Author: Ella Békési

The first time I visited Belize was the summer of 2014, as part of an archaeological fieldwork project with my university. I spent one month in a small village called Indian Church, in the north of Belize, because of its vicinity to Lamanai Archaeological Reserve, where we excavated a British Colonial/Maya site. Indian Church was initially located within the premises of Lamanai until its residents were moved a mile south in the early 1990s to give space for the reserve’s development. In fact, the village originally got its name from the “urban name” of Lamanai, which refers to the ruins of the colonial Spanish churches on the site. After the early archaeological excavations, the ancient name of the site was identified to come from “Laman’ayin”, meaning “Submerged Crocodile”.Today, Indian Church is a hidden gem in the jungle of the Lamanai Archaeological Reserve. Many tourists, who visit Lamanai, don’t even know of the village’s existence.

 

It didn’t take me long to fall in love with the village and the country in its entirety. It is a place, where more things happen in a month than in an entire year back at home. Climbing Maya temples, going on nature walks, hanging out with your new friends in the village, attending afternoon BBQs, quinceañeras, and birthdays – really brings people together. By the end of the month, my friends and I were hooked on Belize life. We all returned to the country and Indian Church village several times in the coming years, and I became one of the many people who come for a few days and just never leave.

As I spent more time in Indian Church, I couldn’t help but notice the degrading connection between the residents and the site of Lamanai. It led me towards a Masters in Cultural Heritage, and an ethnographic study on sustainable heritage management and community engagement. I was interested in finding out about the village’s history and the people who used to live inside the archaeological park, amongst the Maya ruins. I noticed how the entire village is constructed to cater to tourism. New restaurants and guest houses have been built in the past 4 years, yet Indian Church itself is empty, while tourism at the site of Lamanai is prospering a mile away. 

There is enormous potential in Indian Church. People are ambitious with an incredible entrepreneurial spirit and love for their environment and heritage. They are under the impact of developing tourism, which could bring stable income and encourage self-sustainable cultural preservation.

During a chat with Alexis Alvarez, a Tourism Management student in his final year at Centro Escolar Mexico Junior College in Belize, he told me “the main issue is that people in Indian Church are not aware of the potential of the resources surrounding them.” Alexis was born in Belize and grew up in Indian Church. His family was one of the first to settle in the village, and many of them still live there today.

“We do have many people starting businesses, guest houses, restaurants, freelance tour guide services, but they don’t know how to promote themselves. This is mainly because of the lack of internet facilities or electricity. It is hard to run a business if you can’t check your emails every day or can’t create a website. I know that we do want to participate in preserving Lamanai. It is a beautiful site with a long and complicated history, and we would love to add our part about our small village history and traditions. It is our home, and I feel like by getting to know our village, you can be part of Lamanai’s living history.”

If you are interested in visiting Lamanai Reserve and Indian Church Village, to help entrepreneurs and local businesses, feel free to contact me at ellabekesi@gmail.com

To know more about the archaeological work at Lamanai visit:  www.lamanai.org.uk  or www.nichbelize.org