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|
Qatanum | |
|---|---|
| Total population | |
| 11,068[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Guatemala | Huehuetenango |
 Mexico | Chiapas,Campeche |
| Languages | |
| Awakatek,Spanish | |
| Religion | |
| Catholic,Evangelicalist,Maya religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Ixil | |
TheAwakatek (Awakateko) (in awakatek:Qatanum, "our people") are a Indigenous Maya people located in the municiapality ofChampotón,Campeche,México and in the municiaplity ofAguacatán in the department ofHuehuetenango,Guatemala, place where they have their original settlement.[2]
The word Awakateko is a reference to the town of Aguacatán, which inNahuatl means “place of abundantavocados”, they call themselvesQatanum, which translates to “our people”.
They formally settled in the southern Mexican territory during theGuatemalan Civil War in search of refuge from the violence, genocide, and military persecution of which the Indigenous peoples of their region were targeted. Finally, in Campeche, they founded new permanent communities along with other Indigenous peoples such as theIxil and theQ'eqchi'.[3]
Archaeological evidence of their pre-Hispanic presence has been discovered in Chalchitán (a town originally called Coacutec due to itsNahuan origins). During a missionary expedition in 1643, the Irish Dominican Tomás Gage noted in his chronicles the cultivation of grapes by the Awakatek. In 1891, Chalchitán was incorporated intoAguacatán, resulting in the Chalchiteco people and the Aguacatecos forming social relationships.Francisco Antonio de Fuentes y Guzmán reported in his work “Recordación Florida [es]” that Chalchitán and Aguacatán were inhabited by around 480 speakers of a language with a "guttural pronunciation".[4]
Their nativeAwakatek language (orqyool, "our language") is a Mayan language from the Mamean branch closely related to theixil language. It is currently at very high risk of disappearance.[5]
The Awakatek of Mexico are located in the state of Campeche in three communities in the municipality ofChampotón; Maya Tecún, Maya Tecún II andSanto Domingo Kesté, there is also Awakatek population in the state ofChiapas.[6]
In Guatemala they live in municipality of Aguacatán, located in theSierra de los Cuchumatanes region of the department of Huehuetenango.
Their religion is mostly Catholicism mixed with native elements related to natural features, such as mountains, hills, water, clouds and rivers. Their patron saint is the Virgen de la Encarnación.[7]
According to data from theFederal Telecommunications Institute of Mexico, 60% of the Awakatek population in Mexico has a cell phone while 53.85% are at a very low level of marginalization, 15.38% at medium and 7.69% at high.[8]
Los awakatecos: agricultores y migrantes. Aguacatán es un municipio de Huehuetenango cuyo nombre significa "lugar de abundantes aguacates". Es el único lugar de Guatemala donde se habla awakateco. Los aguacatecos son un pueblo cuyos orígenes se pierden en el tiempo. Sus ruinas más antiguas son conocidas como Chalchitán, poblado que originalmente se llamó Coacutec, por su origen náhuatl. En 1643, el religioso Tomás Gage llegó al actual Aguacatán y se sorprendió por las uvas que se cultivaban en el lugar. "Se vende en las calles como cosas raras y grandes golosinas; y bien lo son, porque de México a Guatemala no hay ninguna como éstas", relató el dominico irlandés. En "Recordación Florida", Francisco de Fuentes y Guzmán escribió que en Chalchitán y Aguacatán vivían "cuatrocientos y ochenta habitadores de idioma especial, que se reduce a una pronunciación gutural". En 1891, Chalchitán fue anexado como barrio a Aguacatán. En la actualidad, los aguacatecos se dedican a diversas actividades. Resalta el cultivo de ajo y la cebolla, así como el pastoreo de ovejas, de cuya lana elaboran vistosos tejidos. Buena parte del desarrollo de este municipio se debe a las remesas que envían los aguacatecos que trabajar como agricultores en EE.UU. Aunque son diestros músicos, cada día se pierde una de sus principales tradiciones: las serenatas que a la luz de la luna y acompañadas de guitarras se escuchaban en sus calles. En Sábado Santo resalta la lectura del "testamento de Judas", una crítica jocosa a las autoridades y notables del pueblo. En fechas especiales, los pobladores se dedican a las danzas populares. Destacan La Culebra y Los Toritos, que se asemejan más a las de Chiapas, México, que a las del resto de Guatemala.
Ancestral background ofGuatemalan citizens | |
| Guatemalan native groups (Maya and others) | |
| Former and extinct | |
| Guatemalan mestizo | |
| Descendants of Europeans (white orCriollo) | |
| Descendants of Asians | |
| Afro-descendants | |
| Americas | |
| More than 100,000 people | ||
|---|---|---|
| 20,000 – 100,000 people | ||
| 1,000 – 20,000 people | ||
| Less than 1,000 people | ||
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