Maya describe their land and life, the threats to their culture and rain forest, and their desire to protect and manage their own Homeland. The Atlas is an important step in developing a Maya Homeland. The Maya researchers and cartographers made the Atlas so that their communities, young people and leaders would have a comprehensive, village-by-village, regional understanding of the state of Maya natural and human resources and their traditions of living in harmony with nature - what is being lost, and what needs to be preserved and developed. The Atlas is a window to both the ancient and modern Maya world. The Atlas will appeal to people interested in indigenous rights, environmental issues, Latin America, arts, ethnography, traditional knowledge, community-based conservation, and the New Cartography, which involves cartographers assisting local communities to map their own lands and land use. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

The Modern Mays--an Oral History of Belize
This is visually a beautiful book and obviously a labor of love for all parties involved.Since the book has such impeccable scholarly ties to U C Berkley, the National Geographic Society, the MacArthur Foundation, and the Lannan Foundation, however, I would like to have seen a disclaimer.The Maya of southern Belize are not historians.Like other people who hand down stories because they have no written language (or in the case of the Maya, have forgotten it), the "facts" depend on the memory of the person telling the story.About half of the book describes each Maya village in southern Belize, and some of the descriptions are simply inaccurate.The village of Santa Elena, for example, was not founded by Enriques, Martin, and Marto Choc; these men (except Marto) were middle-aged when I lived in Santa Elena, and they told me that Jose Tux and Pavian Chen had settled there before they did.They called theirvillage Rio Blanco. Only the priest called it Santa Elena.(The people who live there still call it Rio Blanco when they speak among themselves.)I was teaching school when the first "santo" was brought it, and it was not a statue of Santa Elena--she cost too much.So the statues of three lesser saints were brought in.I have photographs of the ceremony, which took place in 1964.

The history of Big Falls is similarly inaccurate. The people of Crique Sarco did not follow Don Owen-Lewis to Big Falls in order to work for him.They followed him because he had lived in Crique Sarco for many years and they were his friends.I met Manuel and Petrona Xi three years ago in Big Falls--I had first met them in Crique Sarco.Don Owen-Lewis, formerly Amer-Indian Development Officer, has never "employed" Maya workers.

Wonderful close up view of Mayan people in Belize
My experience has been as part of medical and dental support to the villages in the Toledo District since 1988. The maps are accurate and give a feeling that you are walking down the trails with the writer. This is an excellent presentation of the villagers at a level rarely seen in such a book. It is mostly written by the villagers and has their perspective. Clearly written by those that love and are proud of their traditions and culture. The book is a beautiful reflection of a beautiful and kind people.

Wonderful book!
I lived in Belize for two years and was fortunate enough to travel extensively throughout southern Belize, the Toledo district that this book brings to life so well. The time that I spent with the Mayans in the region impacted my life dramatically, to the point I wrote my own book concerning my time there ("Following Mateo" by Tom Molanphy, available through amazon.com and trafford.com). The Maya Atlas was an invaluable resource for me while trying to portray a fair picture of the Mayans of southern Toledo; in fact, it was the only book I found that focused exclusively on the Belizean Mayan lifestyle and the challenges to that lifestyle. Full of wonderful color maps and photos, this books tells the story of Belize in the words of Mayans themselves. I'd recommend this book to anyone who wishes to learn about a fascinating and endangered culture. ... Read more

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The small nation of Belize has long been separated from its Central American neighbors by history, language and culture. Formerly a British colony, this English-speaking country has traditionally looked towards the Caribbean islands rather than Central America for its economic and political links. Yet Belize's enclave status is increasingly a thing of the past, as trade, cross-border migration and a booming eco-tourism industry break down old barriers and put pressure on the country's social structures and natural resources.As Belize's agricultural mainstays face an uncertain future, the country has opted for green tourism and service industries as economic alternatives. Beaches, coral reefs and the rainforest are now at the forefront of the Belizean economy, a development with serious implications for the country's environment and indigenous communities.Belize in Focus is an authoritative and up-to-date guide to this spectacular country. It explores the land, history and politics, economy, society and people, culture and environment, and includes tips on where to go and what to see. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

So so book
The book was just "so so". It was a little out-dated but it was rather cheap. Delivery was fast.

Useful, detailed
It's good to read these details of the People, Politics and Culture, as the author subtitles it.

The "Adapter Kit Belize" was read more thoroughly and had more useful details before we made our first trip to the country. ... Read more

