Chol
Encyclopedia
Ch'ol are an indigenous people of southeastern Mexico
, mainly located in the northern Chiapas highlands
in the state
of Chiapas
, Mexico
. As one of the Maya peoples
, their indigenous language is from the Mayan language family
, known also as Ch'ol. According to the 2000 Census, there were 140,806 speakers of Ch'ol in Chiapas, including 40,000 who were monolingual.
regions can be divided into three different eco-logical areas: Southern Lowland, Northern Lowlands, and highlands/pacific slope region.
The northern area was important because of its salt production, limestone, and cacao production. The limestone was essential to the construction of the Mayan cities and sculptures.
The highlands consist of volcanic areas that are surrounded by mountain ranges from the Chiapas to Southern Guatemala. The mountain peaks vary from 3300 to 13100 ft (1,005.8 to 3,992.9 m).
Additionally, the landscape is characterized by valleys with fertile land and large lakes. These characteristics made the region appealing to explorers who later exploited the locations abundant natural resources. http://www.native-languages.org/chol.htm
In the 19th Century President,Benito Jaurez, established a system of agrarian ejidos with the intent of changing the traditional system of production in Mexico. To establish the system, Jaurez took away land from indigenous tribes such as the ch’ol. However, the ejidos did not provide enough natural resources to support the Chol people. As a result, the Chol began to move into the Lacandon Jungle. Today there is conflict between the Chol and the Lucandon-Yucatec speakers as the Chol continue to move into the land the Lucandon now claim as their own.
The Ch'ol language consists of three branches: Sabanilla, Tilá and tumbalá. Although some linguists consider them as three different languages, they are commonly known as dialects of the same Ch’ol language Speakers of Tilá and Tumbalá can usually understand each other. In total, there are an estimated 120,000 speakers of the ch’ol language. The Tilá speakers inhabit Chiapas, Tila, and while the tumbala inhabit North central Chiapas, Tumbala, sabanilla, Misjia, limar, chivalitahttp://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=ctu. Both dialects are spoken in Vicente Guerrero, Limar, and Chivalito.
Although most chol people are monolingual, those that speak Spanish have a variation called “Castia” This form of Spanish is characterized by:
However, many Mayan traditions are incorporated into the Ch’ol’s Christian religious practices (more so than in other regions of Mexico). For example “cave worship has been legitimized throughout the region and local curers alternate between churches and caves to gain their powers and carry out their functions. Earth owner, the Mayan cave god, and Christ have been reconciled, and cave ceremonies have continued to be formed after the conversion of the population to Christianity” (pg 405)http://www.jstor.org/stable/25132352.
The staple food of the Ch’ol people are corn, livestock (chicken, turkey), beans, squash, bananas, greens and other fruits.
A source of income for some Ch’ol includes selling livestock, (like pigs, cows and chicken) as well as fruits; this income is used to purchase soap, medicine and other essential materials.
Indigenous peoples of Mexico
Mexico, in the second article of its Constitution, is defined as a "pluricultural" nation in recognition of the diverse ethnic groups that constitute it, and in which the indigenous peoples are the original foundation...
, mainly located in the northern Chiapas highlands
Chiapas highlands
The region of the Chiapas Highlands is located in Chiapas, the southern-most state of Mexico.Many pre-Columbian Maya civilization sites are located in these highlands....
in the state
States of Mexico
The United Mexican States is a federal republic formed by 32 federal entities .According to the Constitution of 1917, the states of the federation are free and sovereign. Each state has their own congress and constitution, while the Federal District has only limited autonomy with a local Congress...
of Chiapas
Chiapas
Chiapas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas is one of the 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 118 municipalities and its capital city is Tuxtla Gutierrez. Other important cites in Chiapas include San Cristóbal de las...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. As one of the Maya peoples
Maya peoples
The Maya people constitute a diverse range of the Native American people of southern Mexico and northern Central America. The overarching term "Maya" is a collective designation to include the peoples of the region who share some degree of cultural and linguistic heritage; however, the term...
, their indigenous language is from the Mayan language family
Mayan languages
The Mayan languages form a language family spoken in Mesoamerica and northern Central America. Mayan languages are spoken by at least 6 million indigenous Maya, primarily in Guatemala, Mexico, Belize and Honduras...
, known also as Ch'ol. According to the 2000 Census, there were 140,806 speakers of Ch'ol in Chiapas, including 40,000 who were monolingual.
Geographical history
The MayaMaya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
regions can be divided into three different eco-logical areas: Southern Lowland, Northern Lowlands, and highlands/pacific slope region.
The northern area was important because of its salt production, limestone, and cacao production. The limestone was essential to the construction of the Mayan cities and sculptures.
