The present study focuses on the pragmatic and sacred relationship between humans and geography and the way in which that relationship is manifested in worldview. In particular, this investigation is concerned with how residents in a Kaqchikel Maya community on the slopes of a volcano perceive of and interact with the world around them, creating their conceptualization of space through the daily processes of living Residents of Santa Maria de Jesus conceptualize space in a highly ordered manner based on where they live, how they live, and the legacy of ancestors who lived there before them. For residents, space has well-defined centers and less-structured peripheries. The most important center is 'community,' the social and physical nexus of life and an integral component of contemporary and historical identity Although Santa Maria de Jesus is a center, residents recognize that it is not the only center. Residents' perceptions of communities and cultures beyond Santa Maria lend insight into a worldview in which Santa Maria functions as both center and periphery within a spatial conceptualization that allows for multiple centers and multiple peripheries The sacred landscape in Santa Maria is coterminous with the physical landscape. Saints' domain is the center (the community), while spirit owners of the mountains inhabit the periphery (the fields and forests outside the town proper). Both types of supernatural entities are connected integrally to residents' collective history on the slopes of Volcan de Agua. Beliefs and practices concerning both saints and spirit owners help to conserve cultural knowledge and living traditions in Santa Maria de Jesus