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Chapters: Belizean Creole, Culture of Belize, Palo de Mayo, Public Holidays in Belize, September Celebrations of Belize, National Library Service of Belize, Belize International Film Festival. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 35. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Belizean Creole English, known as Kriol by its speakers, is an English-based creole language most closely related to Miskito Coastal Creole, Limón Coastal Creole, Colón Creole, San Andrés and Providencia Creole, Guyanese Creole, Jamaican Patois and English creoles of the Caribbean show similarity as well. Kriol has about 400,000 speakers, in Belize (where it is the lingua franca and is spoken by 70% of the population) and in the Belizean diaspora, mostly in the United States. Kriol was historically spoken by the Kriols, a population of mainly African and British ancestry. However, most Belizean Garifunas, Mestizos, Maya, and other ethnic groups speak Kriol as at least a second language, and it is the only true common language among all groups. Belizean Kriol is a creole language deriving mainly from English. Its substrate languages are the Native American language Miskito, and the various West African languages which were brought into the country by slaves. These include Akan, Igbo, and Twi. The pidgin that emerged due to the contact of English landowners and their West African slaves to ensure basic communication was extended over the years. The actual creolization occurred around 1680-1700, when the British were firmly settled in the Caribbean. It was not, however, the Belizean Kriol known today, but the so-called Mískito Coast Creole which developed into the Belizean Kriol over the years. Jamaicans were also brought to the colony, further adding to the vocabulary, and eventually it became the mother tongue of the slaves...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=3075540 ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Countries and Their Cultures, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 1163 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Covers the broad range of popular religious culture of the United States at the close of the twentieth century. Beliefs, practices, symbols, traditions, movements, organizations, and leaders from the many traditions in the pluralistic American community are represented. Also includes cults and phenomena that drew followers, such as Heaven's Gale and UFOs. ... Read more

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This multicultural activity book celebrates the myriad cultures of Mexico and Central America and their shared ancient Aztec and Mayan roots. For each country, a brief introduction is provided that includes illustrated maps and facts about population and geography. More than 40 projects and three dramatic play scripts explore the interconnectedness of these countries and help children experience aspects of daily life throughout the region including school, work, home, art and poetry, food and agriculture, and special holidays. Activities include embroidering Mayan designs, painting in the Salvadoran style, creating an ofrenda for the Day of the Dead, crafting political puppets, cooking chocobananas, and making piñatas. Engaging sidebars throughout the book provide children with an introduction to the Spanish language. Also included are tips for teachers who want to use the activities in the classroom, complete with more specific age ranges and suggested modifications. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Very politicized

I'm an elementary school Spanish teacher, and this book looked wonderful to me at first glance. Yes, there are lots of cute crafts and recipes, and lots of info about geography, history, and culture. However, there's definitely a whiff of PC here, and an anti-American, anti-European,
pro-illegal immigration slant. Lots of material about strikes, unions,
sweatshops, the evils of big business, etc. Yes, the history of Latin America is very complex, and colonization was not a pretty thing, but this book's leftist/socialist slant is excessive. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

Belizean food and its place in the world
In Home Cooking in the Global Village: Caribbean Food from Buccaneers to Ecotourists, anthropologist Richard Wilk argues against the simplistic notion that in today's hyper-connected world, "...culinary diversity is disappearing under a monotonous food landscape of burgers and fries." That's only one way to look at it, Wilk says; the other way is to see "the inevitability of globalization but ... compromise and reduce its impact by adapting and preserving local and ethnic traditions of food, music, dance, and language."

Rather than colonial and Western civilizations swallowing local culture, says Wilk, it's more global give-and-take. In other words, the same forces and factors which created the small creolized country of Belize in the first place eventually created "Belizean food," a concept that didn't even exist until the arrival of the tourist industry.

By studying Belize's food history, Wilk addresses the country's evolution from colonial backwater to international destination by looking at what people ate and what items were imported and exported from its shores. He also takes on the eternal Belizean paradox: why has such a rich, fertile chunk of Central America always had to rely on tinned food from Europe and the United States? The answer surprised me.

The book is full of many tasty, interesting morsels -- including recipes at the end of each chapter.

Review of "Home Cooking in the Global Village"
This excellent book, which I recently taught in an upper level undergraduate course, examines Belizean food from the time of Europeans' arrival to the present.It moves beyond the dichotomies of cultural homogenization and hybridity or resistance to show that globalization and localization are part of the same process and this has been true for several centuries.It is without a doubt the best thing I have read on globalization and consumption and I'll be thinking a lot about it as I develop my research on consumer culture in Latin America.I particularly liked the analyses of the symbolism of meat among pirates, respectability and reputation, the style sandwich, and the rise of Belizean cuisine.The idea of "home cooking" conterposed to the fast vs. slow food debate is terrific, and closing the book with the "beans and rice" recipe was a delightful touch. I would strongly recommend it to readers interested in globalization and consumer culture in Latin America as well as food studies. ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Broadcasting Corporation of Belize, otherwise known as Radio Belize, was a radio station in Belize that shut down in November 1998. Until the 1980s it was Belize's only radio station. The BCB began as the British Honduras Broadcasting Service, modeled on the home country's British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Amandala columnist Selvin "Smokey Joe" Wade remembers the station by its original callsign, ZIK 2, with which it signed on in the 1930s. At this stage it played mainly music from abroad. With the rise of the nationalist movement efforts were made to bring the BHBS closer to Belizean identity and it assumed the name Radio Belize. ... Read more

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This collection argues for a new conceptualization of intellectual disability that stresses its cultural variability and social construction, and deemphasizes its medicalized, physiological nature. It is aimed at disability specialists in social anthropology, sociology, social policy, and psychology, and at the broader health/medical anthropology audience. It is novel and radical in its treatment of intellectual disability not purely as an inherent property of individuals, but also as a social phenomenon. ... Read more