Tzotzil facts for kids
Tzotzil people in San Juan Chamula, Chiapas
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| Total population | |
|---|---|
| ~298,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Mexico ( Chiapas) |
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| Languages | |
| Tzotzil and Mexican Spanish | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Other Maya people |
The Tzotzil are an indigenous Maya group living in the central Chiapas highlands of southern Mexico. In 2000, there were about 298,000 Tzotzil people. Many Tzotzil live in towns like Chamula (48,500 people), San Cristóbal de las Casas (30,700 people), and Zinacantán (24,300 people). These towns are in the Mexican state of Chiapas.
The Tzotzil language is related to Tzeltal and Ch'ol. These languages came from an older language spoken by the Maya long ago. The word tzotzil first meant "bat people" or "people of the bat." This comes from the word tzotz, which means "bat." Today, the Tzotzil call their language Bats'i k'op, meaning "true word."
Contents
Tzotzil Clothing and Homes
Tzotzil homes are usually built from wattle and daub or lumber. They often have thatched roofs made of straw or leaves.
Traditional clothes for men include a shirt, short pants, a neckerchief, a hat, and a wool poncho. Women traditionally wear a blouse or a long overdress called a huipil. They also wear an indigo-dyed skirt called an enredo, a cotton sash, and a shawl.
A Look at Tzotzil History
Experts believe that the ancestors of the Tzotzil and Tzeltal peoples arrived in Chiapas between 100 BCE and 300 CE. This information comes from studying their language and old sites.
Before the Spanish Conquest, the Tzotzil traded with the Aztec. They sent valuable quetzal feathers and amber to the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlán. The Tzotzil also made salt from wells near Ixtapa. They traded this salt all over the Chiapas highlands, even after the Spanish arrived.
When the Spanish conquerors came, they faced little resistance in Chiapas. In 1522, a leader from Zinacantán named Cuzcácuatl offered to join the Spanish. His people then helped the Spanish commander Luis Marín to take control of nearby groups.
However, the people of Chamula fought hard against the Spanish. They, along with people from Huixtlán, eventually left their homes. They took everything useful with them so the invaders could not use it. The Spanish could not get workers or goods from these people. So, they went back to the Gulf coast. The Tzotzil then returned to their lands and way of life.
Other Spanish visits in the next ten years generally did not bother the Tzotzil much. But many Tzotzil people died from diseases and hunger. Many villages were forced to move. The native people were made to work for the Spanish on large farms called encomiendas.
After the Spanish conquest, the Tzotzil were often forced to work. First, they worked for the Spanish. Later, they worked for the Ladinos. Ladinos were Spanish-speaking people of Spanish and native descent. They owned most of the land and controlled trade. For a long time, there was a strict system that separated natives from Ladinos. They had very different rights and duties.
This unfair treatment led to revolts in 1528, 1712, and 1868. The situation for the Tzotzil became much worse in 1863. New laws took away the shared lands of the native towns. This forced many Zinacantecos to become workers who owed money to Ladino farm owners.
Since 1940, the Tzotzil have felt a stronger sense of pride in their culture. More native people have started to work in local government jobs. They have used their cultural identity for political reasons. While some Tzotzil communities have grown in towns, other Tzotzil towns have seen "reindianization." This means that Ladino groups, who used to be in charge, have moved to bigger cities.
In the 1980s, coffee prices dropped, making it hard to find steady jobs in the highlands. As more people moved there and more tourists visited, selling handmade goods became a main way to earn money. Tzotzils often sell their products in nearby cities like San Cristóbal de las Casas, Comitán, and Simojovel.
Recently, many Maya people from the Chiapas highlands have moved to other parts of Mexico. Some have even gone to the United States. They do this to find better jobs and escape very low wages from farming.
Challenges with fitting into society still exist, especially with the Ladinos. Many Tzotzil people support the Zapatista movement. They also support other peaceful groups like Las Abejas.
Tzotzil Beliefs and Religion
An old Spanish writer described Zinacantán as a town with "many gods." They worshiped the sun and offered gifts to it. They also gave incense and gifts to rivers, springs, big trees, and high hills. Their ancestors found a stone bat and believed it was a god, so they worshiped it.
The Tzotzil believe the World is a square. In the middle is the "navel," which is a mound of earth in their main ceremonial place. The world rests on the shoulders of the Vashak. These are like the Four-Corner Gods or Sky-Bearers of the ancient Maya. This idea of the world is shown in how priests walk around houses and fields. They walk counterclockwise around the four corners and end in the center. There, they offer gifts to the gods. The Tzotzil also believe in an Underworld. It is home to small people, created by the gods when they tried to make humans.
The Sun is called "Our Father Heat," and the Moon is "Our Holy Mother." The planet Venus is known as "Sweeper of the Path." This is because it appears before the Sun on its journey around the World. Local hills and mountains are believed to be the homes of the ancestral couples. These are the Totilme'il, or "Fathers-Mothers," who are the most important Tzotzil gods.
The next important god is the Earth Lord. Today, he is seen as a large, rich Ladino living underground. He owns all the land and its natural resources. If a Tzotzil person uses any of these resources, like water holes, trees, or mud for their home, they must give the Earth Lord gifts in a ceremony.
The Tzotzil believe that each person has two souls: a ch'ulel and a wayhel. The ch'ulel is an inner, personal soul. It is in the heart and blood. The ancestral gods place it in a baby before birth. It has thirteen parts. If a person loses parts of this soul, a shaman must perform a healing ceremony to get them back. Losing a soul can happen if a person is scared, sees a demon, is punished by the ancestral gods, or is sold to the Earth Lord by evil magic.
When a person dies, the inner soul leaves the body. It goes to the Katibak, which is the world of the dead in the center of the earth. It stays there for the same amount of time it lived in the human world. It relives its life backward, getting younger and younger. Then, the ancestral gods give it to another newborn of the opposite sex. Babies who were baptized and women who die during childbirth go straight to Winajel, which is in the Sun. People who drown, are murdered, or are struck by lightning do not go to Katibak. Animals and trees also have a ch'ulel soul, which goes through the same cycle.
The other soul, the wayjel, is an animal-spirit companion. It is shared with a chanul, which is a wild animal. Whatever happens to the animal spirit also happens to the person, and vice versa. These animal-spirit companions include jaguars, ocelots, coyotes, and smaller animals like squirrels and opossums. The ancestral gods keep them in four corrals inside the "Senior Large Mountain" in the east. If the ancestral gods let the animal spirit out of its corral, the person is in great danger. They must have a long ceremony to bring the chanul back to its corral. Only humans have a wayhel soul.
Each town is connected to a sacred mountain. The god Manojel-Tojel created humans by leading them out of caves in the original hills. According to myths, each patron-god "settled in a hill, by order of the gods of the four corners of the earth."
Yahwal Balamil is a god who lives inside the earth. He rides a deer with serpent bridles. He releases water-filled clouds from inside the earth through caves. His presence is announced by the sound of frogs croaking.
Blended Beliefs: Tzotzil and Catholicism
Over the centuries since the Spanish conquest, the Tzotzil have been influenced by Catholicism. They now connect the Sun with God the Father or Jesus Christ. They see the Moon as the Virgin Mary. They also respect carved wooden or plaster statues and pictures of Catholic saints. These saints are dressed in a mix of old colonial and Zinacanteco-style clothes.
Tzotzil in Science
The Tzotzil people are honored in the scientific name of a type of Mexican snake. This snake is called Cerrophidion tzotzilorum.
See also
In Spanish: Pueblo tsotsil para niños
