From Ritual to Theater Stage in a Pre-Hispanic Indigenous Drama: Rabinal Achí or Danza del Tun

Summary

The Rabinal Achí or Dance of the Tun is a founding theatrical play of Latin-American theater and key for the development process of western theater during the 20th century; it encodes the moment in which rite and theater were mutually contained, ie, in that the spectacle was done for the eyes of God and man. The stage design at the time, blurred the limits between the space destined for the spectator and for the actor; flower and song, ie, the artistic expression, it was extended in time and space invading all the social spheres; the community underwent the experience of reconnecting with divinity, re-establishing the cyclical cosmic balance; the spectacle operated as a catalyst of a spiritual experience and the actor, as its facilitator.