1990-vogt - the zinacantecos of mexico a modern maya way of life

7/31/2019 1990-Vogt - The Zinacantecos of Mexico a Modern Maya Way of Life

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EVN Z. GT


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SUDIS I ULUAL ARWY

GEEL EDRS GERGE D LUSE SDLERAFRICA

/BUNYORO AN AFRICAN KINGDOM

GOLDSCHMIDT/THE SEBEI A STUDY INADAPTATION

/THE SWAZI A SOUTH AFRICANKINGDOM, //THE DOBE 1KUNG

/THE MBUTI PYGMIES: ADAPTATIONAND CHANGE

/THE IGBO OF SOUTHEAST NIGERIA

ASIA AND SOUAS ASIA

/GOPALPUR A SOUTH INDIAN VILLAGE

/CHINA'S URBAN VILLAGERS: LIFE IN ABEIJING COMMUNE

DENTAN/ SEMAI: A NONVIOLENT PEOPLE

OF MALAYAHITCHCOCK/ MOUNTAIN VILLAGE IN NEPAL

EUROPE AND THE MIDDLE AST

BOISSEVAIN/ VILLAGE IN MALTA VASILIKA: A VILLAGE IN MODERNGREECE

PARMAN/SCOTTISH CROFTERS: A HISTORICALETHNOGRAPHY OF A CELTIC VILLAG

CNTRA AND SOUTH AMRA ANDTHE CARIBBEAN

BERDAN/ AZTECS OF CENTRAL MEXICOAN IMPERIAL SOCIETY

NON/YANOMAM THE FIERCE PEOPLE, /KINT/LIFE UNDER THE TROPICAL CANOPYTADITION AND CHANGE AMONG THEYUCATEC MAYA

/TEPOZTLAN VILLAGE IN MEXICO

/THE URBAN POOR OF PUERTO RICO

STEARMAN/YQi: FOREST NOMADS IN ACHANGING WORLD

/THE ZINACANTECOS OF MEXICO: AMODERN MAYA WAY OF LIFE /NORTH AMERICA

/ROYAL BLUE TE CULTURE OFCONSTRUCTION WORKERS

/THE INUPIAT AND ARCTIC ALASKA

/HENDERSON LOUISIANA: CULTURLADAPTATION IN A CAUN COMMUNITY

/THE HOGHEAD: AN INDUSTRIALETHNOLOGY OF THE LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEER

HICKS/APPALACHIN VALLEYHOSTETLER/HUNTINGTON/CHILDREN INAMISH SOCIETY: SOCIALIZATION ANDCOMMUNITY EDUCATION

HOSTETLER/HUNTINGTON/THE HUTTERITESIN NORTH AMERICA/THE VICE LORDS WARRIORS OFTHE STREETS

WLLIAMS/ TH STREET WfERE I LIVED/CHINATOWN ECONOMIC ADAPTATIONAND ETHNIC IDENTITY OF THE CHINESE

NATIVE AMERICANS

/THE TWO WORLDS OF THE SHO

/HANO: A TEWA INDIAN COMMNYIN ARIZONA

/LAKOTA OF THE ROSEBUD ACONTEMPORRY ETHNOGRAPHY

THE CHEYENNES, //THE GHOST DANCE ETHNOHISORYAND REVITAqZATION

/ALEUTS: SURVIVORS OF THEBERING LAND BRDGE

TRIGGER/HURON: FARMERS OF THENORTH, /PACIFIC OCANIA

BARNETT/BEING A PALAUANHART/PILLING/GOODALE/TIWI OFNORTH AUSTRALIA, //GRAND VALLEY DANI PEACEFULWARRIORS

HERD/THE SAMBIA RITUAL AND GENDER NNEW GUINEA

/SAMOAN VILLAGE

/ 'ELOTA'S STORY THE LIFE AND TIMESOF A SOLOMON ISLANDS BIG MAN

/SAMOAN PLANTERS AGRICULTURALDEVELOPMENT IN A TROPICAL SEMI-PARDISE

POSPISIL/ KAPAUKU PAPUANS OF WESTNEW GUINEA

TONKINSON/ MARDUDJARA ABORIGINESSOCIETY AND SPIRIT N A DESERT CULTURE

WEINER/ TROBRIANDERS OF PAPUANEW GUINEA

BASIC ATROPOLOGY UIS

HICKERSON/LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY/PRIMATE BEHAVIOR AND THEEMERGENCE OF HUMAN CULTURE

/VARIATION IN KINSHIP

COMBID OLUME

/CULTURES AROUND THE WORLDVOLUME FOUR CASES

90000

9 8000


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TE ZINACNTECOS

O MEXIOA Modern Maya Wa

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EVON Z OGT

arvard University

I CULTURAL

Harourt Bra ovanovh Cog PubshrsFort Worth Phladelphia San Diego

New York Orlando Austn Sa AntonoToronto Montreal London ydney okyo


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Pubsher: Td BucAcquisitions Editor Cs Ken

Project Editor Mke HnsawProduction Manager

Tad GateArt & Design Supervisor Vck McAndn HtnCoer Designer Vck McAndn Ht

Library of Congress Cataloging-inPublication Datagt, vn Zatan, 1918

e Znacatecs f Mexc a den Maa wa f fe b vn gtp (Case studes n cutua antpg)1. Tt nans 2. Znacantn (MexcSca fe ad custs T

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Cpgt 1990 1970 b Ht, Rneat and Wnstn, nc

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Address dtoral Correspondene 301 Cece Steet, Sute 3700Ft Wt, TX 76102

Addres Ordrs To 6277 Sea Hab Dve, Oand, 328871-80082-4479 1800433001 (n Fda)

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Foreword

ABUT THE SERES

hese case stdes n cltral anthroooy are desined to brn to stdents, n beinnin and intermediate corses n the socia scences, insihtsnto the richness and omxt of hman ife as t is ivd in deren asand n drent lacs . he are ritten b men and omen ho have ived

n the societs the rit abot and ho a rofessiona traned as observrs and nterreters of hman behavor. he athors are also teachers,and n rtn ther boos they hav et th stdents ho il read themforemost n ther mnds t is or beief that hen an nderstandn of aysof lfe very derent from ones on s aned , abstractons and eneraizationsabot soca strtre, ctral vaes, sbsistence technqes, and the otherniversa cateories of hman socal behar become meaninf.

AUT THE AUTHR

Evon Z. Vot is rofssor of soa anthroolo at arard University,hee h aso serves as Crator of dde mercan Ethnolo and Drectorof the arvard Chiaas Proect holds a Ph. n anthroolo from theUnverst of Chcao and has taht at arvard since 194. e has doneed rsearh in the Sothest amn the Navaho and Zn 9474,19495, 19512 and sinc 1954 has ben main almost ear eld exdtions to exico e s athor ofNvo Vete Mode Hometee and ot o te God e is coathor th a yman ofWte Wcg: USA and ceditor ith W. Lssa of Rede Comtve Rego th Ethe M. Abert of eoe o Rok th lbertoz of Deoo Cutu de Lo My and ith hard M Leventhaof toc Setmet tte: E Hoo o Godo R Wey is aso th vome edtor of olmes 7 and f th dbook o MddeAmc d e has srved on the Exective Board of the AmercanAnthooloca Assocaton, has been a Felo of th Centr fr AdvancedStd n the Behavoral Scnces, and s a Feo of the Amercan Acadmyof Arts and Sciences and a member of the Natonal Academ of Scencese has also been deorated b the ebic of exco Kniht Commander,Order of the Aztec Eae


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FOWOABUT HS CASE SUD

h Zinaanteos ae Maya tibesmen ith a Sanish-Catholi veneehei hih-bad sandals, won toda fo etain emonial oasons, asimia to those deited at aheooia sites eesentin the heiht of Maa

iviization of the ninth ent .D, sh as Palenq and Bonama hemtiooed ibbon steams on men's hats aea to b a ontemoavesion of the fatheed headdsss won b the anint Maa. Bt thMaan lte omlx eveaed i th ontemoa bhavio of te Zinaanteos oes fa beond limited svivas in oste. Livin aanements,sbsistene, soia elations, the hieahial eemonial stte, and atilal th elaboae onetal odein of the nives and othe elationsbeteen hans and the senatal al exhibit a basi Mayan haate

h SanishCatholi elements, atilal in the fom of eliios es,eliios esta das, som iestl fntions and emonial obseanes, andin teminoo, have snthesizd so sooth with the Maan omex thatthe eslt is a niqe, vey elaboate, and hihl inteated tal system

Eve ste in ife fo the Zinaanteos is eeonialized bin enant,ivin bith, otin, boowin and ain mon, tain eiios ofe,bein ed of ilnss, and bein bied hee ae thit-fo eliios estadas eah yea, bt these aont fo on a sal otion of time sent ineemonia ativit ads who live in a t system ow on foma ita ,as in the United States, will ain insiht into th was in hih ita ementssoia eationshis and afms the intdendne of an and the siitafoes his ase std is also testimon to the fat that hmans eat, otof thei fantas, a eaity that ives manin to existene. ndividas in osoiet, o in an othe, ma ode in deams, visions, o d festansient eo-ented ealities that dvate in some dee fom standadenitions h Zinaanteos have, as hav al tall distintive oations in idel vain dees , eated a olletive eesentation of ealit

that ovens th behaio of individas in eve faet of ife and that iseiated at al lves of the soia stte. h Zinaanteos have oefth in thei elaboation of a bif sstem mateiall eesente in eemonies, ital behavio, and dai ie than have man oth dis

intiv

hman ommnities his bief system seves as a hilosoh, osoo,theoo, ode of vaes, and as a siene t denes, exlains, and defndsevethin abot the wold. So on as the individal emains ithin thisief sstm and so on as the extenaly imosed onditions of existne

do not han too dastial , nothin else ned be nown . he Zinaantos ta sstm has ended desite the hane fom indeendenebfoe the Eoean invasion to stats as a oqeed eoe t has svivedChistian Cathoi oseltizin in fat it has ben enihed b it. As anendin sstem based on a taditiona odiation of hnomena, theZinaantos a of belivin and behavin is a halee of the amatimiiism and sientism of Eo-Ameian lte

he wods aboe wee witten fo the st edition of this ase std,


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OWO ublised in 197 e are stil aliable toda oug tere as beenange oer te ast to deades, tere is mu ta is te same neCater 9 desribes te major features of ange and ontinuit t ends itis statement, s Zinaantan aroaes te tenrst entur, it resents an oeral image of rerodutie suess, ultura ialit , and a generall

sussful , if someat uneas, adjustent to te modrn ord. atr lls in te detais to suort tis posiie araisale Zinaanteo ouation as nar triled ange is aaren in te

resene of ars and truks, ltriit, ne kins of ouses and oting, inte eonom, and in oer areas But ritua ife as exibited remarkaletnai and gies maning o life no as i as for reius generationsRemarkabe also is tat te Ladinoiation so aarent in e 195s is reedingan ndianization is relaing t n oer manifstations, su as anguage

and ostume, and in ess isible as, su as te sense tat bing dian isall rigt, bing aan in its Zinaanteo form as regained some of its loststaus

