Worry people are small, rather crude (but charming) dolls, usually sold in batches of several in a bag or box. As far as I know they are particular to the Maya of highland Guatemala. Children put them under their pillows at night as a sleep aid.
Tradition — or the vendors of the dolls — has it that one confesses one’s worry to the doll before putting it under the pillow. Then by morning the worry people will have taken that worry away.
The image is from dickuhne’s photostream.
A nice sample of Yucatecan color from saguayo’s photostream.
Slingshots are remarkably effective weapons for hunters. In Guatemala, slingshots embody centuries of tradition, often including Maya or Christian imagery. They are the subject of this book by Anabella S. Paiz and Valia Garzón, which is published by La Ruta Maya Conservation Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to preserving the cultural heritage of Central America.
I think slingshots can be purchased from the Curandero Gallery.
I couldn’t find the book at Powell’s but Amazon carries it
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