Languages
- Qichean proper
- Qʼeqchiʼ (Kekchi)
- Pokom: Poqomam, Poqomchiʼ
- Uspantek
- Sakapultek
- Sipakapense
See Mayan languages#Eastern branch for details.
| Quichean | |
|---|---|
| Greater Quichean | |
| Geographic distribution | Mesoamerica |
| Linguistic classification | Mayan
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| Subdivisions |
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| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | grea1276 |
The (Greater) Quichean languages are a branch of the Mayan family of Guatemala.
See Mayan languages#Eastern branch for details.
Popol Vuh is a text recounting the mythology and history of the Kʼicheʼ people of Guatemala, one of the Maya peoples who also inhabit the Mexican states of Chiapas, Campeche, Yucatan and Quintana Roo, as well as areas of Belize, Honduras and El Salvador.
The Mayan languages form a language family spoken in Mesoamerica, both in the south of Mexico and northern Central America. Mayan languages are spoken by at least six million Maya people, primarily in Guatemala, Mexico, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras. In 1996, Guatemala formally recognized 21 Mayan languages by name, and Mexico recognizes eight within its territory.
Kʼicheʼ 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.
Quiché is a department of Guatemala. It is in the heartland of the Kʼicheʼ (Quiché) people, one of the Maya peoples, to the north-west of Guatemala City. The capital is Santa Cruz del Quiché. The word Kʼicheʼ comes from the language of the same name, which means "many trees".
The Maya are an ethnolinguistic group of indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica. The ancient Maya civilization was formed by members of this group, and today's Maya are generally descended from people who lived within that historical region. Today they inhabit southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and westernmost El Salvador and Honduras.
The Kaqchikel are one of the Indigenous Maya peoples of the midwestern highlands of Guatemala and of southern Mexico. They constitute Guatemala's third largest Maya group. The name was formerly spelled in various other ways, including Cakchiquel, Kakchiquel, Caqchikel, and Cachiquel.
Canillá is a municipality in the Guatemalan department of El Quiché with a surface area of 123 km2 and a population of 15,053 people.
Nahualá is a municipality in the Sololá department of Guatemala. The town is sometimes known as Santa Catalina Nahualá in honor of the town's patron saint, Saint Catherine of Alexandria, but the official name is just "Nahualá". Formerly, the town's name was written Nagualá, and earlier transcriptions of the name in colonial documents include Nauala, Niguala, Niuala, and Navala.
The Kaqchikel language is an indigenous Mesoamerican language and a member of the Quichean–Mamean branch of the Mayan languages family. It is spoken by the indigenous Kaqchikel people in central Guatemala. It is closely related to the Kʼicheʼ (Quiché) and Tzʼutujil languages.
Achi is a Mayan language very closely related to Kʼicheʼ. It is spoken by the Achi people, primarily in the department of Baja Verapaz in Guatemala.
Sakapultek or Sacapulteco is a Mayan language very closely related to Kʼicheʼ (Quiché). It is spoken by approximately 6,500 people in Sacapulas, El Quiché department and in Guatemala City.
The Rabinal Achí is a Maya theatrical play written in the Kʼicheʼ language and performed annually in Rabinal, Baja Verapaz, Guatemala. Its original name is Xajoj Tun, meaning "Dance of the Tun" instrument also known as wooden drum. This is one of the few surviving performance pieces from before colonization. It takes place every year on January 25 and involves the entire community of Rabinal. A combination of movement, song, and instrumentation meld the piece together. This performance has been a part of Rabinal history for centuries, and continues to be a part of the culture today. The story of the Rabinal Achí centers on a historical feud between Rabinal and Kʼicheʼ, two neighboring cities. Colorful costumes and wooden masks are used to differentiate the characters as they play out their roles in the song-dance-drama.
The Academia de Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala, or ALMG is a Guatemalan organisation that regulates the use of the 22 Mayan languages spoken within the borders of the republic. It has expended particular efforts on standardising the various writing systems used. Another of its functions is to promote Mayan culture, which it does by providing courses in the country's various Mayan languages and by training Spanish-Mayan interpreters.
The Kʼicheʼ kingdom of Qʼumarkaj was a state in the highlands of modern-day Guatemala which was founded by the Kʼicheʼ (Quiché) Maya in the thirteenth century, and which expanded through the fifteenth century until it was conquered by Spanish and Nahua forces led by Pedro de Alvarado in 1524.
The Achi are a Maya ethnic group in Guatemala. They live in various municipalities in the department of Baja Verapaz. The municipalities they live in are Cubulco, Rabinal, San Miguel Chicaj, Salamá, San Jerónimo, and Purulhá, in addition to parts of Granados and el Chol.
Robert Marquess Carmack was an American academic anthropologist and Mesoamericanist scholar who was most noted for his studies of the history, culture and societies of contemporary Maya peoples. In particular he conducted extensive research on the K'iche' (Quiché) Mayas of the Guatemalan Highlands in the context of the infiltration and migration of Nahuatl speaking peoples into the Maya cultural areas.
Kʼicheʼ, Kʼicheeʼ or Quiché may refer to:
Kʼicheʼ, or Quiché, is a Mayan language spoken by the Kʼicheʼ people of the central highlands in Guatemala and Mexico. With over a million speakers, Kʼicheʼ is the second most widely-spoken language in the country, after Spanish. It is one of the most widely-spoken indigenous American languages in Mesoamerica.
Cauqué Mayan is a mixed language spoken in the aldea of Santa María Cauqué, Santiago Sacatepéquez, in the Department of Sacatepéquez in Guatemala. It is a Kʼicheʼ (Quiché) base relexified by Kaqchikel (Cakchiquel). During the colonial era, Kʼicheʼ migrated to Sacatepéquez, in the heart of Kaqchikel territory, where they founded the village of Santa María Cauque. Today only older adults retain the Kʼicheʼ base to their speech: for younger speakers, the language has merged into Kaqchikel.
Balam Ajpu is a hip-hop group from Guatemala, whose music is often in mostly Tzʼutujil and Spanish along with other Mayan languages, including Quiché (Kʼicheʼ) and Kaqchikel. Their music is often about indigenous themes, struggles, spirituality and cosmovision. The group is produced by Danilo Rodríguez. The members also run a school, Casa Ahau Escuela de Hip Hop, in San Pedro La Laguna, which combines lessons in hip hop with efforts to revitalize Mayan languages among children.
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