The history of the Tz’utujil Mayan people is a colorful one.
The first documentation of the people begins in the “Post classic period” or
A.D. 1200-1524. The Tz’utujil arrived as small bands of warriors, entering the
Lake Atitlan region, which is now their homeland. Along with them came the
ancestors of the Quiches and Cakchiqueles or Kaqchikel, who are neighboring
cultures. At this point the Quiche were the dominant culture in the area. It is unclear who arrived in Guatemala first,
but by 1250, the Tzutujiles were settled around the lake. Sometime around 1470,
the Tzutujiles took part in a great revolt against the Quiche Empire, resulting
in its fall. The Tz’utujil then became even more militaristic, until a period
of strife occurred between the remaining quiches and also the Cakchiqueles,
which ended their rule. When the Spanish arrived in Guatemala in 1524, the
Kaqchikel had seized a majority of their territory. When the Spanish arrived, they enlisted the
Kaqchikel to help in their conquest of the Tz’utujil. The people then had
absolutely no rights and were treated as the property of their conquerors. They took their land, and made the people
purchase overpriced goods and also influenced a huge population decline. In-between
1524-1547, the population went from 48,000 to 5,600. A lot of that decline was
due to diseases brought by the Spanish. Not only were they treated terribly,
but they also were sometimes chosen to be a slave and each family were subject
to send a tribute to the current head of the town. By the late 19th century,
Guatemala began to mass produce coffee, which took away a plethora of the already
slim, remaining Tz’utujil lands. There was a severe amount of land loss, just
as their population was rebounding lead to many difficulties the culture faces
today.
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