Nan Pa’ch ceremony | Global Knowledge Systems

Overview

The Paach ceremony is a corn-veneration ritual celebrated in San Pedro Sacatepéquez. The ceremony gives thanks for good harvests in a ritual that highlights the close connection between humans and nature and features prayers in the Mam language. The participants are mostly older farmers, both men and women, with extensive ties to the community and who are recognized as its leaders. Four prayer sayers, or ''parlamenteros'', offer prayers during the ceremony, supported by four auxiliary ''parlamenteros''; meanwhile four godmothers dress ceremonial corncobs and coordinate the preparation and serving of food. The Paach ceremony strengthens the identity of the community of San Pedro and its knowledge and respect for nature and its conservation. The transmission process is both oral and practical, with a group leader instructing new members at workshops and children accompanying their...

This record is imported from the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage public dataset as discovery metadata. ARED has not independently verified community authority, access protocols or local naming beyond the source record.

Community and Authority

Communities: Guatemala
Languages: Not specified in UNESCO dataset
Cultural territories: Guatemala
Countries: Guatemala

How the System Works

Music, Performance and Oral Literature Language, Story and Memory Material Culture, Design and Technology Food, Agriculture and Seasonal Practice Ceremony, Spirituality and Cosmology Ways of Knowing and Knowledge Transmission

Sources and Evidence

Imported from UNESCO DataHub dataset ich001. Field-level provenance is retained in the record metadata.

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage ListsDataset

Open original source record

Field-Level Provenance

title: UNESCO DataHub field title_en
preferredTitle: UNESCO DataHub field title_fr
summary: UNESCO DataHub field description_en
type: UNESCO DataHub fields type_of_element_en and type_acronym
countries: UNESCO DataHub field countries, ISO codes resolved with ISO-3166 regional metadata
categories: ARED category inference from UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names and title
relationships: UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names, type fields and World Heritage links
sourceUrl: UNESCO DataHub field http_url_en
rights: UNESCO DataHub dataset metadata license and license_url

Original Source Metadata

uuid046648a6-c5e2-4864-9192-f960abcede66

ich_public_ref863

inscription_year2013

title_enNan Pa’ch ceremony

title_frLa cérémonie de la Nan Pa’ch

type_of_element_enUrgent Safeguarding List

type_acronymUSL

countriesGT

http_url_enhttps://ich.unesco.org/en/USL/00863

concepts_primary_namesAgricultural ritual, Procession, Rituals

concepts_secondary_namesCosmology, Dance, Family, Farmers, Food preparation, Godmother, Idiophones, Incense, Offering, Oral tradition, Percussion instruments, Religious practice, Religious syncretism, Ritual items, Textile arts

main_image_urlhttps://ich.unesco.org/img/photo/thumb/03663-LRG.jpg

main_image_caption_enNot supplied

main_image_copyright2009 by E. Sacayón / FLAAR

main_image_authorEduardo Sacayón

videoshttps://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/QLdKZX6Iufs

images[object Object], [object Object], [object Object]

Why This Record Is Credible

This public record is connected to 1 source and has been labelled Source Supported. ARED separates evidence sources from cultural authority so users can see both provenance and review limits.

Cultural Access

Use this as public discovery metadata only. It does not replace community authority or local access protocols.

Relationships

Agricultural ritual Procession Rituals Cosmology Dance Family Farmers Food preparation Godmother Idiophones Incense UNESCO urgent safeguarding list

Review and Corrections

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