19 two assistants who each have a candle and an incense-burner. Two musicians are also present, and they accompany the foregoing with melancholic music. The instruments they use are the so-called “adufe,” which is a drum consisting of a square sound box made of leather, and a violin with strings made of hairs from a horse’s tail or maguey bristles. The prayers and the music are offered in the four cardinal points to the spirits of the ancestors, and next to the house altar. They also go out to pray and play music for the spirits of the ancestors in the “goteras”∗ of the house, then in the center of the yard, when there is one, and finally they return to the altar. The Achí practice “yakanik,” which is an invitation to the spirits of the ancestors to be present in homage to the deceased. Some of these prayers are syncretic and said in Spanish early in the evening. Half an hour later, the elders, together with the “tiniente,” pray in Mayan only. Near midnight, another Mayan prayer is said with the participation of the “tiniente” and his assistants, who lead him with candles and music to the altar, to the “goteras,” to the center of the yard and, once again, to the altar. At midnight, the “yakanik” takes place; this is the farewell to the spirits present in the prayers. To prepare this, a list is made of the next of kin, friends and acquaintances who will be invited and they are sent a gourd filled with “chilate” (a drink prepared with cornmeal gruel), inviting them to the homage for the deceased. Those who are invited must bring flowers and candles. Those who do not receive “chilate” do not go, because they have not been invited. These rites and customs must be repeated one year after the death, and 7 and 14 years after it; in some case, it is also repeated after 21 years. The burial itself is carried out after a deep grave about two meters long has been dug, if the soil is soft; if the soil is stony or with rocks, a small pantheon is made with stones and rocks. Handfuls of soil are offered and thrown into the grave as a final memento and, in the case of a small pantheon, the soil is placed between the stones and rocks to close it. For the Mayan culture, it is very important to be buried with all these rites, because the deceased is reborn and goes to join his ancestors. Otherwise, the spirits wander about lost; they are unable to maintain their contact with the living, or with the spirits of their grandparents, or with those who have died before them or with the new generations, and their “rebirth” is thwarted. The activities of the Mayan traditional authorities are directed at knowing, consulting and taking into account the wishes of the members of the community; they try to respect, harmonize and coordinate this free will, bringing it to a consensus, from which they legitimize their exercise of authority. Nevertheless, within the egalitarian and horizontal tendency of the Achí social organization, there are seven authorities organized vertically. There are three main authorities who take the community’s important decisions once they know the wishes of its members. The first authority is the “tiniente,” invited to mediate between the heart of the sky and the heart of the earth and the human beings that make up the community; he acts with the other two main authorities. The four remaining authorities are those who implement the decisions taken by the main authorities. One of these authorities is the helper or coordinator, who directs the implementation ∗ The place where the rainwater runs down from the tiles to the corridor of the house, in Achi, it is called ub'etz'uj (the raindrop channel).