Cater 1 is aso entirel ne. e arard Ciaas Projet began in1957 nd as ontinued to te resent During is long eriod of eldorknot on te standb meods of eld antroolog, su as artiiant obseration, but aso man innoaie resear teniques ere alied isaer is a desrition of t eld metods emoed in te stud of Zin

aantan, and il el neomers to antrooog to undrstand tat antroologial edork is ariegated ut rigorous, and adated to bot teuroses f rear and t utura setting in i te resar takes ae

n addition to se to ne aters , te text of is ase stud as benudated it rset to demograi, eonomi, soial, and religious ange,as el as ange in Zinanteo material ultur. e ntrodution as alsoben exanded and Catr 9 inldes a brief disussion of rent oriesabout te origins and funtions of te argo sstem in Mesoamria

Er sine its ubiation in 197, Zto o xo as beenonsistentl one of te most idel used studies in te CE UDES NCULURL NROPOLG series is ne edition soud rousful as el

Georg and Louise SinderSeries EdiorsStanfo Uniersit


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Preface

id sar in Zinaantan as an imortant art of t arad CiaasPojt, i as initiatd in 1957 . rojt as bn sonsord by tCnt fo Baioa Sins and Pabody Msm of mian aoogy and Etnoogy at aard Unirsity and b t nstitto Naonandignista in Mxio. fnds fo t instigation a bn oiddby t ationa nstitte of Mnta at of t U.S Pbi at Sri

Gants M1929 and M21, t Nationa Sin ondation (GantsM1929 and GS1524, te Cangi Coroation of N ok in t fomof a gant (No . 2295 fo t CombiaConaradinois mm idStdis Pogam (i as atr sortd by t Nationa Sin ondaion Gant G12 , t mrian Piosoia Soity Grant 295 , andt aad Smm Soo

n t yas sin t rot bgan, a bom obigatd to a argnb of o, bot in t Unitd Stats and in Mxio, o a gn

osy ontribtd to t sss of t rsa ntris. n Mxio, mst siay ntion onzao gir Btan and t at fonso Casoof t nstitto Naiona ndignista, gnaio Brna and fons ia oasof t nstitto d nstigaions ntogios, t at bto Rz oft Sminario d Cta Maya, and Lood aso Robs and DoaGrtdis da. d Bom of San Cistba as Casas. n t Unitd Stats a otd fom t assistan of Gordon R Wiy and my otr oagsat aad, as as tos fom otr nisitis o ae orkd inCiaas, siy So ax, Norman MQon, mba Romny , DanMtzger, Robt M. dams, and Bnt Bin. am aso indbtd to rankCanian fo rmission to ind is batif otogas of Zinaantan,and fo oiding m it todat demograi data as as nt dataon t argo systm o Zinaantan a aiatd t xt ditoiaok of Say Pri and Linda Bair inay, tis book od a bnimossib itt t imssi ok of my stdnts and yong oagso engagd in d rsa in Zinaantan and o a ontibtd soimotanty to my ndstanding of t tr


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Contents

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Preface ixIntroducion Chaper Field Research in Zinacantan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

The Early Beginning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5The Traitional Field Metho artiipant Obseratin and

Foral Intervieing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Teahing inaanteos t Read Write, and Type in Tzotzil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Innvative ield Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13ong-term Field Researh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Chapter The Zinacaneco Universe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17The Quadrilateral Csmos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 17The Anetors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19The Earth Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

The aints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1The uls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4he Crosses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Chaptr The eremonial Center and he Hamlets ...... : . . . . . 33The Ceremonial Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33The Cargo yste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35The Cabildo

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The Hamlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40The hamans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43ins etween Center and Hamets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Chapter The Social Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47The House Compound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47The Deveoental Cye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Futions of the Domesti Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51Reationsips Aon Kinse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Kinship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52Daily e in the Doesti Grup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 58The Sna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60atrnyis in inaantan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6The Waterhole Group . .. .. . . .. . . . .. .. . . .. .. .. .. .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .. . . . . . . . .. . . . 63

Chaper The Economic Ccle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67The Maize Cyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Beans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73


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CONNuah 74Huntng and Gathring 74Dotcatd Anmal 74Cothing 75Markt 77ag Work

79

Borowng Mony 80Bcoming ntrprnur 81Chaper he Lie Cycle o 3

Birth 83aptim 85ociaization 86Courthip and ariag 89ring in th Cargo yt

95

Dath 98Chaper he Riual Cycl 1

Th Crmon o th Cargoholdr 101Chritma-Nw ar , 109an batin 11Eatr 111an ornzo 112Virgn dl Rosario

114

h Crmon o haman 114Th Curing Cmoni 115Th Grat Viio 117Witchcraft 122w Hou Crmonis 123RainMang Croni , 123ar Rnwal Crmoni 123

Chaper

Replicaion in Zinacanan

125

tructral Rplication 125Concptual Rplication 130Chaper Coninuiy and Change in Zinacanan 135

anguag and Coology , , 135Faily and ocial if 136Th Ecooic tm 137Th inacantco Cargo ytm

138

Hstory and Functon of th Cargo ytm 139hamantc Crmoni , 141olitic and th argr World 141Whithr nacanan? 143

Glossary 14Referenes , 149Recommended Reading 155


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AMT NAANAN (I o v 2K

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ntroducton

Znaantan s n tnt-n ztzlsakng ndan uco n thghlands Chaas whh a latd btwn th sthms hant

nd th Gatalan brd s Ma . ztl s n th tnty-nnMayan anags rntly skn b an tmtd th mn Indansth sndants th annt Mayawh v n Chaas th YatanPnnsla M th ghlands Gatala and Blz

h Caas ghlands rs t v 9000 t wth tl land valysat 7000 t and a sd ggd mstn and van mntans.Lk al Chaas has makd t and y sasns mst al thtatn als btn ay and Otbr. Whl th wntrs ar dry th

hay smm rans mak ths ghlands wth a man annal ranal 6 nhs th ttst n Mx. Jn and Stmbr ar th mst hmdmnths wth an avag mnthy rtatn 0 nhs.

On th smmt th ghlands th mat s l. Dng th wntd ssn th das a snn and arm and th nghts qt ld wthasnal rst n Dmb nd anary. Dng th smm any sasn g sttls n th vallys n th aly mnngs th sk s vrast wth anlds n th atnns nd t s l mst t tm.

h hgh vatns a d th magnnt stads n trsrs wth ak. t lr vatns stands k la th ns andth ak n trn gvs way t tra bada st and savannah n thLands ang th bnks th Grjaa Rvr.

h mn Znaantan vng n aa 1 17 sqar klmtss latd ang bth sds th Pan mn ghway st wst thty San Cstbal Las Cass. Znaantan nw has a latn abt2000 Indans vng n a Cmna Cntr and n twntys tlyng hamlts dssd thrght th mn S Ma 2 . h Crmnal Cnts statd n a vally at 7000 t th hamlts a attds agng m 5000t 000 t.

Znaantan s latd n th strn dg th dstbtn th ntmay Maya whs 29 dstnt langags a al dntatd thPt-Maa skn n th ansta hmland n th ghlands Gatmasm 4000 as ag Mly Band and Shar 193 gt 99.

In addtn t langag ths ntma Maya sha tan basattns sbsstn sal ganzatn rlgn and smlgy. F


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2 INODCION

am a Mayas tay rati sin agrlr gr maz an atrlas hy tn n ariay tn amy hshs hrrgin is a mir annt Mayan an Sanish Cahi attrns hirsmlgy ntans an mhasis n th r rnrs an h ntr thwr.

hir rs ary rs bas hir anstral ways i habn aat r irn ga nhs sialy t highan an lwlan zns an thy ha rn rng histra ntats ih hrls sh as th PrCmban zs an th Snsh Cnqrrs asl as th th ltia rssrs th ntmrary nansas an hmarkt rs th mrn r

h rs rhst rgns h ntmrary zzi ar ny artial nrst bt nns bas n arhagial an ings

rsarh inat ha hr ann Maya anstrs rs in th highans Nrthsrn Gamala an latr m h ans ang bh sis th Usmainta Rir r thy aria n h rmarkab rth Cassi Maya ilzatin D 300 D. 900 whh bl th ams sts ikal Uaan Palnq Yahlan Bnamak an hrs By abD 200 h ansrs h ztzl h sk zltaan bgan mngint h Chaas ghans hr by D 600 thy slt in th zlalla th Eas an h zzil la th Wst S Ma 1 ; ams

1961 ; Vg an Rz 964; MVk 974; Kaman 176 .zt mrhans rm hir aita a nhtan n Mi Cityrah th ghlans Chaas n h nh nr an ra rambr qtza athrs an skins . thgh thy n nqr h ztzan zlta rgin as a whl hy stabsh a garrisn n Zinaantan ra shr r alat trang aits ams 961.

t was hr n th Chiaas ighlans hat th Sansh Cnqrrs nh ztzl an zlta nqr h in 5 an sablsh h ity San Cristbal as Casas hh sl srs tay as th rinal arkt nan ita nr r th ghlans hs l lnial iy as srv ash aial Chiaas nt 9 hn th aial as m t th nwrmr rgrssi n tla Grrz n t lwlans sm 45 mis th st hl th latn San Cristba has grwn 100000 it hasbn str by ta Grrz whih nw basts a brgning ain r 0000.

h snants h Sansh nqrrs inbr th nans rh ntrs an bam th lal ains wh sa Sansh i manyn ns an ts tr h nm an lial sysm Chaas arsrng Caths an nsir thmss itzns h Rbl Mi.h nins n th r han sa ztzl an ztal iv mainly insmal satr hamls ar nly nminaly Cathis an nsir hmss rimaly mmbrs hr n trbal grs. Eah triba gr isn a sngl mnii sas a nq langag an rsss n stntiths s Clby 1966

Dring th ng na r h ans sablish an sgar


17/173

INOCION

c ad att ahs o th aks o th highads ad i th owadvalys. h Idias st tolld ad rqird to rish labor dr thecoed systm by whih th Saish Crow gatd th Coqos'rights to this labor taatio om sid Idia ommitis lat bamos i gat mbs d a systm o dbt-oag o arg as ad

ranhs. h slt was a gat loss o dia asal lads as wl as

oomi ad olital otol to Ladio ladlods ad mhats livig ih ighad hiaas tows.

