Belize
The only country to have people on its flag, it’s no surprise that Belize is home to a variety of ethnic groups living in harmony in the land of jaguars, caves, coral reef atolls, tapirs, and the marimba. As Geography Now! host Paul Barbato said, “Where else are you going to find black Mennonites wearing bonnets speaking German with toucans in their backyards and English-speaking Mayans diving into 400 foot deep holes?”
THE MAYA were the first to make their HOME in BELIZE. The name “Belize” likely came from the Mayan word belix or beliz meaning “muddy-watered.” Back in the heyday of the Maya, there used to be about one million people, compared with 397,628 Belizeans as of 2020, living in the 180 mile long and 68 mile wide area, slightly smaller than the US state of Massachusetts. Mayan civilization declined beginning in 900 AD and there is a misperception that the Maya people went away. They didn’t. They have lived and continue to live in the Yucatan peninsula. In Belize, there are three main Maya people groups: Yucatec, Mopan, Q’eqchi’ (Kekchi).
The Kekchi Maya cultural Deer Dance depicts the coming together of the Maya and Spanish people. Select the name to see the dance.
Ancient Maya religion regarded the world as a quadrangle supported at the corners by deities known as bacabs with a giant ceiba tree at the center that reached from the sky to Xibalba, the underworld. The word “Xibalba” means “place of fright.” Some believed that the cave systems currently in Belize were the entrance to Xibalba. The Maya believed that a virtuous person could become a ceiba tree after death. Mayan deities include the sun god Kinich Ahau (K’inich Ajaw), the rain god Chac, the goddess of healing Ix Chel, and a number of jaguar gods such as Jaguar God of Terrestrial Fire and Jaguar God of the Underworld. The Maya believed that writing was invented by the god Itzamna and is protected by the gods Hun Batz and Hun Chuen, brothers of the Hero Twins. The Maya developed a logosyllabic system of writing with hundreds of hieroglyphic symbols. Select Maya Writing to learn more.
Mayans grew corn, beans, and squash on a crop rotation system: cultivate two years, rest eight years. The Maya were the first to cultivate and produce chocolate, which they called Xocoatl. It was a rich drink used in ceremonies. Select History of Chocolate for more information. Mayan foods include tamales wrapped in banana or plantain leaf, the traditional Kekchi and Mopan Mayan chicken soup called Caldo de Pollo, and the ancient Mayan Pibil, an entire pig slowcooked underground in a marinade of orange juice and spices and shredded to eat with pico de gallo and handmade corn torillas.
To listen to the Maya Harp, select Ancient Mayan Orphan Song. For Maya Marimba, select Mayan Music 2.
To learn more about the Maya, select The Maya of Belize and The Best Mayan Ruins to Visit in Belize.
The MESTIZO people made their HOME in BELIZE beginning in the 1500s when Spanish explorers intermarried with the Maya. There is a story of Gonzalo Guerrero, a Spanish sailor shipwrecked in 1511 who embraced the Mayan culture and is considered the father of the first Mestizo (mixed) children. It wasn’t until 1847 that waves of Mestizos began to arrive from Mexico as they fled the revolt of the Maya known as the Caste War. Credited as the first sugar farmers in Belize, Mestizos represent roughly 53% of the population as of 2020.
The KRIOL (CREOLE) made their HOME in BELIZE starting in the 17th century when slaves that were brought over from West Africa intermarried with European loggers. The Kriol language is a phonetic off-shoot of English with traces of Spanish, French, and West African languages. Some fascinating phrases are
“Gud mawnin” for “Good morning”
“Weh di go aan?” for “What’s going on?”
“Weh yu naym?” for “What’s your name?”
“Aarait” for “Fine, alright”
“Weh taim yu gat?” for “What time is it?”
“Ah pekish” for “I’m hungry”
“Meh noh andastan” for “I don’t understand”
As you can see, with some patience, it’s possible for an English speaker to figure out Kriol.
Select Talk Like a Belizean! Kriol Language Intro Guide to learn more.
