cofradías. Jawal spirits can be classified into guardians, or chalbeij, who control different locations on Earth and the Spirit Lords, known as Martins which are thought to be reincarnations of San Martín, the Spirit Lord of Earth . The Martins are thought to control nature. In the cofradías, statues of Catholic saints, or “Santos,” are seen as manifestations of these Spirit Lords. The highest spirit is known as Dio's; the name comes from the Spanish word for God, Dios, but does not represent the same deity. Life cycle The Tz’utujil have a cyclical, rather than linear concept of time. They follow a concept known as Jaloj-K’exoj, which is composed of two types of change, jal, and kex. Jal is change that happens to an individual as they progress through their lives. K’ex is a change symbolic of the transition between generations through reincarnation; children are thought to be reincarnations of other family members, most often grandparents. The Tz’utujil visualize Jaloj-K’exoj through considering the maize plant. When a maize plant dies, it scatters seed, which corresponds to the birth of a human. The plant's growth symbolizes a person aging and going through jal. When the plant dies, it scatters its seed, repeating the process for a new plant, which symbolizes the transitions between individuals and their ancestors. Traditional songs The Tz’utujil use traditional songs, known as b’ix, as a means of connecting with the spiritual world. The songs are sung by an ajb’ix, meaning songman. The songs are used to show gratitude to spirits, protect people from illness and witchcraft, and cause pain to one's enemies. There also exist courting songs which compare sexual organs and desires to how rain fertilizes crops. Role of weaving For the Tz’utujil, weaving connects to the concept of fertility as Mayan people view the moon as an ancestral Grandmother and the goddess of weaving and birthing. The production of weavings is seen as a birthing process. Symbolically, the rope in the loom, known as yujkut represents the umbilical cord and the sticks on the loom represent thirteen female deities called the Ixoc Ahauaua. The Tz’utujil women use a backstrap loom. Traditionally, the women used x’cajcoj zut fabric. X’cajoj is the brown cotton material of which the cloth is comprised. The term zut means the cloth is more long than wide. In contemporary times, women have been using more commercially produced yarns that lead to a