It is ot srisig that th zotzil atiiatd i two maor dia blios agaist Saish l. h "ltal Rvolt o 1712 statd i thztal miiio o Ca bt srad aidy to th zotzil aa. h"Czat Rblio md atr th lad do Diaz Czat was iitiatdi Chala i 869 ad soo attratd a lag olowig o armd diaswho attakd Sa Cisobal Las Casas ad w lld oy by th arivao Mia amy troos Vogt 1969.

h zotzil did ot bgi to rovr thir astral lads ti ll atth Mia Rvoltio o 1910 to 1920. dd, it as ot til th sidy o Lzaro Crdas i 194 that Ziaata ivd its rst jdodr th lad rom systm that olowd th Rvoltio.

By 150 th a mia ighway had b avd ito Sa CistobalLas Casas ad th Ziaatos bga to rid tks ad bsss ito maktad bo mo itgratd ito th akt systm th modwold. Fo ot oy did th omtio o th highway vastly imo thtrasotatio twok o th Ziaatos bt th highway aso gatlaidd Ziaato mhats who had log ivovd i th salt tadad i th sal o sls maiz. It also stimlatd th dvomt o widstis sh as th owr idsty o ow goods rodd i highladhamlts old b tkd to ta Gtirz o sal i that arg makt.

Nit ty aso markd th aiva o h ttuto co dgetNatioa dia stitt i Sa Cistobal with its ambitios ogam to

aid th zotzil ad zlt i imrovig thi i o ay ots hathdatio agrilt , t. his agy was to b th rst o may Miagovmta rogams o assist th Idias o ighlad Chiaas i thiadsmt to th aidly dvoig ad hagig orld o th at ttithty s Chat 9 .


18/173


19/173

1/Field Rsearch

in Zinacanta

My ld sarh n Znaanan bgan n 1957 whn nad h"arvard haas Prj. adqarrs hav bn manand nnsly sn hn n h Ladn ark wn San Crsba as Casas hrw an nd rva nrvws and r hsay Znaan nrmans . Ovr h as 32 yars my sds and hav ndrakn dwrkn h rnal nr Znaanan and n ams al s 26 hamss Vg 969 976 97. Frm h bgnnng w hav srssd zngh nav ndan angag n r rsarh vng wh Znaan amlswrkng wh hm n hr rnds and andng hr rmns. hsaran bsrvan has n bn asy saly n asns whn hhngrahr s nrnd h a drnkng ral and d nsmsrng rm lqr a 5 .M. b h mbnan nrvwng and bsrvan s sl h nly rlabl way hngrah rh. s gnnrb bh my sdns and h Znaans wh hav ad ss gra n hr hs ha w hv njyd a rh ad rwardngrn n nvsgang and rrdng hs lrl r r h rsm n hsy. B hw dd w gn dl rar wh hs rmsy? ha d mhds hav w sd vr h as 3 yars? harbms dd nnr and hw dd w sv hm?

THE EAR BENNNS

hn nad my rsar n Znaanan n h smmr 1957 wash rs hngrahr ndrak ssand l rk n hs nmraryMayan sy. sal d ary anhrlgy sdns rm M'sNana Sh nhrlgy had ngagd n sm s wks rsarh

n Znaanan Cnr n h nr 194243 ndr h drn PrssrSl a h Unvrsy Chag . B by 1957 hs arly and br nawh h anhrlgal wrl had alms add mly rm Znaanmmrs and had bgn anw dvl rar wh h Znaanan.

nhrlgss hav dsvrd ha n arrval n an an sy hms wrk mmdaly n hr mars. hy ms s ab larnng hnav langa as l as gh vryda ss shlr and rvsn


20/173

6 L CH IN ZINCNN

thmsls and bgin th ng ss attainng sm ll atanhy mst bgn t dl a "that is a nam and a asn bingan ntd that wl smhw b maningl t th l bing stdidw aly wl n ha had anthgy n ha bn ntddt th sts ida that t s wth anyn's tim t std th stms

anth mmnt Fnaly thy mst as b ab t ntbt smthingatial t th whs tm and ngis a bing absbd n thanthga nstgatn

My sah atins ban in aly gst 195 whn a gadatstdnt ank C. Ml and ikd a t and-R n tlaGti th stat atal Chiaas. By and n hsbak and nt Mill and ndtk a nthng nnassan th til aan d t sl sts d sah. his was n my mst dlt

mnths ld in sin w w mlt stangs and had s ttmhnsn th stms sially th manings th aggssi atsby ntiatd sdnts as d sts w sitd. M than n ww statld by and ntan hw hand dnks wh babbld inhntly and shd aggssiy aganst and as t asd n th baknty ads By th nd th mnth had and a gat da abthanding ths and th statins and ddd t wk n a ham Zinaantan whl Mill sttld in a hat th nghbg mni stan.

sid m tw b atis b a mssnay-ingist Waths 19471950 , th til skn by th Znaants as an nstdid and nttnangag. Ftnatly many th Zinaant mn had land Sanshmst wmn w nlingal n ti m th mitd shlng andm th wking and makting ins in th Man mmnits Chaas Sn was nt in Sansh d at as gin by hangnsatins with th blngal Zinaant n and nlist th assistann lanng til Unlik Naah a tnal langag ith a y mlgammatal stt wth whih I had kd sy n my Sthwstnsah tl d t b a lss than dit angag. An anhplgstwith mdat gits laning langags an I stmat attan a asnablny n i by wkng l-tm n th task s mnths.

t th 1957 sasn in Znaantan I tnd n 195 with t gadatstdnts B.N. "Nk and M. Clby wh and in th l a ya. Sin Clby was a lngist sh mad th st systmat stdy til gamma and md an lmntay d ditnay Wth h

tn t Cambidg w initatd th st nma s in skn til th Clb sing as th tah F th nsng 20 yas th sin ti as d nmay almst y sing tm at aad and dld th mthds that nmsly nhand th at at wih nwstdnts land ti b hy ntd th ld th st tim Btal agmnt th mmb th jt wh knw til bst wasantd as th tah gadss ag ank. Sm yas th tahwas an ndgadat whi I was n th stdnts. W nd ths as


21/173

LD SCH IN ZINCNN 7

by al dds th mst int way t tah th angag. Zinaant infrants wr as rsadd t snd si ks t tw mnths at arard ahsring t b nati sakrs i rsin fr th ztzil rs and aaiabfr r-d intriwing hs infrmants with th skild hl f Grg Clir and hn B aiand rdd ztzil langag tas that wr

imrd ah sasn and kt n fr th stdnts' s in th angagabratrs . h mst dilt art f this rss was arranging th arsand ranstatin t th Unitd Stats fr th Zinaant infrmantsardr that always ind sm mmb f th rjt traling tChiaas srising th raratin f th ars tmrary assrt iitary sri ard t. thn rnning th gantt at th Unitd Stats Embassy in Mi fr th isa and anthr gantt at immigratin and stmsn arrial in th US . h mbassy and immigratin ias awas bgan

by assming w wr trying t imrt dmsti srants Frthr sin thinfrmants sk n English and wr nastmd t th rigrs f if ina ity sialy n as ld as Cambridg Massahstts w aways arrangdt hs and fd th infrants in n f r wn hms. Sm mmbrf th rjt thn amanid th infrmant bak t Chiaas t makrtain h dd nt gt st alng th way and/r fai t gt thrgh al thimmigratin and stm hks Bt it was a mr than wrth th tim thns and th rt bas it was nrsly stimlating f th stdntsarning ztzil and llting data fr d rjts thy r lanning frt sbsqn smmr sasn.

ng with th angag th ld thngrahr als nds t arn ssntia ryday tiqtt and antiiatd rsnss t ryday nntrsFr am in ztzi n nr says "Gd Mrning "Gd ftrnn r "d Ening nr anything ik " r "i Rathrwhn mt n a trai th grting is a ry mattr-f-fat " amassing Sir and th rsns "G ahad and ass . rahing a Zinaant hs n nr knks n th dr nr n s s t thdr bfr saying ldy frm otd th ati gat "r y thrMadam? assming that althgh th man f th hs may b away thwman f th hs is aways at hm by th harth h rsns is "am hr thn n may ask if hr hsband is thr h tiqtt fr drinkingtgthr r sharing rmnia mals s Chatr is mliatd and adds t a ngthy st f rls that wld mak a rstab hatr in aZinaant rsin f iy Psts Etqtt

n dling an ndrstandab rl in an ain sity a rgnizab

nam is an ssntial art f th anthrlgist's idntity n my ris ldwrk amng th Naah my idntiy was qikly stabishd by my Naahna My fathr wh wnd a sh and attl ranh that brdrd n aart f th Naah sratin in wstrn Nw Mi bam qit rtyin his atr yars and aqird th Naah nam f "Pstaj "th ittig. nd natraly bam knwn as "Pstaj Biy "th sn f thlitt ig in th Naah mnitis. Bt hr amng th Zinaants itwas bis frm th rst sasn f 957 that th hand f "En Z Vgt


22/173

8 F CH N ZCNN

r "Pessr Vgt as makng me mre aen than the aerage strangeth a me nneable name . n the smmer 195 t was the Unersty Chag ngst Nman MaQwn h made the elts sggestnthat "En as aby sme eent amly esn "Ean hhn trn as eated t "Jhn. "Jhn tanslates nt "Jan n Sansh and

nt "Shn n t and ld bem "Dn Jan n Sansh "tkShn "S Jhn n tl. Wth adanng yeas the "tk Shn beame "M Shn "Old Man hn a name geate set Smlaly"Vgt was say rnned "V' the tl d r wate and mylae rgn "Bstn as "Psh n tealy "Rm Lqr Rk S beame "Ml Shn V and me m "Psh n"Old Man JhWater m Lq Rknd al was nally ndestandabe t teZnaan ts

Bt hat was rally dng sendng my te askng mertnent qestnsabt Znaante wrs and stms the me edated and ltateZnaantes smly desbed msl as a "rss r "anthrgsbth es beng smewhat knwn t the ndans bese thee wereMean esss and asna anthlgsts wrkng the Natnalnan nsttte t San Crstbal the less edated and lss shstated vlaes the ltmate statn my see was that "atn bss as named Pesdente Deek Bk aad Unesy and

that he had rdeed me t me t Znaantan and stdy ts sms. Dntask me hy an e s n de hs seed t kas t had Benand Ls Pa yeas bee n th eld wrk n the Gatemaan Mayanmnty San Ped a Lagna n Lake ttn. s my aqantaneshgew wth the Znaantes and thes wth k alays elaned nme dtal the mtane knwledge abt ther eles stms andshaed th them dstns wn ea stms sbet theynd asnatng.

