Who Is The Zinacantecos?

1873 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Maya and inca culture

Hermine BALLO – The Zinacantecos of Mexico, A Modern Maya Way of Life, Evon Z.Zogt, 1990 Zinacantan is one of twenty-one municipalities located in the Highlands of Chiapas, a peninsula of Mexico near the Guatemalan border, where the Zinacantecos lived in different halmets following ancient Mayan customs, especially by talking Tzotzil, one of twenty-nine currently spoken Mayan languages. This Indian society presents a astonishing cultural vitality, by mixing Mayan and Spanish Catholic features, and still manages to adjust to the 20th century world. Indeed, the Zinacantecos population increased from 8,000 in 1960 to 20,000 in 1990 and, despite technology improvements and economic changes, the Zinacantecos kept most of their ancestral pratices and beliefs. This ethnography was written by Evon Z. Vogt, a former professor of social anthropology at Harvard …show more content…

But this last purpose is only displayed at the end of the ethnograpghy, an addition from the 1990's edition of the book which shows a reflexion of the author on his work. 3/Obtain informed consent and necessary permissions: The participants of the study were clearly informed, Dr Vogt indeed transposes the Indians lack of understanding as for his will to discover their culture (why would somebody ever be interested in a unknown culture ?). Professor Vogt obtained the required permissions from the competent authorities, he mentionned his collaboration with the local managers. Dr Vogt's methods were exposed to the inhabitants of Zinacantecan since they accepted to answer questions during formal interviews at the headquarter of San Cristobal, a town of Chiapas. The sponsor was introduced to the Zinacantecos, some of them even travelled to Harvard

Show More
Related

  • Que Vivan Los Tamales Summary

    662 Words  | 2 Pages

    The sale of food products in the market of Tlatelolco with its various colors, shapes, smells, and sounds “unified Native American cuisines while preserving rich regional variations; [epitomized] the social relationships that depended on the feeding of gods and people; and [preserved] the cultural significance of taste for pre-Columbian cooking and eating” (9-10). Cuisine played an important part in the constructing of social hierarchies in Mesoamerica, and to this day continues to shape individuality not only in Mexico, but also for every country. Traditional forms of Mesoamerican cooking mainly belonged to women, and three simple utensils including a cazuela, a metate, and a comal, allowed them to frugally make delicious tortillas. But they “derived much of their self-worth from skill at the metate, the ability to grind maize so they could feed tortillas and tamales to their husbands and children,” (14-15). This single crop has permitted for these lower-class women to preserve and refine the pre-Columbian cuisine of tortillas and tamales. Mexicans have always been and still are a people of corn, in spite of numerous attempts to change this, partly in thanks to the female

    Read More

  • Aztec Women in Society

    1531 Words  | 4 Pages

    They say a picture is worth a thousand words. However, what words are being told in the Codex Mensoza 1964, Lám (Brumfiel 1991: 224) and more importantly what influential role did the Spanish heritage have in the artifacts? These credentials were offered as form of resolute of Aztec women’s productive activities in Mexico. Nevertheless, Bromfiel paint a different picture of the Aztec women. In these sketches, Brumfiel draws our attention to the background in which the women are performing their “productive activities.” (Brumfiel 1991: 224) At first glance, these images are portraying Aztec women. However, after careful scrutiny of the photos, I noticed several an uncanny discoveries. In the first two portraits, both of the weaving instruments appear to be bound to Roman and/or Spanish columns (to my untrained eye). In the last two illustrations, I observed “productive activities” (Brumfiel 1991: 224) of cooking being performed, in what appears to be in a non-traditional work environment that does not correspond with the “productive activities” (Brumfiel 1991: 224) of the women in that era. One appears to be working in luxury room while the other seems to be overlooking the mountains from a balcony. Although these duties were performed in a residential setting, the pictures fail to emphasi...

