Quiché (people)
The Quiché (also K'iche ' = many trees), who predominantly live in the western highlands of Guatemala , form the largest indigenous ethnic group in the country. The history and beliefs of the Quiché Indians are reflected in one of America's most famous books - the Popol Vuh .
Settlement areas
The Quiché belong to the large Maya group and now live mainly in the Guatemalan departments of El Quiché , Totonicapán , Sololá and Quetzaltenango . The most important cities in their settlement area are Quetzaltenango , Zunil , Chichicastenango and Santa Cruz del Quiché .
language
Most Quiché Indians speak Quiché , which, together with the neighboring Uspanteco , Sacapulteco , Caqchikel and Tzutuhil, is one of the Mayan languages of the highlands. With approximately 2 million active speakers, Quiché is the most widely spoken Mayan language in Guatemala. In addition, the Quiché speak a simple working Spanish, except in a few remote settlements, in order to be able to make themselves understood in the factories, estates and administration of Guatemala.
Surname
The proper name K'iche ' is derived from K'i (= "many") and che' (= "tree") and thus means "many trees". The Nahua peoples living in the north translated this name into Nahuatl as Cuauhtēmallān , the Spanish adapted this name as Guatemala and this is how today's state got its name. Quiché is, in turn, the form of K'iche ' adapted to Spanish .
history
Before the Spanish conquest , the influence and sphere of influence of the Quiché Empire - at times in collaboration with the Cakchiquel - extended beyond the highlands and included the valley of Antigua Guatemala as well as the coastal regions of Escuintla of today's Guatemala. The Quiché thus ruled one of the largest and most powerful states in Central America in terms of area , which also included parts of El Salvador , and its later capital Q'umarkaj (also spelled K'umarkaj or Gumarcaj ; nahuatl: 'Utatlán') about 2.5 km west of the present-day Santa Cruz del Quiché was located.
The Quiché Empire was conquered in 1524/5 by the Spaniards - together with their central Mexican Nahua auxiliary troops of the mutually hostile Tlaxcalteks and Aztecs - under the leadership of the conquistador Pedro de Alvarado , with the neighboring tribal group also belonging to the Maya the Cakchiquel supported the Spaniards as they had been in open enmity with the Quiché since the mid-15th century. The last leader or general of the Quiché, Tecun Uman , was founded by Alvarado in 1524 in the valley of Xelaju (pronounced: 'Sche-La-Hu', also Xe laju 'noj , Xela -' under the 10 mountains'), near the city of the same name was crushed and then murdered in the city. Up to 10,000 quiché were killed in this great battle. The Spaniards gave the city of Xelajú the Nahuatl name Quetzaltenango (either "place of the Quetzal " or "place where walls were built") in recognition of their central Mexican (especially Tlaxcaltec) Nahua allies . During the colonial period, the city developed into a trading center in the western highlands.
After the great losses caused by the defeat, the Quiché surrendered and invited Alvarado to their capital Q'umarkaj. However, expecting an ambush, Alvarado had the city burned down. Today the ruins and temple pyramids of Q'umarkaj can be explored for tourists.
literature
- Robert M. Carmack (1973): Quichéan Civilization. The Ethnohistoric, Ethnographic and Archaeological sources. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles. ISBN 0-520-01963-6
- Robert M. Carmack (1981): The Quiché Mayas of Utatlán: The Evolution of a Highland Guatemala Kingdom. The Civilization of the American Indian Series 155. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman. ISBN 0-8061-1546-7
- Michael D. Coe (1999): The Maya (6th ed.). Ancient peoples and places . Thames & Hudson, London and New York. ISBN 0-500-28066-5
Web links
- K'iche '- an introduction - on Citizendium
- Allen J. Christenson's K'iche'-English Dictionary (PDF file; 580 kB)
- A reversal, the English-K'iche 'Dictionary (PDF file; 278 kB)