Fnall hat ld d the ele n atal tems t emsehem he tme and enegy they sent answeng my endless qstns tthe tst dsered the mst areated sere ld de asds ele and ther gds esea saks mae t the maket nSan Crstbal. n 1957, mst Znaantes aked t maket leang hmeat snrse t reah San Cstbal ater a tw three h ney beae t e n the et LandR and tansrt the mae hkensand eggs r sale n ess than nerth the sal tme as enmslaeated

s began mre systemat nteng stated t embse the Znantes n the bass the aeage daly age he tme. Sne waseeng them m wrkng n the elds engagng n ther dterk t made sense ay them a daly age. hs beame an emlyeth all the adantages and dsadantages sh a le mls . One adantageas bseng able t ask an nmant me t ed headqatesn San Cstbal and st dn a l day t anse my qestns . wethe dsadantages als beame aaent s as qky made aa the


23/173

F ECH IN ZNCNN 9

at that mls a t t a m t ls h th mazsl s sht h a mb a ami is l a s t hav asiv ig m m.

stiv shall v gt m st t sass i th Ziaathamlt Past . ah a v t t th hamlt m haqats

i Sa Cistba. isv that th tahs i th lal shl l visitith m bt as I v ag th hamlt as t l th l bt alsth gs a sh t hi i th ls at m aah. Iama b m i a hi l st a ii lh atth g th a a al l mg m th lsll ist t gag s i vsat th thi hatg Saish am v m halg ztzil . t a f ks vig tast maiz a hks t th makt a La-Rv smbl

ss m Th f t t Moo May th Ziaats tast ha v b i a mt vhil vis; th l bmiz a ask m t st at ss xig v is a h Si thha v sat a bh ha b th m t k th as th b th i th hss h th a gg maiz kg th bak th LaRv.

B th thi sas i 199 sig s tha vi th NatialIia Isttt ha mlt a l hs s i th hamt Past .It as a small th-m stt t t th shl hs. I mv iaai b m i hi a gaat stt a a Ziaamat m th mial t. h qats tight bt at last istal a hamlt a t ighbs th CltaPt as th Ii Isttt tahs al h v t bth miat mmb th jdo a m mmtt a h th mst mtat litial las all Ziaata.

O hs ha t b blt t t th gvt shl si la Zaata is alabl th ss that sllig a al t a tsis thikab h Mia gvmt ha aa stablish th shl a i a tibt b t mmit a h hs bama ki aag th sh. his lati v t b t gttg ll aqait ith th Ctal Pm h as t bm m ial imats . I als ba l aqait ith th Sta th Shl Cmmtt hs al task it as t mak tai that thhil am t shl a t sta ga v th hiks a igs thClta Pmt h h t hm t visit his amil i Ziaata

Ct taily bam l aqait ith th sh hilal stl mai bs i ths as th gis t st t shl amb tl as lath bg g i is shtat sis s th as al a ha tig t bt a absi th sha tl shl bga at a.m Bt kg Zaat sa li as imit si it is t stma jst t g vistig iZiaata lt O mst hav a as f gig t ath hshl:t b a a b a hik gag th svs a shama. S


24/173

L EECH IN ZINCNN

saw tte the mre ntate sal e the mnty and whle weheard shamans rmng rng eremnes n nearby hses we were ntnted. nded t was nt ntl y rth seasn ed wrk n th srng 960 that naly managed t be nted t attend the eremnes r thelneages and waterhes and nt nt the th seasn that was nted t

attend a rng eremny n the ray a hme. hese ntatns amrm the rmer Seretary the Sh Cmmtte whm ame t knn the smmer 1959 By 1960 h had meted hs yle dreams hademergd as ne the shaans the hamet and ntd me t attend theeremns n the srn 1960 had as manaed t arrang t eat mmeas wth a Znaante amly sne was ane n the ed and exanedthat wtht my we there was nbdy t k my trtlas. he w nersatn and the bseratns ay l drng meas added m

masrably t my ntrl the angage and t my knwldge Znaantestms. hs earl exerene lng n the eld hs n a hamet led ta ndamnta desn nernng eld strategy drng the later years theret. dedd t was mh mre rdte t hdartr n San Crstba here e ld nterw nrmants away rm the dstratns rdnary Znaante amy leth barkng dgs and ryn babes anda membrs the amy lstenng n n the nterwand as r hstalty when Znaantes std s. hen when we wnt t the llages wearranged t e n Znaante hses seeng n the r as they ddshrng ther meas artatng n rng eremnes as hey rrd ttr seera das t tw weks wth a am the eld rker wd retrnt ed headqarers n San Crstba t wrte eld ts and d smefrmal ntrewng and then retrn t the eld agan. hs alternatng between lng at ed headqartrs and ng dety th ndan aes gaes a mh deeer ew than we ld er hae btaned by lng besdethem as a neghbr bt essently aart rm Znaantes as dd n rwn eld hse n Paste. he Paste ed hse was later gen t themmnty and s nw tzed as hsn r addtna shteahers.

TE TRADTNA FED METDS:PARTCPANT BSRVATN AND FRA NTERVEN

he attern aternatn beteen eld headqarters n San Crstbaland stays seeal days t tw eeks n the eld n drty wth ndan

amles n Znaantan Center and ars hamets ertted s t tlzeery rdtey the tw tmehnred eld methds ethngrahers artant bseratn and rma nterewng.

he an bserrs n Znaante hses was a dt resseseay n the early years when we wer st earnng the stms hrst ernght stays were arraned th r se nrmants esealy wththe amly a Znaante wh had ben wrkng wth the Natna ndannsttt et shw and whm we emyed as an nrmant Later we


25/173

FIELD ESECH IN ZNCNN

wr ab t la stdnts in many dirnt hshlds i svra hamltsby flwing a rdr th Zinaants sd thmsvs in asking fr afavr g a an f mny . W wd amany r rqst with itrf rm liqr assr th family that th stdnt likd bans and trtillas andsk ti and r t ay a mdst daiy f t vr th st f th

mals. Ony tw nssins wr mad t add th halth and mfrt fth thngrahr living in a antn f rid watr t drink and a slingbag t k warm dring d nights in th Chiaas mntains. Othrwisw ivd as th ndians livd and artiiatd as fy as ssibl in th wf lif. Or fma stdnts rnd t mk trtillas wav and arry wdand watr n tmins r mal stdnts larnd t lant and h rntnd ms and if msially tantd lay th nativ msia instrmnts.W als mad an rt t a stnts in hshlds that wld ard

maximal infrmatin fr thir artiar rjts. Fr xm if a stdntwr stdying ring rnis w wd a that rsn in th hshldf a shaman On th thr hand if th fs wr stdying birth w wlda th stdnt in th hs f a midwif. als nragd r thnrahrs t war arriat Zinaant thina fat that was ariatd by th ndians sin thy hd an prtnity t sll s f th rdtsf thir waving t s. Symblialy th likd th ida f r waring thirlthing instad f aaring in th villags drssd as Ladins r thrtsids. W fnd it was bst hwvr t war th lthing aftr narnd ngh zi t arry n graf nvrsatins . h tw rsssf arning th langag and drssing as Zinaants rriatly wnttgthr

ntrlgists fn mak a distintin btwn frmal nd infrmalintrviws. n th infra intrviws th thngrahr ds nt tak ntsr rrd n a ta rrdr bt instad hats infrmally with an infrmanthil sitting arnd a r in a hs waking n a ntain trai givinga infrmant a rid in a j. f rs mad s f th infrmaintrviwing whn th rtntis rsntd thmsvs bt w am tdnd mr n dayng frma intrviwing at ld hadqrtrs in SanCristba Fr r d hadqartrs w mangd t rnt a rsti ld ranhn th tskirts f San Cristb. h fr adb bidings n what am tb ald th "Ranh arvard rvidd hsing fr sta rms fr ldnfrs and artis and a st f fr s with ras fr th qitsa ndd t writ ld nts n artiiant bsrvatins and infrmalintrviws and t ngag infrmants in frmal intrviwing. f th stdnt

was nr nt in til th intrviw ws al in zi and sayrrdd fr ar transritin. Mr ftn th stdnt sd a mbinatinf ztzi and anish bt ways attmtd s th qstins in ztils thr wd b nifrmity in th iiting frm n infrmant t th nxt.Frmal intrviws wr ftn rrdd dirty n th tywritr nw frs thy ar rrdd n rtab mts

rdtiv mbinain f intrviwing and artiiant bsrvatin anb ilstratd by th arah sd in stdying th ritals f Ziaantan


26/173

2 D SH N ZINCN

w neriew a shaan n aan a ring erny asking hm e me in ea wha he w rng he eremny hen wariae n he eremnysme were brie b sme ase 36 hrswh a breakan wre y e ns n he een erwars w neriew he shaman again ab ha aay bsre asking

eseay ab ha esdes he migh ha me in he rs inerewr ab earrs rm he rere h ha nd as evee asea meh nerewing by amanyng he shaman n he s e a he ans neee r a eremny. We w hen bring hans bak ed heaqarers an w ask hm eah m hw arrange an mana h ans r a arar eremny. N ny di earn a grea dea by niaing e arahernaa b as n he ress gaherng he ans an eahng me hw maniae hem h shman

hmse wd remmbr her eas e me ab. he ery ee andsme an s h sar ans sem se a ery reeing san.

TEACN ZNACANTECS T READ, RTE AN TPE N TZTZ

he begnning he re ser ha a ew Znaanes

read an wre Sansh whih hy had earned n sh b nne werra n zzi. s sn as we ha mae engh rgress n esbingzz we ised an arrae habe and bgan eahng a ew seeednrmans rea an wrie n zz. hs ress red b a greaaanage r he an was as se r r researh sne e askhem wre s wh nernear ransans in Sansh b erainmans Zinaane ie arming shee raiing hse-bding ringermnis myhs e . he ne s as eah a nmber inrmans hye and rde he wih rabe yewrers. Nw he sd e ren wih greaer ease an ransrins rm aes reded inzzi d e mae wih he nrnear ransains n Sansh he seeedinrans were ery ae ying an een earne ad arriaens he es eaning ies n ransan. Sme inrmans began be hr ye ia aers ars kinds by herZinaanes s ha hre was high mian ere yng sks hih be ranserre ae rabe mrs when hey were a r rsearh ehngy.

N we wer n a sn genrae mh adina nman abe re ase nrans be emye by he ay r by he age ye nrman n he anna rn aes an sen s eshrgh he ma .


