Rituals, social sharing, silence, emotions and collective memory claims in the case of the Guatemalan genocide

Abstract

In this article we will review both theory and data pertaining to the emotional effects of collective remembering by means of social sharing and funeral rituals. Data is based on the experience of Guatemalan Mayas, who were victims of a genocide during the nineteen eighties. Results show that that Mayan subjects did not report lower levels of subjective and emotional reactions compared to the Latino community. A finding which contradicts the idea that this is a less expressive and emotional culture. Rituals had a more important buffer effect for Mayas in comparison to Ladino communities. Material losses did not imply, and affect, both groups in the same way. Commemoration activities were most important for those subjects who had been affected by collecti ve massacres. Silence was an adaptive form of coping in the past, although that may not be the case at the present moment.

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