Cooking in a Mayan House
Kristine Ellingson learned cooking in a Mayan house during her marriage to a Mayan man and living in a Mayan village for over 20 years. In the video below, Kristine describes the traditional cooking hut used by her Mayan mother-in-law, Carmen, also explaining Carmen’s method of cooking in a Mayan house.
Carmen and her granddaughter, Rosa, prepare tortillas in Carmen’s cooking hut. Photo: Copyright 2010 Sheila Clark, used with permission.
In the video, you’ll see the inside of the cooking hut, the fire that’s kept burning all day long, the cooking pot where Carmen cooks her sauces, and the way she makes her tortillas.
In Kristine Ellingson’s book, Tales from the Yucatan Jungle: Life in a Mayan Village, Kristine tells her love story, how her chance meeting with a Mayan man while vacationing in Yucatan leads to their subsequent marriage. She also describes her adjustment to living in a Mayan village close to the Uxmal Mayan ruins and the intriguing, rich lives of her Mayan family and friends.
Timeline of the video above:
00:13 This is Carmen’s cooking hut
00:18 the hub of activity during the day,
00:23 that fire is started.
00:29 it’s a cooking pot – looks like a witch’s brew.
00:42 tortillas are going to be made
00:49 The oil barrel top for the “coma.”
Photo of Carmen making tortillas and cooking with her grown granddaughter : Copyright 2010 Sheila Clark, used with permission.