27/173

IL SCH N ZINCNN 3

NNVAVE FED METDS

In addition to the moe taditional method of anthooogial ed wokthe avad Chiaa Pojet teed fo the ott the deveoment ofinnovativ ed method taioed to th atila ah oblm of in

divida anthooogit o exame Robet M Laghlin who began hi ed eah in Zina

antan in 1959 ioneed a vait of method a he ent oe 12 eaomiling hi otil ditiona e boght infomant to Wahington andto Santa e New Mxio fo me month to wok intenivey on thditiona he ed th tehniqe of "eatig wod b nning the ahabetthogh the omte to ee if new ombination of lette eminded thinfomant of otil wod that had not et been eoded) with th a

iane and enoagement of ohn aviland he had hi ditiona omteid he et i the ot omlete meian Inian angageditiona eve to have ben blihe aoiately entitld Th GtDcto of S ozo Zt, with moe than 35000 wod

h Canian who began eld eeah in Zinaantan in 1960 wee aloionee in innovative method. Fank Canian who eiaied in the eonomi of maizefaming and agohoding tained ke infomant to adminit qetionnaie in oti and wa abl to obtain almot total amle

of hoehod head in two lage hamet theb giving needntedand detaied eonomi infoation 1972) anea M. Canian 1964) fl adaed obt F Bae laboato tehniqe fo th tdy ofmal-go inteation and o oing the inteation in a ae of tenZinaanteo hoehod ove a 24-ho eiod Vitoia R Bike in hed tdy 193) of the atten of ita hmo tilied th tae eodeto eod th intiate dialoge aied on ding emonia lowning aneollie td 1973) of Zinaanteo aw i baed not on on eld obe

vation bt ao on 287 aw ae ote b inteviewing inomant andtding ove 15 text in zotil wittn b liteate Zinaanteo .o ome te o f obem w e died it wa ef to e anel of

infomant One exame i Caon Poe Edwad td 1969) of Zinaanteo fneal and emeteie. tiiing a hotogah of the mete ofone of the hamet takn fom th to f a neab montain idge) hehod to eiit fom infomant the oia tte of the mtei e . who wa bied whee he woe who oe ande fo dead aneto

eah Snday in the emeti we tant to be inteviewed . n givnman o knew whee hi own immediate aneto wee bied t theggetion of a k infomant the tion oved to be a anel of 12 menho at aond a long table at eld headqate ooked at the hoogahtoethe and ovided omlete infoation on the whoe eetey in ainge day of intviewing Vogt 1978)

nothe fitfl e of infomant wa emod b Geoge Colie andohn aviland who olleted ding the mm of 1970 a "Who Who inZinaantan Coie wa inteet in tding hamet oitia tt


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4 D CH IN ZINCNN

Hailand was intrested in the pattrns of gossi . Havland (1977 : 13-14)

describesthe methods used :

W aond that pan of inacantco td to b pntativ and knowdgab, coud poduc it of th wknown pop in ach hat and thnuppnt th it with baic idntifing infoation bout ach pon W

found that it wa indd poib to icit it o na fo ach hat h wkhad two tag Fit ou pan (of th to v Zinacantco n) woud pondto th qution who i bt known in ach of th hat Whn w hadxhautd thi qution, w akd th pan to na pop fo h hat whof into vaiou catgoi ( g cu, onnd) Fo ach na wicitd a cago hito a od in civi oc, ag and o udinta gnaogica inoation, and w notd hot dciption which occud whi hn on th pan id to idntif th individua aong thv W aidthat w had anagd to captu th kta fo of putationthat w w

daing with incipint goip a th n on th pan dicud ach an atngth agud ov hi pat pfanc and jokd about hi nickna

h foat of th Who Who iciting ion wa anab to goip a wa to th cnutaking w w doing hfo ud h a pan ofZinacantco to gnat toi of th pop on th ho Who i fo thhat h toi w tapcodd and ith ditd o fu tancibd inoti hi wa fa th icht ouc o goip I codd and tancibdo than fot hou of uch goip ion pt with wid aught jokingand oking a th pan conidd th putation and xpoit of Who Wo

notab Loing it initia inhibition, th pan gadua wad up to th takofo Coi and qunt withdw fo th convation copt andt th n tak natuay Convation continud ong aft w had ft thwokoo and tund o th tap cod

In 1963 , in oaboaio with Profssrs Norman . MaQown ad .Kimbal Rmn I rivd a Nationa Sin ondation grant o obainaial hograhi ovrag of th ighands of Chiaas. h aial hotograhs of thr kindsartogahi high ait anoami, an ow lvlobiqsw takn in 1964 b th Cmana Mxiana d oftos,S , and th Ik Craion of Pal lo, California. W a stablishdan aial hoo laborator a avad ih a RadrPrntr and oom stoso for viwig and woking ith hotograhs and w odd a basil o hotomosais and mas fo th sd of smnt ans omniaions ntwoks, toogah, and and s in h oil and ltaara of h Chiaas ighands Eah n stdnt ho was std to wokin inaanan was introdd o th aria hoto laborao and was ab o

sd and ma th si aas in whih h or sh wold b working dring h fothoming sason, so ha arial hotos bam sf fo almosvr d ojt

In addiion, th wr man ojts whih ma vr sia s of haria hotograhs. Gog Coir sd th aria hos to mak an xhasi sd of dmogah and and n arns in a hal in whihqstions f and onshi w oo diat to boah whn woking in thld 1975 Coi aso dvod a om ogram ha onstd


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FELD RESEARCH IN ZINACANN 5

genealoge on rntot heet and thn located the lneage n omterma deved from aeral hoto Rchad Prce develoed a method of tlng aeal hoto to td th fallow cle f Znacanteco wdden agclte, and emated that te wok he accomlhed n for wek b gthe aeal hotogah wold hav taken x month b tradtonal grondve mthd Ga oen develod wa of lng aeral hotogahto td wold vew b elctng teatc nfomaton from nfomant abotacred geogah Lnnea n made nw dcovere abot the forkngtal atten of Znacanteco hamlet that a lad ot n a coletel deentmanner from the grd atten fond n Ladno cte n Chaa for detal,e Vogt 1974)

ONTERM ED REAR

Pha the mot dtnctve feate of the el eearh n Znacantan the latvel long tmeod ov whch have had the cltre nder alotcontno obervaton Vogt 1979 rm 1957 hrogh 989, a rod ofthrttwo ea, we have had eld oberver workng n Znacantan for atleat at of eah ea h mlcaton of th long-tem eah are ofond Raot an dvelo at a level that rae n the horte erm eldoject, ecall thoe that lat onl a ear or two fter a tme n longe

tem rojct, the anthroologt ae exected to arve ach a, lke themer ran

nd , whle the ma not alwa do all th Znacanteco xect o hoethe wll do ch a oerg moe emloment ad moe loan) , th alwaemloy oe nfomant each eaon the contne to teach Znacantecoto te o wrte n the own otl langage and the hel to ncae thede the Znacanteco have n the on dentt and n the own comt nlke the local ona and govenment ocal, man of wom

dengate natve ctom, the anthologcal reenc hel to romote an lf-conone, a ne elf-reect on he at of the Znacantend the anthroologt can begn to wok mmdatl wthot watng longerod for cent aot to delo to ermt eld obevatn andntevew hee can alo be a harng of an normo cor of data, aeach eld woker contbte a co of h ld note to the cental achva the have ove the ear ther, each eld-worker nomall crclatemancrt to othr membe of th oect for omment and rtcm n

advance o blcaton Whe I otme nd t maddenng to have to rewrtean atcle or a book thee or for tme n eone to the har commenfrom m colleage and formr tdent, I a convnced the nal odctae better fo t, both ethnograhcall and analtcall


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2 The Zinacaneco Univers

he Znaanteo Indian of ighland Chaa have drawn on theirrehtor at their for entrie nder Sanih onqeror and theirrrent onfrontaton wth the modern world in fahoning their reent wayof lfe. he nq ltr they have dveloed hel them both i ndertandng and ong wth ther artar envronent and in arrying orwarda vita and meaningfl way of life.

Whie the eleet of thi way o life are all intimatel interrelated Ihave qte arbtrarly divided them nto a erie of haterbelef abotthe nivere the organzaton into a eremonial enter and otlying hametoal lfe eonom the lie ye and rta. Whie thee hater dietand analyze the tre nto ome of it ore imortant omonent I hoethe reder wil be able to yneize the divere element erimoing onederition onto another to or a tre of a highly ntegrated ytem andth to aroah more neary the Znaanto view of their own way of lie.

THE QUADRLATERA COMO

he rgged metone and voln montain terran reahing into the

lod of ghland Chiaa i the viibe rfae of the Znaanteo wordBlml, whih eived a a large qinn n qadrilatral for ogt196) he enter of the er rfae of th world the "navea lowronded mond of arth loatd n the eremonal enter of Zinaantan.Nearby a hrine maintaned for ofering of ande oal inene andrayer to th "nave of the word by Znaanteo on ilgrimage to therereonia enter. he hole world extend ot from thi "nav EvenMexo Cty the aia of the nation in whih they i i regarded by the

Zinaanteo a a remote la o toard the edg of the world e Goen1974)

he qinnia world ret on the hoder of the M, theoa verion of the "rCorner God or "Sky-Barer ho layed animortant ole in he omology among the anent Maya homon 1934) When one of thee god tire and hft the brden rom one hoder toanother an earthqake relt ad lat ntl h brden ere agan. Snethe oation of the world i inreang the brden freqenty tre one or


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8 H AAECO NIVESE

ore of thee god Bt the earthake kil enogh eole to ighten thbrden and th ermit the god to arry on their eterna dtie

tB "a warmed by bone) i a dee hole, omewher inideth earth, whih i imiar to the Chritian el t obabl alo ontaineement of the rehitori nderorld Vogt 196)

Beow the viible word, and earated from it b an oen ae, i the"Lowr Word Olo Bl), ao a qinnx It i not a thik a ther world and ha more of the hae of a ayer of an anient Maa ramid .he rfae of thi "Lower Word i inhabited b a rae of darf who,along with monke, wre made in the mthoogial at when the godnefl attemted to reate eal men

n the Sk hl) above the earth i fond the domain of th Sn, theMoon, and the Sta he Sn, alled "Or ather eat, trave on a aththat enirle the earth eah da Preded b "th Sweeer of the Path,a Ven , the Morning Star, i ald, the Sn aear ah morning, aeat high noon to rv the aai of the Zinaanteo, and diaear eahevning the Sn et, it ae oe to the oean and make th waterboil t night t ontine on a ath that ae btween ti world and the"Lower World , making it o hot for the dwarf that the have to war dhat to rotet themeve

he ath o the Sn rovide the bai diretion ed b Zinaanteofor orinting themeve on the rfae of the word hre i no abtrat waof aing North , Soth , Eat , or t in oti Intead or ont of Eati aroxmated by word that tranlate a "lae whre th Sn ri , andWt b "ae where the Sn t What we rgard a Soth and Northare the ide of the ath of the Sn Zinaanteo dirntate the two bfaing the "a where the Sn rie and ditingihing betwen the righthand and the left hand h "ae whre the Sn rie i the rimardiretion for Zinaateo , and mot of their eremonie hav rita tat areoriented toward where "he ather Sn make hi al aaran

h Moon, aled "Or o Mother, trave on a imiar ath arondthe world, aearing here at night whie th n i aing aro the LowerWorld he Star "he Yeo One) are in a lar of the Sk above theod bt below the ath of the Sn and Moon, roviding ight at nigtboth abov and beow "ike andle in the indow of a hoe