Boil Up, the national dish of Belize, is from Kriol cuisine and consists of a tomato sauce with boiled eggs, fish or pig tails, with cassava, plantain, sweet potatoes, and other vegetables. Select How to Make Belizean Boil Up for a recipe.
Brukdown is a Belizean Kriol music related to calypso and has its roots in the songs of enslaved African loggers. Wilfred Peters is called the King of Brukdown. Select his name to read about him and his title to hear his music.
The GARINAGU (GARIFUNA) made their HOME in BELIZE on November 19, 1802, celebrated each year as Garifuna Settlement Day. They came from the island of St. Vincent where Spanish ships carrying slaves from West Africa were shipwrecked and those slaves intermarried with the indigenous Arawak to become the Garinagu. When Great Britain took control of St. Vincent in 1798, they sailed west, arriving at what is today Dangriga, Belize. The people are called Garinagu and their language and culture is called Garifuna. The Garifuna language is a fascinating mix of Arawak and Carib.
Garifuna food is very popular in Belize. Cassava bread, which takes several days to make, is a staple of Garifuna meals. Favorite dishes are hudut (mashed plantain (fu-fu) in a fish coconut stew), and dharasa (tamales made with green bananas). Select How to Make Hudut for a recipe and more information.
Popular Punta and Paranda music styles have their roots with the Garinagu people. Select Wátina – Andy Palacio to listen to some Punta music. Select Paranda King Paul Nabor and Paranda King Paul Nabor Passes.
The MENNONITES made their HOME in BELIZE when they migrated from Mexico in 1958, speaking a form of German called Plautdietsch, setting up communities in the northwest of Belize where they live simple, austere, isolated lives, yet are friendly and contribute grains and carpentry to the Belizean economy.
People from all over the world continue to immigrate to Belize where there is a growing population of East Indians and Chinese entrepreneurs.
To read more about the cultures of Belize, select Belize Culture – Ethnic Groups Explained.
Belizean literature begins with Belizean folklore.
Anansi, a beloved Belizean folklore character originating in Africa, is a trickster who takes the shape of a spider.
Tata Duende, a powerful protector of animals known to lure children into the jungle, is a mythic figure used to inspire good behavior in children. “Tata” means “Grandfather” in Yucatec Maya and “Duende” means “elfish spirit” in Spanish, so it is truly a Mestizo character.
Lang Bobi Suzi is a female monster of Kriol legend who whips misbehaving children with her breasts.
La Llorona, the Weeping Woman or the Wailer, is a ghost who roams the waterfront mourning her drowned children; it is a Mexican legend to discourage children from wandering alone after dark.
X’tabai (Xtabay) is a female demon in Yucatec Maya myth who dwells in the forest, hiding behind a ceiba tree, to lure men to their deaths.
The white cadejo is a good spirit and the black cadejo is a bad spirit in Central American myth; they both appear at night to travelers.
To read more about Belizean mythology, select Get to Know Belizean Folklore and Belize Folklore Legends.
The most famous Belizean writer is Zee Edgell and her first novel, Beka Lamb, published in 1982, is highly regarded in Belize. Born in Belize City in 1940, Edgell wrote four novels, taught at Kent State University, and died on December 20, 2020.
To read more about Zee Edgell, select Bomb Magazine: Zee Edgell by Bernardine Evaristo.
John Alexander Watler was a journalist, poet, playwright, and short story writer born in Monkey River.
Adele Ramos, granddaughter of Garifuna leader Thomas Vincent Ramos, founded the Belizean Poets Society in 2005.
Select How Belizean Writer Adele Ramos Came To Be Her Country’s Biggest Poet to learn more about her.
Zoila Ellis, born in Dangriga in 1957, is an acclaimed short story writer of Garifuna heritage.
Ix-Chel Poot won the 2015 Belize Literary Prize for her short story “Mama.”
The Belize Writers’ Conference was founded in 2018 by Belizean writer Joey Garcia who wanted to give the writers of her country an international voice.
Select Belizean Writers and Belizean Literature to read more.
BELIZE ISLANDS North to South:
Belize has 450 islands and three atolls. Islands are called “Cayes” pronounced “KEES.”
