In Mayan, the word “bolom” means jaguar. Frans and Gertrude Blom chose this name both to honor the jaguar found in the jungle and as a play on words of their own last name. Casa Na Bolom was created to be a combination home, cultural center, meeting place, guest house, and academic center. The original building was a monastery that was in ruins situated on the outskirts of San Cristobal de las Casas, in the Chiapas region of Mexico.
The courtyard of Casa Na Bolom, nestled at the foot of the mountain and filled with greenery and flowers.
Frans Blom was a Danish archeologist who was among the first to excavate the ruins of Palenque. While working in the jungle, he met his future wife Trudi. She was a Swiss German who had worked with the resistance during WWII and had moved to Chiapas after the war to start a new life. Trudi was working as a photographer and documenter of the Lacandon Maya, the indigenous people who lived in the jungles of Chiapas.
One of Trudi Blom’s cameras on display, along with some of the pictures that she took of the Lacandon people.
The couple married and purchased Casa Na Bolom, transforming it from the ruined monastery to the oasis of learning that it is today. Frans opened his library to anyone who wanted to come and study, as it housed the largest collection on Mayan and Lacandon people. Using Casa Na Bolom as their home base, Frans and Trudi spent years helping, photographing, documenting, and supporting the Lacandon people. Their home, which is now a museum, housed artifacts, stories, and photographs of Lacandons. They took in guests to spend the night and have dinner, with the funds going toward their expeditions into the jungle.
These are some of the artifacts of the Lacandon people that are now on display at Casa Na Bolom.
Frans passed away at age 70 in 1963, but Trudi continued on for another 30 years. During this time, she purchased additional land adjacent to Casa Na Bolom to cultivate a tree nursery. This was done to offset the effects of the logging industry that was becoming more and more problematic in Chiapas. Until her death in 1993, Trudi worked hard to preserve the Lacandon people and the jungle where they lived.
Today, Casa Na Bolom is easily visited from San Cristobal de las Casas. The museum lies on the eastern edge of the city, set at the base of the mountains and jungle. The walls are a vibrant yellow and host many pictures and artifacts from Frans and Trudi’s lives. Their dining room and large table is still used to this day, as scholars, historians, archeologists, and anthropologists gather to discuss important matters surrounding the jungle.
The dining room and large table at Casa Na Bolom – they hosted people from around the world and most discussions took place in more than one language.
We learned a lot on our visit to Casa Na Bolom. Having never heard of the Lacandon people prior to our stay in San Cristobal de las Casas, we enjoyed reading the stories and seeing the items that the Blom’s had collected during their lifetime. It was a peaceful retreat from the city and transported us back to a time of jungle expeditions and exploration. Seeing the work that Frans and Trudi took on as their life goal was inspiring and made us more aware of the city and region in which we found ourselves. As we explored more of Chiapas, we thought back to what we had seen at Casa Na Bolom and called upon this knowledge to give us more insight into the area.
Another of the courtyards at Casa Na Bolom – so peaceful and relaxing!