Running Man

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Birds of The Tz'utujil

In the entire region of Guatemala, there are a total of 706 species of birds. Only 1 of those species is extinct, which is the Atitlan Grebe, Podilymbus gigas. That species just so happens to be from the Lake Atitlan region where the Tz'utujil inhabit. This extinction seems to have occurred by major alterations to the habitat in which they lived. Out of the 706 species, and 1 extinct, only 14 are threatened species, which is 2% of the birds. They live seemingly in tune to the people who live in the area without that much destruction.

http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/country/guatemala/species

http://www.petermaas.nl/extinct/speciesinfo/atitlangrebe.htm

Tz'utujil Cosmos

The Tz'utujil Cosmos is what they believe about the world such as religion. Before European conquest, they had believed in traditional Mayan religion such as a sun god, etc. After the Spanish came they introduced Catholicism and Protestantism, which are now prominent in their culture. In some cases, there is a combined religion of Catholicism and traditional Mayan religion. A lot of ceremonies held hold true to traditional Maya practices, but are often times held in the honor of a Catholic patron saint. There a few ideas about death and afterlife in the culture. A tradtional belief is that after death one part of a person is regenerated into descendants and another part goes into the sky to assist the movement of the sun. Another belief is that only those who are sacrificed or die as a child proceed into heaven.

http://www.everyculture.com/Middle-America-Caribbean/Tz-utujil-Religion-and-Expressive-Culture.html

http://mayantrip.com/page/28

World of the Tz'utujil Maya

The world of the Tz'utujil Maya people is basically how they make a living and their cultural landscape. They have been consistent throughout the years with how they make a living. Most Tz'utujil still participate in an 'agrarian' society of agriculture. They mostly grow two main crops: coffee and maize(corn). Due to the magnificent landscape that surrounds their homes in the Lake Atitlan region, tourism has started to become a sufficient way to profit. Also, a common livelihood in the Tz'utujil people is weaving. They are one of the few cultures to still create the dyes from plants they use.

http://guatup.wordpress.com/

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Guatemala, Homeland of the Tz'utujil

The homeland of the Tz'utujil Mayan people is the country Guatemala, which is south of Mexico in Central America. More specifically, the Tz'utujil people live in the Lake Atitlan region. The enitre Guatemalan area is mostly moutanous and humid and the same goes for around the lake. Surrounding the Lake are three 10,000 foot volcanoes, Santiago, San Lucas and San Juan. The lake itself was formaed by a volcanic explosion, and is now known as one of the most beautiful lakes in the world.

http://www.worldlakes.org/lakedetails.asp?lakeid=8522
http://globetrottergirls.com/2010/12/lake-atitlan-guatemala-villages/
http://geography.about.com/library/cia/blcguatemala.htm

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

History of the Tz'utujil

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 19^th 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.

http://www.santiagoatitlan.com/

http://www.everyculture.com/Middle-America-Caribbean/Tz-utujil-History-and-Cultural-Relations.html

http://books.google.com/books?id=KXT2tmcwvI8C&pg=PA76&lpg=PA76&dq=tz%27utujil+maya+history&source=bl&ots=j2cFRhbUIS&sig=cQmRgLtMMvlxCXH1RDkzOtavDWs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=fk8FU6H9Janh0QH-9ID4Cg&ved=0CGsQ6AEwCTgK#v=onepage&q=tz'utujil%20maya%20history&f=false

Monday, February 10, 2014

Intro to the Tz'utujil Maya people

I am embarking on a journey for information about the Tz'utujil Mayan Indians of Midwestern highlands of Guatemala. I plan to find as much knowledge about their culture as I can without actually visiting the people. So by searching through books and over the Internet, and maybe even interact with someone from the culture, whether in person or through technology, I should be able to inform anyone who wishes to know about the Tz'utujil Maya people. Over the next few weeks I will have different posts about all of the aspects of the culture and here are the links to those posts.