Kʼicheʼ people

Kʼicheʼ (pronounced ; previous Spanish spelling: ) are Indigenous peoples of the Americas and are one of the Maya peoples. The eponymous Kʼicheʼ language is a Mesoamerican language in the Mayan language family. The highland Kʼicheʼ states in the pre-Columbian era are associated with the ancient Maya civilization, and reached the peak of their power and influence during the Mayan Postclassic period (–1539 AD).

The meaning of the word in the Kʼicheʼ language is "many trees". The Nahuatl translation, "Place of the Many Trees (People)", is the origin of the word Guatemala. Quiché Department is also named after them. Rigoberta Menchú Tum, an activist for Indigenous rights who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992, is perhaps the best-known Kʼicheʼ person.

People

thumb|right|The departments labeled 2, 4, 5, and 6 are where many Kʼicheʼ live

According to the 2018 census, Kʼicheʼ people constituted 11% of the Guatemalan population, accounting for 1,610,551 people out of a total of 14,901,286 people.thumb|Location of the Kʼiche population in Guatemala|left

Pre-Conquest

In pre-Conquest times, the Kʼicheʼ Kingdom of Qʼumarkaj was one of the most powerful states in the region. Kʼiche was an independent state that existed after the decline of the Maya Civilization with the Classic collapse (c.300 – c.950 AD). Kʼicheʼ lay in a highland mountain valley of present-day Guatemala; during this time they were also found in parts of El Salvador.

The major city of the Kʼicheʼ in the western highlands of Guatemala was Qʼumarkaj. It was the political, ceremonial and social center of the Kʼicheʼ people. The city covered an estimated area of 3.25 km<sup>2</sup> across the Resguardo plateau. There is also evidence for a large degree of cultural exchange between the Kʼicheʼ and the people of Central Mexico. Linguists have found Nahuatl influences in the Kʼicheʼ language. Up until the 16th century before conquest K'iche were a literate civilization, creating glyphs and pictographs which helped preserve their culture.

Post-Conquest

The Kʼicheʼ were conquered by the conquistador Pedro de Alvarado in 1524. Their last military commander, Tecun Uman, led the Kʼicheʼ armies against the combined forces of Alvarado and his allies, the Kaqchikel. The battle took place in the valley of Xelajú (Quetzaltenango) where the Kʼicheʼ armies were defeated and close to 10,000 Kʼicheʼ died, including Tecún Umán. Tecún has since been an important legendary figure in the Kʼicheʼ oral tradition. After the battle, the Kʼicheʼ surrendered and invited Alvarado to their capital, Qʼumarkaj. However, Alvarado suspected an ambush and had the city burned. The ruins of the city can still be seen, just a short distance from Santa Cruz del Quiché.

One of the main missions of the Spanish clergy during the conquest was to convert the Mesoamerican people to Catholic Christianity. Though they never fully converted the people, they did affect their language. The Kʼicheʼ people were one of the first groups studied by the Catholic missionary religious order known as the Dominicans. The Franciscans established Theologia Indorum, a Christian theology text written in the Kʼicheʼ native language and adapting K'iche' concepts to Catholicism. The text was meant to be a tool for converting the Kʼicheʼ and other Mesoamerican groups to Christianity. To accomplish this, the Dominicans attempted to change the meaning of some native words to better reflect their Catholic concepts. They also used similar word, sentence, and rhythmic structure to the Popol Vuh to create similarities between the texts. and the spread of liberation ideas inspired by the Catholic church. Because the K'iche' are the largest Maya group within Guatemala, According to the Guatemalan Historical Clarification Commission, Maya people in Southern Él Quiché were 98.4% of total victims.

