Mayan Treasure

The Antigua walking tour introduced us to the world of Jade. While coffee, sugar and bananas are expected Guatemalan products, we were not aware of the importance of Jade. Guatemala has become renown for reintroducing Mayan Jade to the world. The only other source of this type of stone in the world is Myanmar (formerly Burma).

"JADE" is a generic term which describes two different silicate rocks, Jadeite and Nephrite. Though relatively similar, they are quite different in terms of their mineralogical characteristics. Jadeite, the kind mined in Guatemala, is the harder and denser of the two, and possesses a richer, more brilliant range of colors. Nephrite is a carving quality stone found in many places around the word.

Due to its scarcity, Jadeite is the most precious form of Jade. In its pure state, all Jade starts our white, but due to the slight presence of other minerals, it varies in color and shade from light green to black. Imperial green is the most rare form, prized by Mayan kings and emperors.

We toured the Jade Maya factory in Antigua and learned that its founder, Mary Lou Ridinger and her husband Jay Ridinger, are the archaeologists that rediscovered the jade in Guatemala in 1974. Jade Maya was the first and still the largest Jadeite Jade factory in Central America. The source, discovered by Mary Lou Ridinger, is the same one used by the Mayan people of Mesoamerica. The jade is cut and polished in the factory in Antigua by native Guatemalan workers, who follow the carving traditions of their ancestors.

While the tour was interesting, we soon made another discovery which turned the whole experience personal. We were fortunate enough to attended an authentic Mayan ceremony lead by a local Mayan shaman (the details of which will be shared in a different blog entry). Some of the organizers were either US citizens or expats (US citizens that have permanently relocated to Guatemala). One American in particular had a noticeable presence throughout the ceremony, and at the end she requested that a picture be taken of everyone present. Afterwards, she gave us her card as a contact so we could request a copy of the photograph. The lady turned out to be Mary Lou Ridinger, the same that rediscovered Jade in Guatemala. We were stunned to find that twice now (first with Elizabeth Bell and now Mary Lou) we have had interaction with two women that have had an immense and prominent impact on the cultural and economic development of Guatemala.