Snorkeling, scuba diving, and sea kayaking are popular in Belize.
Select Sea Kayaking in Belize to read more.
Select Kayaking Belize’s Barrier Reef to get an idea about what it’s like to kayak from island to island including sailing with the kayak when the wind is right.
To read about the islands, select The Best Islands in Belize and Exploring the Atolls of Belize, and 6 Cayes that aren’t Caye Caulker or Ambergris Caye.
The Belize Barrier Reef runs 185 miles along the coast. It is the second largest barrier reef in the world with Australia’s Great Barrier Reef the largest at 1,430 miles long.
Ambergris Caye, named for the bile secretion of a sperm whale, is Belize’s largest island at 40 kilometers long and 1.6 kilometers wide. It has white sand beaches with mangrove swamps in the center.
Ambergris Caye has one town, San Pedro Town, where the streets are full of sand, dive sites are numerous, and there are parrotfish, moray eels, nurse sharks, stingrays, and a Shark Ray Alley.
Marco Gonzalez Maya Site, a Maya maritime trade hub on the southern tip of Ambergris Caye, is now designated as a reserve and is in the process of creating a place that can be visited.
Hol Chan Marine Reserve includes Belize Reef, Seagrass Beds, Mangroves, and Shark Ray Alley. “Hol Chan” is Mayan for “little channel.”
Congrejo Caye (Crab Island) became part of Hol Chan Marine Reserve in 2008.
Caye Caulker is a tiny, coral island just south of Ambergris Caye. There’s a forest reserve, manatees, shark ray alley, and a Lobsterfest in July.
Caye Chapel is a private resort island.
Long Caye is a private resort island.
St. George’s Caye is a rustic island that was the site of a historic battle.
Turneffe Atoll is the largest coral atoll in Belize located about twenty miles east of Belize City.
Sandbore Caye has a lighthouse and is at the northern part of Lighthouse Reef Atoll.
Half Moon Caye is right next to the The Great Blue Hole in the Lighthouse Reef Atoll.
Glover’s Reef Atoll was named after a pirate and is a great place for snorkeling.
Laughing Bird Caye is part of a national park and gets its name from the laughing gull.
Sapodilla Cayes are the southernmost islands in Belize.
BELIZE Mainland North to South:
Corozal is along the north coast at Corozal Bay just south of the Mexican city Chetumal. Chetumal has a Maya Cultural Museum.
Santa Rita Maya Ruins Site includes some of the oldest Maya ruins in Belize, just northwest of the town of Corozal.
Cerros Maya Ruins Site, across Corozal Bay from Corozal at the mouth of the New River, is the only Maya Site on the coast and part of the site is submerged. Cerro Maya was the first Maya trading center built on the coast in 50 BC and had an extensive canal system.
Sarteneja comes from the Mayan for “give me the water” or “water between the rocks” and is a fishing village in the northern part of Belize named for 13 wells discovered in the area.
Orange Walk, called the “Sugah City” for its sugar production past, is on the New River.
Cuello Maya Ruins Site, just to the west of Orange Walk, is among the oldest Maya sites in Belize and is on private land, so entry granted by the owners.
Shipyard is a Mennonite community just north of Lamanai to the west of the New River.
Lamanai Maya Ruins Site, on the New River south of Orange Walk, is one of the largest Maya sites about 100 different structures including the Temple of the Jaguar and the High Temple. To get there, it is necessary to ride a boat. “Lamanai” is Mayan for “submerged crocodile.”
Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary is a bird paradise.
La Milpa Maya Ruins Site is apparently a large site and best visited by staying at La Milpa Ecolodge and Research Center to have a guided tour.
Chan Chich Maya Ruins Site is physically at the Chan Chich Lodge, so staying there is necessary in order to see the ruins. Fodors gives Chan Chich Lodge high marks. The lodge is less than four miles from the border with Guatemala.
Altun Ha Maya Ruins Site is an hour drive northwest of the country’s largest city and former capital: Belize City. One of the most visited Maya sites in Belize, there is a Jade Head carving of the Maya sun god Kinich Ahou that is 6-inches long and weighs 10 pounds. “Altun Ha” means “Rockstone Water.”