    Read More

  • Review of Menchu

    817 Words  | 2 Pages

    “I, Rigoberta Menchu, an Indian Woman in Guatemala” (1983), is the personal narrative of the life of a young Guatemalan Quiche Indian woman. Written in the genre of personal testimony, Menchu's powerful voice records the hardships of the Guatemalan people during the political terror of a 36-year Civil War that ended in 1996. Menchu's reality is harsh; life is a struggle to survive. Menchu as if creating an indigenous cloth with numerous threads, creates a tale of connection within her Quiche community. One of Menchu's main objectives is to maintain a cohesive Mayan culture and to bring cultural identity to her community. Menchu records her culture's past through memory, detailing rituals, customs, and traditions. She presents the Mayan culture with a sense of wonder and mystery. She speaks of candles lit to welcome the newborn children, of celebratory fiestas at weddings, of the importance of maize, and of respect for the elders of the community. Menchú promotes cultural identity of her people and encourages it for those other indian an indigenous nations around the world. The rituals she describes are alien and very different to the Western mind.

    Read More

  • guatemala

    1248 Words  | 3 Pages

    Guatemala’s culture is a unique product of Native American ways and a strong Spanish colonial heritage. About half of Guatemala’s population is mestizo (known in Guatemala as ladino), people of mixed European and indigenous ancestry. Ladino culture is dominant in urban areas, and is heavily influenced by European and North American trends. Unlike many Latin American countries, Guatemala still has a large indigenous population, the Maya, which has retained a distinct identity. Deeply rooted in the rural highlands of Guatemala, many indigenous people speak a Mayan language, follow traditional religious and village customs, and continue a rich tradition in textiles and other crafts. The two cultures have made Guatemala a complex society that is deeply divided between rich and poor. This division has produced much of the tension and violence that have marked Guatemala’s history (Guatemalan Culture and History).

    Read More

  • Ixil Mayan Genocide Essay

    1049 Words  | 3 Pages

    Imagine yourself as an Ixil Mayan at the local marketplace. You wander around the stalls, viewing the hand-crafted goods. As the midday sun beats down on you, the sound of footsteps coming towards you becomes audible among the chatter of your fellow Mayans. Suddenly, the voices stop, and a gunshot echoes in the air. For what seems like an eternity, the marketplace is drowned in the slight whimpers of children as their mothers’ skirts muffle their moaning. You are still frozen in your place in front a stall. Then, a quick moment of common sense drives you to hide behind a wall. Before you know what is happening, the space around the market is filled with screams. A man falls down beside you with his eyes rolled back and a gaping wound in his chest. Blood trickles through the wall. The pleading cries of the women have a chilling effect. As more bodies fall down beside you, you suddenly become aware of an officer standing above you. A gun is pointed at you. Up until now, you didn’t think of running, but once the trigger is pulled, you know you don’t have a chance. Moments later, you are gone. The genocide that occurred in Guatemala tragically cost thousands of Ixil Mayan lives and ruined many others.

    Read More

  • Mayans

    741 Words  | 2 Pages

    When the Spanish began to arrive in Mexico and in Central America in the early 15th century, one of the many civilizations they found was the Maya. The Maya, building upon the Olmec culture, were located in present-day Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, southern Mexico, and the Yucatan Peninsula. Even though they had many similarities, the Maya were separated by language differences. Because of that they were organized into city-states. Since there wasn’t a single city-state powerful enough to impose a political structure, the period from 200 A.D. to the arrival of the Spanish was characterized by the struggle of rival kingdoms for dominance.

    Read More

  • The Medicalization of Society by Peter Conrad

    1544 Words  | 4 Pages

    Kleinman, Arthur M. “What Kind of Model for the Anthropology of Medical Systems?” American Anthropologist, New Series, Vol. 80, No. 3 (Sep, 1978), pp. 661-665.

    Read More

  • Essay On Oaxaca Culture

    985 Words  | 2 Pages

    Explanation- This article gives examples of how indigenous people used to live before the colonization of Christopher Columbus. After the appearance of Christopher Columbus in Mexico different ethnic groups were distributed amongst different states along with their different languages. In the state of Oaxaca there around sixteen different ethnic groups which the Mixtecs and the Zapotecs are the two main ethnos who have continued to expand amongst the territory. During the Spanish conquest the Mixtec and the Zapotecs’ religion was mostly based on belief in the vital force that animated all living things, meaning that they worshiped the land and the creator. Throughout this day there are still indigenous people who believe and practice their ideology, and the “modernized” are set to practice Catholicism.

