Raphael Girard

Raphael Girard (October 30, 1898, in Martigny, Switzerland – December 25, 1982, in Guatemala City) was an Maya ethnographer who specializes at Mesoamerican tribes culture and traditions. He and his wife, Rebeca Carrión Cachot moved to Guatemala city in 1955

Early life Raphael Girard was born in Martigny, Switzerland. His parents were Joseph Girard, a public worker businessman, and Melanie Besse de Girard, an elementary school teacher, however she died was he was 14. Since Raphael Girard was a child he showed intellectual skills. In 1915 he published many book like Le Centenaire Valaisan, Sur le Trim. On January 10, 1919, with the support of Eugene Pittard of Geneva University, he joined the Society of History and Geography of Paris. He then sailed to Honduras. Fellow anthropologist pioneers, Esteban Guardiola, Luis Land, Félix Salgado, Pedro Rivas, Jesús Aguilar and Rebeca Carrión Cachot which he married in December 1955, founded the Honduran Society of History and Geography. He then completed ethnographic works about the Hicaques, Mayans Payas, Caribss, Miskitos, and Susmus.