Bermudian Landing, just west of Belize City, has a Community Baboon Sanctuary.
Belize City was the capital city before it was hit by Hurricane Hattie in 1961. It is said to have a high level of violent crime.
La Democracia with the Belize Zoo is a 40 minute drive from Belize City.
Belmopan is the capital of Belize. It moved from coastal Belize City after Hurricane Hattie decimated the city in 1961. The name is a joining of “Bel” from “Belize” and “Mopan” for the adjoining Mopan River.
El Pilar Maya Ruins Site is north of the town San Ignacio, right next to the border with Guatemala.
Cahal Pech Maya Ruins Site is within the town of San Ignacio, overlooking the Macal River. “Cahal Pech” means “the place of ticks” in Mayan. There are 34 ancient structures on the site.
San Ignacio is the base town near Cahal Pech, Actun Tunichil Muknal, and other points of interest.
Belize Botanic Gardens are on the Macal River south of San Ignacio.
Xunantunich Maya Ruins Site is eight miles from the border with Guatemala. “Xunantunich” means “Maiden of the Rock” or “Sculpture of Lady.” “El Castillo” temple built around 800 AD was the second tallest structure in Belize, after the temple in Caracol, until 2015.
Pacbitun Maya Ruins Site is near San Ignacio.
Barton Creek Cave, explored by boat with guides, is a system of caves used by the Maya for rituals, ceremonies, and sacrifices.
Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) is an underground archaeological site with a Crystal Maiden.
Jaguar Paw Cave takes you to the underground world of the Xibalba.
Nohoch Che’en Caves are just north of Jaguar Paw Cave.
Caracol Maya Ruins Site, within a forest reserve on the edge of the Maya Mountains, is in southwest Belize near the border with Guatemala. One of the most powerful Mayan cities and the largest Maya site in Belize, Caracol features the Sky Palace “Caana” at 141 feet (43 meters), the tallest building in Belize until 2015. “Caracol” means “snail” or “shell” in Spanish, perhaps refering to the winding access to the site.
Dangriga is a coastal town where the Garinagu (Garifuna) people landed when they arrived on November 19, 1802.
Mayflower Bocawina National Park is just west of Dangriga and has a number of Maya sites currently being excavated.
Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary is the first and only Jaguar Preservation Sanctuary in the world.
Placencia is a beach resort town with manatees, saltwater crocodiles, and mangrove forests with a spice farm nearby. Placencia Peninsula has the longest stretch of beach in mainland Belize and many rate this beach as Belize’s best.
Monkey River Town only has two main streets and is a base for guided Monkey River Tours into the jungle.
Nim Li Punit Maya Ruins Site has a Ballcourt where Maya games were once played, and a lot of stelae, upright stone slabs with inscription, writing, or designs, including the longest stela in Belize. “Nim Li Punit” means “Big Hat” in Kekchi Maya. Nim Li Punit is about 30 miles northwest of the coastal town Punta Gorda.
Lubaantun Maya Ruins Site, about 30 miles northwest of the fishing and diving town of Punta Gorda, was built with black slate, temples were constructed entirely without mortar, and, unlike nearby Nim Li Punit, there are no stelae, designed stone slabs. Lubaantun flourished between 700 to 850 AD. The name “Lubaantun” means “place of the fallen stones.”
Ixcacao Maya Belizean Chocolate, just outside of Punta Gorda, provides tours, chocolate making, and food.
Uxbenka Maya Ruins Site is a small site right next to the Rio Blanco National Park.
Near Orange Walk, the Maya Site Nohmul was unfortunately bulldozed over. In just about every Belizean backyard there is a Mayan ruin, so prevelant that they just aren’t a big deal to those who have always lived among them. It’s a reminder that what’s exciting to one person is an every day thing to another, like castles to an Austrian or moose to an Alaskan. That said, I always get excited about moose. To read the story, select Mayan pyramid bulldozed by road construction firm.
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