Uder th inen of Sanih Cathoiim, the Zinaanteo hav oeto aoiat the Sn with God th ather or e Chri and the Mon withthe irgin Mary Bt thee aoiation have merel erved to reinfor the

anint Maan beif abot the Sn and Moon a mbo f the ontratingmaene and femalne in th nivere

he qinnial model of the omo alo inen the Zinaanto vieofand rital treatment ofthir hoe and d When a new ho iomtd and when a ed i anted , the eremonial irit awa roedonterokwie arond the for orner and end in the ntr, makingoering to the god


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HE INACANECO NERSE 9

TE ANETOR

Alost all mountains (including smallr prmnencs we would call hills)ocated nar Zinacanteco settemnts are the hms of ancestra gods aled"Faters-Moters . These ancestral gods are the most mprtant Znacanteo

deities, udgng fr the freuency with whch the peopl think about them,pray to them, and perform ritus for them They are remote ancestors ofthe lving Znacantecos (no one can now trace drect genealogica connectionswith them) , and they were ordered to take up resdence insde the mountansby the FourCorner ds in the mythogca past. They are pctured aslookng and behavng as elderly Zinacantecos lving eternaly n their mountan homes, where the conene and diberate, surve th aars of thiriving descendants, and wait fo the oferings of lack chickens, andles,incense, and rum liuor whch sustan them Sgnicntly enough, t is mpossble to pray separately n Totz to ithr a mae ancestor or a faleanestor The name Totm may be lterally translated as "Sir atherMadam Mother, with the father image alwas lnked t the mother mag ,incatng that the concept is a untary one reprsenting the prmordal reproductive pair in the Znacanteo univrse.

n Znaanteco view, thse anestors provid th dea for human lfethey know bst how to gro corn, buid houses weave clothng, herd sheep,court and marry, cop wth kinsmn, and perform ceremones with all thenecessary rituals When ving Znacantecos perform ceremonis , they modeltheir behavior upon what the ancestors are believed to b doing nsde themuntans

But the ancestors ar not ony rpositores of the imporant social rulesand cultural beliefs that cmpose the Znacanteco way of ife, they ar alsoacte and jaous guardians of the culture Devations ar instantly noted,and guilty Zinacantcos are punshed by means desribed belo

EART ONER

Nxt to th ancestra gods , the most imprtant dity s the "Earth OwnerYhv Bm) He has multple manfestations: any arg or small areaon the arth may have an opening n the form of a cave, a meston sink,or a waterhoe (all called by ne word n Tzotzil that serves as ameans of comunication with him. He s ctured as a arge , fat Ladino livng

undr the ground wth piles of money , herds of cows, mules , and horss , andocks f chckens . He also owns al of th waterhoes on whch the Znacantecos depend for household and livestock waer; he controls the lightning andthe couds, which are believed to emerge from caves, rise up into th sk,and prduce the needed ran for rops; and e contros all th products ofthe earth that Znacantecos usetrees cut to build houses , mud usd for thewals of the houses, lmestone f lme, and so on. Hence, a Znacanteco


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2 HE ZINAAECO VERSE

Poto 1 Saman () pra for a patient (rigt) to te ncetral God wo ar eieved toive inide montain e cro rine te mean of ommnication wit te God. Noteincen rning (center an otte of iqor (front; ao note iiarity in ape of oter acredmonain in akgrond) to te pyrami in ncient Maya ite. hoto by ak a


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H ZINACANCO NVRS 2

cannot use land, or any of its products without compensating the Earth Owner withappropriate offerings in a ceremony.

The Earth wner rides on der, utilizing iguanas as bliners for his ounts and asnakeor his whip he shel of the lan-snail is his powder flask for making sky rocktsand for shootng his shotgun. Lightning olts are the results of th fring o his rocketsand his gun

Communcation with te Eh Owne is regarded with the epest mivalence.n the one hand there are glorious myths aout how en have acquired great weahin money and livestock y going into caves to isi t hi. n the other hand the EarthOwner needs many workers and ther is always th danger that a man may e capturedand forced to ork in the arth until the iron sandals provided y the Earth Ownerwear out

TE ANT

In the cntures snce the Spansh Conuest the Znacanteos have acurd over seventy sacred obects that they ca "Sants Stok) Mostof thes are carved wooden or paster ages of Cathoc sants but manyare pctures of sants and a fw are arg wooden crosses he mages rangen sze from ess than 8 nchs ta to fu fesze Forty-two of them are keptn thre Catho churches n Znaantan Center the othrs are found nhouss of cargohoders (see Chapter 3) and n chapes n outyng hametshe are dressed n ong owng robes derved fro coona styes butamost a of thm aso hav some tem of typca Znacanteo dress addedto the Spansh costumes: the ma sats hav rbbons of the coors that areworn on mns hats the fema sants hae neckaces rbbons and shawsk those worn b naanteco womn.

he most mportant sants have dstntve personates ad there arespeca myths expanng how they came to be n Znacantan S ozo

(Sant Lawrence s ow th man patron of Znacantan. Hs mage s n thepace of honor ovr the man atar of the prncpa chrch. Accordng toegend San Lorenzo was found n the oods ong ago b a Znacanteco . Hscothes wer torn and he was hungry He tod the Znacanteco that hewanted to stay n Znaantan and to peas make ths reust to th Pdat the Cdo (the town ha he ruest was granted San Lorenzo wasrought nto the Center and a church but for hm When the churh wasnshed h entered hs "home whr h nw vs above the man atar.

When he rst arrved San Lorenzo coud tak But th eders dsapprovedof "takng sants so they threw hot watr over m and sencd hm forever

S bt (Sant Sbastan ocupes th pac of honor over the centerof the atar n th hurch named after h. He has a somewhat rcher mythoog attached to hs pat and aso receves the most compex rtua durnghs esta n Januar At east two mythoogca versons ar reated toay bZnaantecos concernng hs ogns n on verson San Sbastn was anocer n n army.


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2 2 HE INAANEO NIVERSE

Te kng f t wned t s dugte d Sn Sebstn efusedTs enged te kng deed Sn Sebstn t be kd Sn Sebstn edbut te kngs sds pusued t Zncntn we t ked wt tews He ced tw dus wt At s det ne went nt te cve tN At tes t cn st be ed png tee Te t [du] s te ne useddung te est f te snt Sn Sebstn s bued ee te cu s nw

Fve es te se cden tkng ce f seep n te pstue fund sttngn Jgu Rck Te went t te te esdnte sdente gted tesns nd wt cndes nd ncense te went t tk t Sn Sebstn ente ved e d gne but e ft pec f ppe sng tt wnted cuc but s tt e cud ve n ncntn Te sns eed cndes tte nests d t Sn Len t sk te dvce Sn en ten ce ndtd te sns nt t w tt te uc wud b bu nd tt t sunwud be dken f tee ds wen te wk ws n pgess Te tepews ten but n tee ds se Zncntecs s b t Fu Cne Gds

Otes s tt Sn Len ws te supevs f te wk we nsects cete ck snd nd e nd Snt Dng xed te ceent Te gen deRs cut nd ced te wd Te cuc ws nsed just s t stnds tdnd Sn Sbstn es n t

In the scond verson of the myth San Sebastin ws a captan of a goupof soldiers n Oaxaca.

Te kng wnted t s dugte but Sn Sebtn efused Hs efus

nfuted te kng w ded t be st Te sdes tk utsdet ct bund s nds bend nd st but e buets dd nt Te next cssned gup f Atec Lncndn ndns [f tnfnt tese e tw nes f te se pepe] t t wt sSn Sebstn fe t wunded s bd ed w ws Sn ennd Snt Dng ed but ts nd went t Oxc t see wt ppenedt Sn Sebstn A Ldn ecnt ws teng f Oxc t Ctn wts ecndse n n x ct He fund Sn Sebstn te sde f te dHe put te snt n s x ct tnkng w ftunte e ws t ve te ptectn

f snt n s tp On te secnd d f t june te ved n Zncntnnd cped f te ngt n t nt pstu n Sebstn decded t st nZcntn Te next nng te ecnt cud nt d Sn Sebstn bckn te ct He weged t uc uc e tn e d befe nd ts ws sgn tt wnted t n Te ecnt eft but ns ce t gudSn Sebstn jgus bds nd tw te tpes ne wc s bck Sn Sebstn expessd s ws t en T pepe cnsute Sn Len nd SntDng w knw t ppened f te vst t Oxc Tus te cucn te nt pstue ws but Te se fu tpes f ns st gud teuc gnst nne w sud t t ste te snt f cu

Sto omgo Saint Dominic whos mge dwes just to the right ofSan Loenzo ove the main alta of the prncpa huch is a seondary patronHe ws the an patron up to th end of the eghteenth centuy but foreasons w do not yet know was replaced by San Lorenzo.

Sto Eto caled hvh ("The Buyr in Tzotzi s a Chist


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H ZNCNCO NV Cin-thetomb image kept in an encosed case to te right of the nave in thtempe of San Loreno. According to the Zinacantecos , Santo Entierro sdto ie on earth. H was chased by dmons who caght him and pt him pon a cross in Zinacantan to ki him When the emons went to eat, SantoEntierro cme down from the cross He took a be rock and threw it high

into th air, ths creating the be sky. The demons retrned from their meaand pt him back on the cross wher he died . n ding, he paid the price foror sins this is why he is caed "The Byer. If h had not done this, wea wod hae died Later he cam back to ife and went p int the sky toive.

dl Roo (Virgin of the Rosary) is caed hlmtk ("Divineothr) in Toti. She is considered the patron of womn in Zinacantan.She is sometimes identied as the moon , and as the mother of Santo Enierro .

o Eql is a Christn-the-cross image kept in the Hermitage ofEsipas whre reigios ofcias take their oaths of oce. He is aso associated with the sat trade, and rita sat is deivered to the high rankingreigios ocias in his presence in the Hermitag.

This extraordinary coection of saints is ceary among the most sacredobects in Zinacantan, dging from the amont of rita attention they receive, and from the rsistane the Zinacantecos oer hen otsidrs try tosee them or tae phots of them. Hardy a esta occrs when at st onegrop of torists is not forciby victed from a chrch for attempting to takephotos, or when th Sacristanes do not sht and ck the chrch doors at thesight of approaching torists.

