Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Latter-day Saint
History and Religion
At the Laguna de Catemaco Veracruz

At the Laguna de Catemaco Veracruz

Last updated on: October 31, 2024 at 11:01 pm by Dan Peterson

0 Comments

At the Laguna de Catemaco Veracruz 2024-10-31T23:01:49-06:00 Dan Peterson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

John Sorenson proposed Lake Atitlán, in highland Guatemala, as the Book of Mormon’s “Waters of Mormon.” I’m very happy to hope that he’s right. (Wikimedia Commons public domain image)

I’m still attempting to catch up with my blog, reporting from this Interpreter Foundation educational tour.

Our tour manager, Blake Allen, had attempted several times to make contact with the branch president in Panajachel, on the shore of Lake Atitlán, but was unable to do so. He tried again while we were there, but to no avail. We had hoped to attend church at Atitlán on Sunday, 27 October but, in the end, we decided not to do so on the basis of three considerations: (1) We might be a complete surprise to the local branch. (2) We might, accordingly, overwhelm the Saints there. They might not have known what to do when a small horde of non-Hispanophone gringos descended upon them. (3) We had a long day ahead of us.

So we decided to have a kind of testimony meeting aboard the bus, and that turned out well. It was, among other things, a good way to get to know each other.

Laguna de Catemaco desde el Hotel La Finca (Wikimedia Commons public domain image)

We drove down from the Guatemalan highlands to the Pacific coast, near which we eventually crossed the border into México. The border crossing was incredibly slow and inefficient, with the main problem being almost entirely on the Mexican side. (Sorry, my Mexican friends!)

We spent the night of Sunday, 27 October, in Tapachula, México, a city that is located in the far southeast of the state of Chiapas. It is also a place that has been proposed as the area of Lehi’s “land of first inheritance.”

A colossal Olmec head at the La Venta Park in Villahermosa (Wikimedia Commons public domain image)

Now, though, jumping ahead: Checking out of the hotel this morning – Thursday, 31 October (Happy Halloween!) — we drove to an archaeological and zoological garden in Villahermosa called “La Venta.” It’s not the actual archaeological site of La Venta, but it features a large number of Olmec stone sculptures that have been brought in from elsewhere. Among these are the famous massive basalt heads, approximately 3400 years old, that may have been portrait sculptures of Olmec rulers (and that may once have been brightly colored). There are also free-ranging coatimundis and spider monkeys and birds of all kinds and turtles and crocodiles (including one extremely large fellow – or lady – who bestowed an exceedingly fetching and notably toothy smile upon us at a very short distance, albeit from behind a barrier). The general opinion of those who have given the geography of the Book of Mormon serious attention and who favor a Mesoamerican geographical model is that the Olmec are connected in at least some way with the Jaredites.

Unfortunately, we will not see the Monterrey Mexico Temple on this trip (LDS.org). And I’ve already shared a photo here of the temple in Villahermosa.

Before leaving Villahermosa, we drove by the city’s small temple and spent a few minutes taking photographs of it.

We then drove along what is called México’s “golden lane,” passing by both the “place where the sea divides the land.” The model favored by our tour organizer and guide, Blake Allen, and by his father, the late Joseph Allen, identifies that sea with the Gulf of México. We also drove by the “narrow neck of land,” which has commonly been identified as the Isthmus of Tehuantepec:

“And they built a great city by the narrow neck of land, by the place where the sea divides the land.” (Ether 10:20)

Before arriving at Lake Catemaco, where we will spend the night tonight, we passed by a hill named Cerro Cintepec – the summit of which rises about 2500 feet above sea level — which is a part of the Cordillera Neovolcanica of México. (Alas, though, after a day of multiple police checkpoints on the roads and a huge traffic jam caused by one of them, as well as horrendously bad roads, it was already too dark to see it.) Cintepec — which means “corn hill” — may be the Hill Shim from which Mormon obtained the records that would serve as the basis of his summarizing history. The Mayan word xim , which would be pronounced “shim,” signifies “corn.” In the Qʼanjobʼal language, xim is a classifier used with nouns that are related to corn.

“Therefore, when ye are about twenty and four years old I would that ye should remember the things that ye have observed concerning this people; and when ye are of that age go to the land Antum, unto a hill which shall be called Shim; and there have I deposited unto the Lord all the sacred engravings concerning this people.” (Mormon 1:3)

According to the Wikipedia article on the locale,

Catemaco is a tourist destination, with its main attractions being the lake, remnants of the region’s rainforest and a tradition of sorcery/witchcraft that has its roots in the pre-colonial period and is mostly practiced by men. This tradition is well-known in Mexico and attracts clients from various walks of life, including businessmen and national-level politicians. Catemaco holds an annual event in March dedicated to sorcery, which can draw up to 5,000 visitors. . . .

Catemaco is known in Mexico for its community of brujos and brujas, which can be translated as ‘witches’ or ‘sorcerers’, as most are men but some are women. The history of magical practices here extends back to the pre-Hispanic period and may have survived because of its relative isolation, but Lake Catemaco is said to emit a kind of energy, along with the Mono Blanco Mountain that rises above it.

Tomorrow (Friday) is the Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos), by the way. I’m looking forward to it. But, interestingly, Catemaco has no particular connection to the Day of the Dead.

I wonder, though, if there is any connection between Catemaco and what Mormon has to say on the subject of witches and sorcerers:

“And it came to pass that there were sorceries, and witchcrafts, and magics; and the power of the evil one was wrought upon all the face of the land, even unto the fulfilling of all the words of Abinadi, and also Samuel the Lamanite. . . .

“And it came to pass that the Nephites began to repent of their iniquity, and began to cry even as had been prophesied by Samuel the prophet; for behold no man could keep that which was his own, for the thieves, and the robbers, and the murderers, and the magic art, and the witchcraft which was in the land.” (Mormon 1:19; 2:10)

By the way, the Hotel La Finca, where we’re spending the night, is the best in the area, though it’s not remotely luxurious. (Dinner was good, however.) It’s where Mel Gibson stayed when he was here filming his 2006 movie Apocalypto, for which Dr. Richard Hansen (who gave one of the preparatory lectures for this tour) was the expert consultant.

Along the shore of the Laguna of Catemaco Veracruz (Wikimedia Commons public domain image)

Incidentally, I need to acknowledge for at least a moment the delightful outcome of the 2024 Major League Baseball World Series. I grew up a committed fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Still today, my favorite teams are the Dodgers and whoever is playing against the New York Yankees. (The San Francisco Giants are not far behind the Yankees in my disdain, though I think that the edge goes to New York. My antipathy toward the Giants is of ancient date: I had to admit respect for the great Willie Mays and for the late great Willie McCovey. But Juan Marichal was the devil.)

Posted from Catemaco, Veracruz, México

History and Religion

Travel and Religion

Previous Post

October 30, 2024

From the highlands to the lowlands and back again

Next Post

November 1, 2024 "Eternity, Family, and Cosmos"

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"DP: “But Mr. Sutherland worries about the fact that our time, when we can communicate ..."

Theodore Brandley

Learning more about a region of ..."

"Another class of memories are of individuals who previously lived. Some of these remembered individuals ..."

PlasmaMiasma

Accounts of Premortality?

"Sutherland's lecture sounds interesting. He seems to restate the Washington consensus that trade brings peace ..."

B. Wilson

Learning more about a region of ..."

"In a meeting today, I learned another important reason why accurate (or at least as ..."

the PROBLEM

From Serbia’s “White City,” Belgrade

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 March 2014 August 2013 February 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What Christian group believes in the doctrine of transubstantiation?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Catholics Pentecostals Baptists Protestants