    Read More

  • Mayan Climate Change Essay

    1499 Words  | 3 Pages

    To sustain their large and ever expanding population, a populace that approximated 2 million inhabitants around the time of the prolonged drought’s commencement, the Mayan people employed an extensive array of agricultural practices that enabled them to amass wealth and food (Armstrong, 3). The Mayan people developed an extensive network of canals across the Yucatan peninsula to drain and elevate infertile wetlands to produce arable land that was previously inaccessible to them (Wylie, 8). Furthermore, the Mayan civilization employed slash and burn tactics to produce arable land that could be utilized for agricultural subsistence, contributing to extensive deforestation in the process (Wylie, 8). Although such agricultural practices effectively served the Mayan people before the shift of climate, primarily because the fertility of the land was refurbished by frequent and extensive rainfall, the droughts of the ninth and tenth centuries swiftly diminished necessary agrarian yields (Armstrong, 4). The environmental degradation brought about by Mayan agricultural practices amplified the consequences of the drought (Armstrong,

    Read More

  • Language and Communication Between Cultures in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman

    770 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...ation could have been improved between doctors and patients in simple ways. Interpreters were used and children went to school and helped translate for family members. These helped communication somewhat, but it wasn’t enough. There may not have been any other way to help, but some people tried to and doctors tried to be patient with the Hmong to understand what they wanted and to make them understand what was going on.

    Read More

  • The Return to Laughter, by Elenore Smith Bowen

    900 Words  | 2 Pages

    Question: Misunderstandings between the anthropologists and the people whose ways of life he/she is attempting to understand are often the most revealing moments of fieldwork. Discuss one or two of Bowen’s mistakes and explore what they told her about the Tiv and herself.

    Read More

  • Nahuatl: The Aztec Language

    272 Words  | 1 Pages

    Ancient languages are presumed to have vanished due to years of persecution from these conquering enemies to these ancient civilizations; however, this paper explores the Aztec language, Nahuatl. Through my research I’ve uncovered that the language is endangered of becoming a dead language. My research paper helps to understand what identifies as a dead language. To my surprise when I conducted my research I discovered that there are a small population of people who still speak the language today. Within my paper I am able to explain that type of people who still speak the language and who exactly is facing persecution due to the Náhuatl language being their first language. Currently Spanish is predominate language in Mexico, there are extremely

    Read More

  • Essay On Cultural Anthropology

    1093 Words  | 3 Pages

    The American Anthropological Association 's (AAA) aim is to offer guidelines and promote education and discussion. American anthropologists do this often by speaking and interacting with individuals living and experiencing the culture. Truly understanding, learning, and becoming accustomed to a new cultural environment takes a significantly long period of time, perhaps even years of exposure to the culture in order to truly understand traditions, morals, and customs. For instance in the Shostak`s study on the !Kung people, it was important for the researchers to say words correctly, at appropriate times, and in a culturally accepted manner, in addition, in order to interview individuals, specifically women, the anthropologist would ask one to “enter work” with her and they would talk for an hour or a day, or over a long period of time, perhaps two weeks. When studying another culture, American anthropologists include host country colleagues in their research planning and when requesting funding, establish true collaborative relationships, include host country colleagues in dissemination, including publication, and they also ensure that something is given back to the host. When studying other countries, the process is done carefully and thoughtfully, in order to end the study with new information on a culture and to establish new connections

    Read More

  • The Roles of the Characters in “Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee”

    668 Words  | 2 Pages

    During his employment as a medical official the reality of reservation life could not be ignored. Although he must have wanted to help his people there were many difficulties of the time. They were far away from Western civilization and supply to medical equipment. The epidemics of small pox, measles, and influenza were attacking the people. He could not al...

    Read More

  • The Maya Civilization

    1075 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Maya culture has a long history that started in about 1000 BC. The history of the Maya is divided up into four different time periods: The Middle Preclassic Period, Late Preclassic Period, Classic Period, and Postclassic Period. The Middle Preclassic Period was when the small areas started to become city-like in the way that they started to build larger temples. The Late Preclassic Period was when the cities began to expand with paved roads and massive pyramids. The Classic Period was the time the Maya civilization hit it’s peak. Populations were growing rapidly and the structure of politics was formed. The Postclassic Period was when warfare was on the rise and cities were being abandoned(Coe 2005). This paper will focus on the Classic Period due to the fact that that is the greatest time period in Maya history.

    Read More

More about Who Is The Zinacantecos?

Open Document