The Zinacantecos think of them as gods with extraordinary poer, eachwith an "inner so ocated in the image Their "homes ar the Cathoicchrches. They mst be bathed by water from the sacred waterhoes and theircothes mst be periodicay washed and incnsdjst as a patint in a cringceremony is pried by bing bahed and by having his cothes washed andincned . Like the ancestra gods, they expect praers and oerings of andes ,

incnse msic, and ors.The Catic Mass is onsidered by the Zinacantcos a an eaborate

prayer for the saint whose esta is being ceebrated. or the Zinacantecos,the saint "is a very hman prson ho ikes nic things For his esta hevery mch wants the ass with a the eaborate ornamnts and vestmentsof the athoic priest. f a ass is not cebraed on his esta day, he isenraged and pnishes whoever is responsibe for this faire. Ths th inacanteos aways go to San Cristba to petition the priest for a Mass or ever

esta. If the riest comes, then the saint wi have his "prayer. If the pristis otherwise occied , and annot com to say the Mass for esta , this doesnot pset th Zinacantecos. Their cias have accompished their dty inasking for a Mass. The saint wi sti be enrged ad send pnishment, bthe wi pnish the Cathoi priest, not the Zinacantecos!

hether or not the sints are rpacements for partiar indigenos idosthat appared in th aborigina tempes of the Zinacantecos at the time of


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4 I-lE ZINCANECO NVERSE

the Conuest, we cannot yet say n contempoay Znacantan , ancestal godsand saints ae ntegal pats of the pantheon and ae teated ituall n muchthe sam way

he comple ituals pfomed fo the sants y th ocials wll be desbed in a late chapte. But, n additon, faml pays to saints dung

estas ae eteml impotant. Famly goups, with th fathe caying thecandles and the ows and the wife and hldn tailing behind, le continuously nto the chuch duing esta days. Te mage o th esta saint susually plad n a pominent position . he famil appoaches as close as itcan to the image, and the owes ae plaed in a basket b the mge o onthe alta. ach membe o the family then takes the hm of th sat's clothesnto hs hands, touchs them to hs foehead and kisss them hen all kneel,lght thi candles, and place them on the oo n font of the mage The

famly emains kneling and paying fo ften to thity minues The payingis emotonall intense, n high pitce tones , and the is often cing Sometims candles a puchased fo all the sants in the huh and the goupthen moves fom sant to saint, oeng candles and pang

TE OUL

nteaction between livng Zinacantos and the gods takes place vatwo types of "souls that ae possssed b each human bing: a ll anda hl use the tem "soul n uots to indcate that the faila Euopeanconepts of "souls and "spiits a nadeuate fo pecse undestandingof these ideas n a vey geneal wa, of couse, thse Zinacanteco "soulssgnif that the pople a "animstc. But this stateent tells us lttle aboutthe subtl and comple manng of "souls o "vital foces to the Zinacantecos.

h h l s an nne, pesonal "soul loated n the heat of each pesonit is also found in the blod, hich is known to be onnected with the hatt s plaed in the body of an nbon emo b the anestal dites.

Ths Zinacantco "inne soul has some v spcal attbutes t s composd of thiten pats, and a peson who loses on o moe pas must havea specal uing emony o ecoe thm. But the "nne soul, while tempoaly divsle nto pats in the vaious kinds of "soul-loss that can ocu,is belived to be etenal and indestuctile. At the pont of death the "innesoul leves the body. t s associatd wth te gav fo a peod of tme

coesponding to the length of the deceased pesons lfe on eath, and thenjoins the "pool of "nne souls kept y the ancestos . t is late utlizd foanothe peson But whle th pesn is alve , th nne soul as a nit canleave the bod duing sleep and go visitng wth inne souls of othe Zinacantcos o the detes. t can also "dop out of the bod tempoal inpeiods of intense etement, as n seual inteose The "inn soul tendsespecally to leave th ody of a small chld, as t is not yet used t ths nwceptacle. A mothe with a small child n unfamilia settngs alws sweps


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THE ZNACANTECO NIVERSE 5

the ground on which he has been sitting for a time with her shaw as sheleaves, hreby making certain to gather up al te parts of the "innr suof her infant Likewise, parents are expectd to treat a smal chi with utmostcare and aetion, lest its "inner sou bcoe fightned and leave One ofthe ajor purposes of the baptismal crmony (see Chaptr 6) is to "x the"inner sou more rmly in the child's body

However, ven baptism does not prevent "souss from occurringthrough fright later in if There are many immediate causes for "soulossfaling on suddnly, seeing a "demon on a dark night, and so on TheZinacantecos stil reate vividy how a large nuber of pople experienced"souloss when the rst airpane swept ow over Zinacantan about 40 yearsago the shamans were busy for weeks afterwards performing cermonies togather up pieces of "inner sous .

At a more rofound leve of causation, "soulloss is ordinariy belivedto be due a) to the ancestral gods, who punish bad behavior by causing aperson to fall down, or, more dramaticaly, by sending a lightning bolt toknock out on or moe parts o the "inner sou; or b) to an evil personwho performs a withcraft ritual in a cave to "sell one or ore parts of avitim's "inner sou to the Earth Owner The Earth Owner then proceedsto use the viti as a servant.

ithout al thirten parts of the "inner sou , a person cannot be heathyhe fes or possesses c "sickness A shaman must be summoned to

dagnose the sickness and to pform a ceremon to recover the issing partsand pac them back into th body of the patient.

The phnomenon of the "inner sou is b no eans resticted to thdomain of huan bings Virtualy everything that is important ad auabeto Zinacantecos aso possesses an "innr soul: domesticated animas andplants such as mai, beans, suash salt, which possesses a very strong "innersou ; houses and household res ; the wooden crosss erected on sacred

mountains, insde caves, and beside watrhoe th saints whose "homes inside th Catho churches; usial instruments used in ceremonis;and al the various deities in the Ziacanteo pantheon The ethnographerin inacantan soon earns that the most important interaction going on in thuniverse is not between prsons, nor beteen persons and objects, as ethink of these reationships, but rather between the "inner souls insid thesepersons and material objects

Th send tye of "soul is the ch hch is a kind of "anima spirit

copanion, or "spiritua ater ego, so to speak Rising to over 9000 feetto the east of the Ceremonial Center is a majestic vocano called "SeniorLarge Mountain A seris of suprnatura orras containing 20000 "animalspirit companions, one for each person in Zinacantan, are located inside themountain. One crral contains j aguars, a second one oyotes, a third onocelots , and a fourth one smaer animas like opossums Thes "animal spiritcompanions are atered, fed, and cared for by the ancestral gods, underthe general supervision of the supernatura "Big Alcalde, th ceestia coun-


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6 HE ZINACANECO NIVERSE

trpat of he hghest rankng member of he egous hearhy n Znaanan .Hs house s loatd nsde he mounan and hs household ross s the shrnethat Znaantos vs fo eremones n top of he volano.

The onneon beween the Znaaneos and her "anmal sp ompanons s made n ther bee system by h dea ha eah peson and hs

"anma spr share he same "nner soul . Ths means hat when the anestors nstal an "nner sou n the embyo of a Znaaneo, hey smulaneousy nsal the same "nner sou n he embryo of an anma. Smay,he momen hat a Znaaneo baby s born, a agua, oyote, oelo, oroher anmal s bon. Thoughou fe, whatever happens of note to the Znaaneo happens o hs "anma sprt opanon and ve vesa If, foexample, an "ana sprt ompanon s e out of he oal and ef towander alone n the fores, t may be njured or shot , and then hs Znaaneoounepat fees he same nuy. I foows hat f he "anmal spt ompanon s e out of he ora and s heby not beng ad for properyby the anestors, a Znaaneo s n mora dange. A shaman us besummoned and mus poe wh dspah o pefom he proper eemony,askng he pardon of he anestral detes and persuadng hm to round upthe os " anmal sprt opanon of he paent and plae t safely bak nts supenaural oal.

It s ordnay sometme durng hdhood when Znaaneos dsovewha knd of "anma spt ompanon they have, and hey usuay eeveths knowedge n a dram when ther "nner soul s of vstng and "sesher "anmal sprt when vss h anesra gods nsde "Senor LargeMounan

There s a lea elaonshp beween he belefs n these two "soul onpts and soal ono n he Znaaneo ode of lfe or anythng thasrs up the wrath of the anestors agans a paruar Znaaneo an eaduky and dety to pnshmnt (a) by ausng he person to sue "souloss, or (b) n moe seous ases, by havng hs "anma sp opanon

urned outsde s oral o wande alone and unaed for n e woods Thetypes o dvan behaor that an ad to hese "sou toubes nlude,sgnany enough, he breakng of mpotan oal ues o the outng ofhe ena aues of Znaantan o xampe, an ndvdua who ghs wtho msreats hs knsmen a man who fals o aep the omny seven the egous herar a man who fals to are o hs maze ed properyo a woman who mshandes the maz afer t s bough to her house aperson who fas to wash eguary and hange nto ean lohes o a an

who fals o make ontrbuons when he oals arve o oe "taxesfo estasae all prme anddates fo skness aused by "soul robles.

Thee s also a fundamenta way n whh he onept of te "anma sprompanon reates Znaaneos n an nate way to h wold of naure(see Lev-Strauss 1966) . Znaanteos make an mpotan dstnton bewenthe areas used and ontoled by human bengs, suh as houss, patos, waerhoes, and elds, and the wd, wooded slopes of the Chapas mounans,whh ae not unde human ontrol Al of he anmal spt ompanons


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H ZINACANCO NIRS

ar anmals of t forst. T onpt of t anma sprt ompanonsforgs a onnton btwn t dotomos pats of tr nrs. t atsan ntat ratonsp btwn t lvs o ans and lvs of wldanmas nabtng t woodd slops o t montans. And n ts samg montans dwll t anstral gods wo srvy t aas of t Zna

anto dsndants and s maa ontol over tr bavo byt ar o nglt of te 20 ,000 anma spt opanons pon womlvng Znaantos absoltly dpnd for ontnng srvval.

