maize drying in the sun outside a house in Nebaj. Maize is an incredibly important food in Xela, and is used to make tortillas and tamilitas. These are made by cooking the corn in alkaline water to remove the skins, and then passing the corn through a mill. The result is a dough, which is either shaped into circles by hand to make tortillas, which are cooked on top of a griddle, or wrapped in a leaf and served as is.