Mayan leaders today refer to the massacres of the 1980s as the ‘third holocaust’, the other two being the Spanish conquest and its aftermath, and the land dispossession during the Liberal revolution of the nineteenth century. This occurred through the dispossession of lands and the use of Mayans for forced labour on cocoa and indigo plantations. While the Mayan civilization was already in a prolonged hiatus when the Spanish arrived in the sixteenth century, the invasion prompted a very rapid decline. They established far-reaching production and trade networks as well as temples and religious centres, and developed writing, mathematics and astronomy, which allowed them to monitor other planets and predict eclipses. Ancient Maya cities were densely populated. The ancient Maya developed an agriculture-based society (maize, beans and root crops) supplemented with wild game and fish caught in rivers, lakes and oceans. These are the Mam, Yucatec, Chorti Itza, Lacandon, Mopan, Chontal, Chol, Cholti, Tzotzil, Tzeltal, Coxoh, Tojolabal, Chuj, Jacaltec, Kanhobal, Mocho, Tuzantec, Aguacateca, Ixil, Quiche, Tzutuhil, Cakchiquel, Uspantec, Achi, Pocomchi, Kekchi and Pocomam. There were 28 other ethnic groups whose names correspond to their languages. One group of Mayans called the Huaxtecs separated in ancient times and established itself outside of this geographical area.

The physical ‘boundaries’ of the ancient Mayan empire spanned the countries of modern-day Guatemala, Belize, the western portions of Honduras and El Salvador, and the five Mexican states of Yucatán, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Campeche and Chiapas. Mayan history shows strong evidence of connections to the more ancient Olmec (Xhi) civilization of southern Veracruz in Mexico. The most common of the approximately 26 indigenous Mayan languages that are still spoken are Q’eqchi’, Cakchiquel, Mam (Maya), Tzutujil, Achi and Pokoman. Mayan groups are distinguished by language. Increasing numbers of Mayans of varying social classes live in all of Guatemala’s cities, as well as in Belize, Honduras and especially Mexico.

Maya are also located on farms in Guatemala’s southern area known as Boca Costa. The largest populations are in rural departments north and west of Guatemala City, most notably, Alta Verapaz, Sololá, Totonicapán and Quiché. Maya are dispersed throughout Guatemala especially in the western highlands. There are 21 different Mayan communities in Guatemala making up an estimated 51 per cent of the national population. The Mayans of Guatemala are the only indigenous culture that constitutes a majority of the population in a Central American republic. The majority of indigenous peoples in Guatemala are of Mayan descent. We have a small favour to ask: if you appreciate our work, would you mind considering making a donation to support our work? Thanks for using our World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples! We hope you find it interesting.

Mayan ways of life