Indigenous Language in the Land of Cacao

This year during ‘Valnetine’s Day’ we are looking into the indigenous languages of the cacao growing regions in what is now Mexico, how do they say “I Love You”?

“Ye Spej” Awakatek is the Greater Mamean Mayan language spoken by 11,000 people in the cacao growing regions of Chiapas and Veracruz and some of the norther regions of Guatemala. Because of its small number of speakers it is considered an endangered language by UNESCO. According to some sources, what we now call Mexico is one of 10 countries with the highest density of language diversity among citizens. The federal government officially recognizes 68 indigenous languages spoken today.

“Ch’en nen” Popti is a Mayan language and it is spoken by approximately 90,000 people living in what is now the Mexican state of Chiapas and across the borders into what is now northern Guatemala. The indigenous people in the two regions both suffered Spanish colonization until 1821 when Mexico fought to be independent of Spain. In 1823 Guatemala joined the United Provinces of Central America, the region now known as Chiapas remained a part of Mexico.

“Jk’anojot” Tzotsil is a Mayan language spoken by more than 300,000 indigenous people across the state of Chiapas. As members of the Zapatista movement for indigenous liberation they supportive efforts being made to retain their culture and to continue to resist the genocidal policies of the current Mexican government.

“The Zapatistas describe themselves as a decentralized organization. Political decisions are deliberated on and decided in community assemblies. Military and organizational matters are decided by the Zapatista area elders who compose the General Command”- Wikipedia

Ladinos or Spanish speaking land owners put into power in the region after Mexican independence from Spain usurped communal land, as a result many people in what is now Chiapas were forced into economic slavery working on plantations cultivating crops fro export, like cacao and coffee.

The struggle to regain sovereignty and to rebuild communal lands continues today. This is an important part of sourcing when choosing cacao to work with as chocolate makers and we choose to work with independent indigenous farmers working to regain their ancestral rights to the land in Chiapas.

“Te Amo” In 1570 the Spanish King Phillip II named Nahuatl the official language to be used in “New Spain” to improve the success of colonizing efforts by Spanish missionaries and entrepreneurs then occupying what would become Mexico. In 1696 King Charles II reversed this decree, announcing that Spanish would be official language across all Spanish colonies, ordering the ‘Hispanization’ of indigenous populations. This is one of the reasons why many people reject the term ‘hispanic’ - regardless the United States continues to use this inappropriate term. After 1821 the newly independent government outlawed the use of indigenous language and required al education to be conducted on Spanish, as it remains today.

“Te eb’il” Tekitek is a Mayan language with between 2,000-4,000 native speakers today. It is spoken in the cacao growing regions across the border between what is now Guatemala and Mexico. As many indigenous languages that have been subjected to colonization, Spanish words have now been incorporated into the common vocabulary. Efforts are being made to teach Tekitek in schools and several dictionaries have recently been published to further this effort.

Beginning in 2002 a series of laws were written and the Mexican constitution was amended requiring the State protect and nurture the pluri-cultural nature of modern Mexico. Critic argue that due to the complexity written into the laws they are nearly impossible to enforce in a meaningful way.

Sienna Trapp BowieFebruary 14, 2021Comment