The highlands consist of volcanic areas that are surrounded by mountain ranges from the Chiapas to Southern Guatemala. The mountain peaks vary from 3300 to 13100 ft (1,005.8 to 3,992.9 m).
Additionally, the landscape is characterized by valleys with fertile land and large lakes. These characteristics made the region appealing to explorers who later exploited the locations abundant natural resources. http://www.native-languages.org/chol.htm
History of the Ch’ol in Mexico
In 1554, the Spanish military first invaded Lacandon jungle, where the Ch’ol and other indigenous groups lived. At the end of 1550s, the Spanish invasion caused the Ch’ol and other Mayan groups into settlements called Reducciones. Eventually, when the reducciones were split, the Ch’ol were sent to the North, to Palenque, Tilá, and Tumbalá. The people sent to these regions were the ancestors of the Ch’ol today. The Ch’ol were forced to work on encomiendas until the Spanish crown gave them a document called the “cédulas reales” which granted them the land they had worked on for generations.In the 19th Century President,Benito Jaurez, established a system of agrarian ejidos with the intent of changing the traditional system of production in Mexico. To establish the system, Jaurez took away land from indigenous tribes such as the ch’ol. However, the ejidos did not provide enough natural resources to support the Chol people. As a result, the Chol began to move into the Lacandon Jungle. Today there is conflict between the Chol and the Lucandon-Yucatec speakers as the Chol continue to move into the land the Lucandon now claim as their own.
Language
The language that is called Ch’ol in English is referred to as Lak ty’añ --means “our speech--. The word Ch’ol refers to both the language and the people.The Ch'ol language consists of three branches: Sabanilla, Tilá and tumbalá. Although some linguists consider them as three different languages, they are commonly known as dialects of the same Ch’ol language Speakers of Tilá and Tumbalá can usually understand each other. In total, there are an estimated 120,000 speakers of the ch’ol language. The Tilá speakers inhabit Chiapas, Tila, and while the tumbala inhabit North central Chiapas, Tumbala, sabanilla, Misjia, limar, chivalitahttp://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=ctu. Both dialects are spoken in Vicente Guerrero, Limar, and Chivalito.
Although most chol people are monolingual, those that speak Spanish have a variation called “Castia” This form of Spanish is characterized by:
- Continued use of archaisms that are no longer used in other varieties in Spanish like: Cuartia, fanego, libra
- Use of Vos instead of tu in Second person singular
- Phonetic transformation in the second singular: “I” is dropped and “e” is stressed. For example: Vos quereis = Vos queres
- Frequent use of “lo” even when there is a masculine or feminine article: “lo hizo las tortillas” o “ lo miro el rio”
Food and culture
The Ch'ol practice Christianity http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=ctu.However, many Mayan traditions are incorporated into the Ch’ol’s Christian religious practices (more so than in other regions of Mexico). For example “cave worship has been legitimized throughout the region and local curers alternate between churches and caves to gain their powers and carry out their functions. Earth owner, the Mayan cave god, and Christ have been reconciled, and cave ceremonies have continued to be formed after the conversion of the population to Christianity” (pg 405)http://www.jstor.org/stable/25132352.
The staple food of the Ch’ol people are corn, livestock (chicken, turkey), beans, squash, bananas, greens and other fruits.
A source of income for some Ch’ol includes selling livestock, (like pigs, cows and chicken) as well as fruits; this income is used to purchase soap, medicine and other essential materials.
Education and Bilingualism
The growing interaction between Spanish speakers and ch’ol speakers has created a desire for higher education and more job opportunities. The interaction has also heightened the need to learn Spanish and has caused the stigmatization of native languages including Ch’ol. However, the majority of Spanish speakers in the ch’ol community are males, younger women and children. Children learn to speak Spanish in primary school; they are taught in Ch’ol till fourth grade when instruction begins to be given in Spanish. In some rural villages, there are secondary schools but for higher education, most have to travel to a different town. However, the cost of doing so generally prohibits this. In México, education is mandatory through secondary school but many ch’ol students (especially girls) stop attending around the sixth grade due to early marriage and financial issues.External links
- 1. http://www.native-languages.org
- 2. http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=ctu
- 3. http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=ctu
- 4. Anthropological Linguistics Vol. 47, No. 4 (Winter, 2005), pp. 401-423 Published by: The Trustees of Indiana University on behalf of Anthropological Linguistics
- Ethnologue report on Chol from Tila
- Ethnologue report on Chol from Tumbalá
- Coon, Jessica L. "Root Words in Ch'ol (Mayan):A Distributed Morphological Approach." Diss. Reed College, 2004. Print.