TE ROE

asa vstos to Znaantan always om away wt t mpsson tatty st av vstd on of t most soldly Catol ommnts n twold T a ltral ndds of apparnty Crstan woodn rosssn Znaantannot on on rtops and n ryads, bt n t patosotsde oss, bsd all atols, at t foot of and on top montans,and n avs

Wn Znaantos dsb ts osss n Tzotzl, ty s t workrus, an obvos loan-wod fom t Spans trm or ross Bt wl tsmay look lk ontpoay plas of t lass Cstan oss on wCst was rd n far o Jrsam, ty av no s manng to t

ZnaantosWn ntatd m ldwok n Znaantan n 1956 , was sown t l

abov t Cmonal Cntr ontanng a larg and laboat ross srnand was tod t was Kalvayo Sn n tat rst sason Znaantan appardto m to b a pasant ommnty tat ad bn onvtd to Catolsm nt 500's, was not spsd to nd a Calvay nar t rs n tConal Cntr. Latr dsovrd tat lak kns wr lft as asar by rng pats at ts Kalvarot.J gadaly land tat t an

stral gods ar bvd to av mtngs at t Kalvaro jst as oalsmt at t Cabdo n t Cnt[J By t sond and td sasons, t adbo mor and or apparnt tat Znaantos wr not Cato pasants wt a f Maya rmnants lft n t lt, bt rat tat ty wr

trbsmn wt a Spans Cato vnra vn tat appars tonrasng tn t longr w do ldwok wt t tiT nal

sok am wn dsovrd n arly 1960 tat t s not on, bt nddsof Kavaros n Znaantan, loat togot t municipio n al amlts .

Ts t Znaanto vw o Kalvo gadally bam la: s a spaltyp of oss srn wr patla grops of ansta gods ar blvd tomt, dlbrat abot t aars of t lvng dsndants, and wat fooerngs of blak kns, wt ands, and rm t also bam a tatty syboz nts of soal stt and a atd to t anstral dtssponsb fo ts nti T ognal Kalvao was sown provd toprsnt mng pl of t trbal (or a-mnpo) anstral gdswo lv n montans arond t Crmona Cntr T otr Kavays


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8 HE ZINAANE ERSE

representd in each case a ineage or a aterhole groupthe units that Ishal dscribe in Chapter 4 What appeared at st to be contemporay epiasof the ancient Chistian Calvay proved to be anestal shrines repesentingunits of socia stucture at vaious es, whee inacanteos go to pay andleave oeings to thir ancestra gods who are meetig the and aiting

eagrl for the payes and orings In a word, te Kalaos miror thesocia systema social sstem with dep roots in the Mayan past.Each of the mountain dweing places of th ancestral gods is now maked

by the erection of crosses. Around the Cente there are cross altars both atthe foot and on top of each of the triba saced mountains. The Zinacantecoie of thse crosses is that they to the ancestal gods. Forexampe , when a curing pocession at a mountain, the membes,led by the shaman, decoat th crosses ith pine boughs and owes, burn

incnse, ight candes, and oe payers to the crosses at the foot of themountain. By so doing, they "pass through the outer dooway of th houseand fom there proceed up the trai to th top of the mountain, where anothest of osses designates the patio coss for the hous of the anestra godwho is sitting inside to receive his visitors and their ofeings . Hre the itualis epeated and then th cuing party poeds to the next mountain on theircicuit

Simiay, the cosses rected besid water hoes and in caves ae denedas channes of ommnication with th Eath Owner , and it is by way of thesecoss shnes that h receivs his oerings of candls and liuo. h crossereted in th patio outside Zinacanteco houss is an enty way into the"essene, that is, the "innr sou of th hus In an kind of cermony,ntrane into or departue from the hus is invariably accompishd byspecic paes at this cross

Fo any kind of ritual activiy a Kus must be tipe to be ective. Manycross shins contain in fact ony one oodn oss (as in the case of thehouse crss so ontain only two wooden crosss (as in the as of many

shrins at foot o on top of the saed mountains. But ths are ituayconverted into a triple cross b the ddition of pinetre tops at the sides ofthe one, or two, wooden crosses Furthe, I have notd that if no woodencosses exist at a pace where ritua ust be performed (or exampl, a spotwhere a pat of an "inner soul has ben ost, the thee-cross cobinationcan be catd rituay by simply placing thee pinetee tops in the ground.his has led me to the concusion that th woodn coss is for the Zinacantecosimply a handy structur on which to place the cucia pinetee tops and

owers that are necessay symbosFo any kind of itua acivity in Zinacantan that invovs communication

ith the gods, a set of symbols are utiied to proid a sacred contxt inwhich the commuication can take pace. hese symboic lemnts lealydene the situation and set the stage fo the peoanc of "itua asopposed to "tchnica activity (see urner 1967) Each day Zinacanecospeform many "tchnica activities, such as hoeing maie, weaving herdingshep, and so foth, hih may involve taboos of vaious types, but which


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HE IACANECO NIVERSE 29

re cery derened from "rtul ctities, n wic oerngs re to bemd to supernturls Tree of e symbolc elementsowers, copl ncnse, nd rumre invrble spects of te "ritu siuon A fourt,t plying of musc, is dded o pricur riul events.

Atoug we often rnste ncim s "ower, lowing te led of

Spnis-spekng Zincntcos wo descrbe tese pnts s es, s cert te Tzozi ctegory nichi ncludes muc more n w conventionlynk of s "owersfor exmpe, te young, rsly grown tos of pntrees s we s pne needes, nd vriey of oter plns

Te cross sne s prepred by ying re pnetree tops to trecrosses or by mking tree crosses wit e ddon of e pntree tops sdescribed bove Te red gerniu bossoms nd oter plnts , w vrywit te typ of ceremony re ten id in bundles o pine tops t teevel of te cross rms of e crosses , nd fres, gren cret of pne nedsis id down in front of te srne

Not only mus e "doorwy be rdied wt te owers, bu innsemus lso be burnng n censer or eectve communicion wit te supernturs to tke pce Te enser is cled "pc of burning embersnd te ncense is burned s of wo types bs of resn nd cps ofwood Bot types re burned togter n te ceser, nd e inense mustbe burning t e cross before e rtul prty rrves nd begins te pryersFor exmple, for ouse cross to be redy for

curing ceremony, t mus

v te ncense burnng n censr in front of t wen te smn rries t ouse to begn te cermony Smlry, t burning censr is crredin te procession o e scred mountins nd pled n front of e rosssrnes befor te smn begins o lig cndle nd pry

i te owrs in plce nd e ncense burnng, te prcipnts mustso be redied fr communcton wt t suprnturs, nd e mosmpornt y to prpre is to drink iquor. or us s ny mportnt comuniction or rnsction mong peope borrowng money, skng mn to

serve s godfter for cid, sking for wife, etc . is ccompnied by tedrnking of ru, so mus trnsctons beween uns nd ter suprnturlsb ccopnied by t proper consmption of tis iqor Ts rum, cledposh mening lterly "medcne, is n inexpensve rum dstid frombrown sugr.

A gly pterned squence of bevior s invovd n drnkng rtul, sequnce t is folowed, wit mnor vrions, weter te occsion s sml curing ceremony win te domsc group or rge cnge-ofoce

cermony performed by te crgooders n te Ceremoni Cenr A youngmn desgnted s "drnk pourer is given e botte of lquor nd sotgss He pours glssful nd nds i to e senior mle prsen. Te senorme ccepts te glss, ods t n s lef nd, nd enggs n tostng ndn bowngndrelesing bevor wit ll t oters present Te tost conssts of s rising e so glss nd sying ih' ban ("I drink, folowed by kn trm or nme to ec personin rnk orernd recevng from ecperson te rspons of "co "Drink Te osing is ccompned by


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3 HE CNECO IVERSE

Poto 2 A drinking ceremony in progress dring a inacanteco esta ote drink-porer atlef Photo by k

boing and relasingthat is each peson bos hs ead toward te seorman and is released by te senor an touhing te back of his rigt andto s foehand Te senor man thn inks the sot in one gu gimacesto sow ow strong te uo is spts a few dops on te oor and etunsthe glass to the "drnk poue who poceeds to seve the next ma in ankorder Te next man repats te toast and the bowng and reeasingtatis bos to te more sno man but al others bo to him and ae eeased.The seuence s epated in th ank oder from te eldest to te youngestmae then continuing with te most senior femal present until al ave eenseved. Thn te poue takes a shot ast and goes tough e toastngand bowing and releasing bhavo T ouns norma poceed n treesf fo exmpe a botte of luo is presented by a visito asking for a loanof money t sould be consued n tree rounds. f on te other hand theocason s a ritual meal o a ung ceemony tere ae noma teerounds dung th couse of th meal . It s up to te "pour to make caful

caculations so tat t entre bottle i be consumed n thee ounds Wilerank ode s srictly observed in the sevng of uo each peson psentsoud recev eual amounts.

Tis stct insstenc upon rank ode n t seuence of seving the iuorbut upon eua aounts being eceived by each partipant s symboicalsgncant Te symboc message bing communcated is tat whie Znacanteco socety as a ank od based mainly upon ag but also upon pstgeacoded to samans and/o men who have passed cagos peson n


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HE NACANECO NVERSE

the sciety is expected t reeive qual amunt f drink and fd regardlessf rank

An ineresting cutm fr handling excess liur i brught int play whna prsn becme intxicated r n lnger wishes t drink. Men rdinariycarry an empty bttle ang with a smal etal funnl attached by buckskin

t th bag they arry ver their shuders hey g thrugh al the tatingand bwing and reeaing behavir tuch the glass t their ips but insteadf drinking te liur use the funnel t pur th iur int their emptybttles. Wmen d nt carry this euipment but instead pur th iur inta bw near the mas where they ar wrking by the re in the huse

Fr all f the imprtant pubic cermnie music i an essential ingredient .During a mar esta in the Ceremnia Center fur typ f muic ar ftenbeing payed simultanusyan experience that jars the nrves f visitingethngraphers , but whic frm a Zinaantec pint f view adds imprtanceand gaiety t the eta w f thes represent aspects f the mre ecularpart f the sta: (1) the usi frm ludspeakr baring ut Mexican ngplayed n recrd payers in the aninas, and (2) the sunds f a hired brassband that pay in the kik while the men dance in the evening and asccmpanies grups f "vlunteers wh march frm their hmes t thehurch t preent specia erings f candles t the saint. he adin musiians wak frm teir twn but yung Zinacantecs are appnted t carrytheir instruments. is aways a startling experece t se a Zinacantec infull esta regai wit new ribbs wing frm his hat crssing the PanAmercan Highway carrying a tuba!

he ther tw ures f muic are hwever much mr imprtant ritually: (1) the ute and drum grup aways cnisting f ne utist and twdrummers and used t acmpany prceins f variu typs and (2) thviin harp and guitar cmbinatn (with the instrument rankd in he rdrited) tht pays fr certain ceremnia ccain. he instrument used arade by Chamuas . hey are based n Spanih nial mdes but are crude

rectins f the riginals r example th viin ha thre peg but nytw string h muic played appears t be derived frm arly Spanishcnia tunes the Zinacantcs learned after te Cnuet.

1990-vogt - the zinacantecos of mexico a modern maya way of life

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