Because of the disproportionate targeting of native peoples, the K'iche' people who inhabit Southern Él Quiché continue to be affected by the government's counterinsurgency programs. However, scholars have pointed out the differences between Western ideas of trauma and the Mesoamerican understanding. The Guatemalan Historical Clarification Commission has emphasized the need for mental health solutions that highlight community development and human rights. Ríos Montt declared innocence throughout the trial, Ríos Montt's conviction was overturned by Constitutional court due to lobbying by the country's business elite, issuing a retrial that was delayed when a judge recused herself. He died in his home while the trial was ongoing, in April 2018.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;"

|+ |Kʼicheʼ rulers

! Dates (AD) !! Name

| 1225–1250 || Bʼalam Kitze

| 1250–1275 || Kʼokʼoja

| 1275–1300 || E Tzʼikim

| 1300–1325 || Ajkan

| 1325–1350 || Kʼokaibʼ

| 1350–1375 || Kʼonache

| 1375–1400 || Kʼotuja

| 1400–1425 || Quqʼkumatz

| 1425–1475 || Kʼiqʼabʼ

| 1475–1500 || Vahxakʼ iKaam

| 1500–1524 || Oxib Kej

Tecun Uman

thumb|197x197px|A statue of Tecun Uman in the central plaza of Santa Cruz del Quiche, Guatemala

Declared Guatemala's national hero in 1960, Tecun Uman was the last of the K'iche' rulers. His death on February 20, 1524 K'iche' documents, such as the Título Xecul, detail his immense wealth, stating that he wore quetzal feathers, rare gems, and abundant jewelry. As a young woman, Menchu began advocating for the women's rights movement through the Catholic Church in Guatemala. After her father, mother, and brother were murdered by the Guatemalan government for their involvement in these protests, Menchú fled to Mexico. Since then, she has run for President of Guatemala in both 2007 and 2011 as a member of the left-leaning Winaq party but lost both elections by a large majority. Sam was born a native K'iche' speaker and also learned Spanish. He attended Rafael Landivar University in Guatemala, graduating with a degree in law. For his work on the Popol Vuh, he received a grant from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation for advanced professionals.

María Telón

María Telón is a film and stage actress. She made her debut in the film Ixcanul in 2015, receiving the Best Actress award at the Bratislava International Film Festival and other international film festivals. Telón also appeared in Marvel's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, playing an elderly Maya woman.

Irma Alicia Velásquez Nimatuj

Irma Alicia Velásquez Nimatuj is a renowned anthropologist and university professor who became the first Guatemalan indigenous woman to earn a PhD. In 2002, she filed the first racial discrimination complaint after being refused entry to a tavern in Guatemala City because she was wearing a regional clothing, which sparked a political debate on racial discrimination that culminated in the criminalisation of racial discrimination. Subsequently, she has been an advisor to UN Women in Latin America and the Caribbean and has been a witness Tribunal of Conscience against Sexual Violence against Women during the Armed Conflict.

Literature

Popol Vuh

One of the most significant surviving Mesoamerican literary documents and primary sources of knowledge about Maya societal traditions, beliefs and mythology is a product of the 16th-century Kʼicheʼ people. This document, known as the Popol Vuh ("Pop wuj" in proper Kʼiche – "the book of events") and originally written around the 1550s, contains a compilation of mythological and ethno-historical narratives known to these people at that time. These were drawn from earlier pre-Columbian sources (now lost) and also oral traditions. This sacred narrative includes their creation myth, relating how the world and humans were created by the gods, the story of the divine brothers, and the history of the Kʼicheʼ from their migration into their homeland up to the Spanish conquest.

The Popol Vuh, from its creation to present day, has developed as an important symbol of Indigenous culture for both present-day Guatemalans and people of Mayan descent. This sacred text has been used in religious and spiritual ceremonies, university studies, political movements and protests, and historical research into the lives of the Mayans and, more specifically, the Kʼicheʼ people. In 1971 it was declared the official book of Guatemala. The Popol Vuh has been used by people of Mayan descent in present-day Guatemala to defend their traditional lands and political rights in order to preserve their Indigenous culture. To this day, the Popol Vuh continues to be analyzed and studied to better understand the spiritual beliefs and practices of the Maya, and how these have shaped present-day cultures.

References

Bibliography

External links

Kʼicheʼ – an introduction – article at Citizendium
Allen J. Christenson's Kʼicheʼ--English Dictionary
A reversal, the English--Kʼicheʼ Dictionary
Rigoberta Menchú Tum - article at Nobel Peace Center