San Juan Chamula

San Juan Chamula is a town in the state of Chiapas, in Mexico. It is located ten kilometers from San Cristóbal de las Casas and twelve kilometers from San Andrés Larráinzar. Its towns such as San Juan or San Andrés are mainly inhabited by a large number of Tzotzils, or as they are also known: chamula. Which is a demonym used to name various Mayan ethnic groups that inhabit the mountains of Chiapas, such as: Tzotziles, Tzeltales, Mames, Tojolabales, Choles. San Juan Chamula is also the head of the municipality of Chamula, which is located in the highest areas of Chiapas and is a town where pre-Hispanic cultures and customs have been preserved.

Etymology

San Juan Chamula is one of the last places that still practice the Mayan culture. The inhabitants of this town continue to refer to the sun as jtotik, which in Spanish means "father", and to the Moon as jmetik. According to their culture, their ancestors measured the stars at night to determine the time. Another important point for the culture of the place is the importance of the old man as a wise man.^{[citation required]}

The sources are not entirely clear regarding its meaning and origin and, despite the various opinions, it is possible to consider the one that establishes that it comes from the Nahuatl language, chamolli or chamolin , which is the name of the scarlet macaw (whose scientific name is Ara macao), also applicable to its feathers. Chamollan would mean "Where they abound macaws" which, with time and Castilianization, became chamula.

The interpretation that it means 'Place of thick water, like adobe' is also well known. This would be nothing other than the extension of the meaning of chamolli as & #34;color (of adobe) red, blood color" (thick liquid), and its reconstructed etymology is Chamol-a-c, "place of (like) red water". There is no evidence, in the documents, that this term was written with -c- ending this word, so this interpretation should not be the most accepted one.^{[citation required]< /sup>}

In the Tsotsil Mayan language of Chamula, there is its own meaning. Linguistically, it comes from the verbal root cham-, "disappear" or "die"; -(v)o' is a nominal root of "water" and -la, which derives from la(bal) which means "all", Bringing together the three morphemic elements (prefixes, root and suffix), there is a sentence with the agglutinated writing CHAMO'LA, which means " missing or dead water people.

Geography

San Juan Chamula is located 2,260 meters above sea level in the Altiplano, surrounded by 80% rugged terrain and 20% flat terrain. Near San Juan Chamula, there are the Yultonil and Chamula rivers.^{[citation required]}

The climate is temperate subhumid, with an average annual temperature of 13.7 °C. The annual rainfall is 1,024 mm, and the recurrent rainy season is during the summer.

Uses and customs

Every year, on Ash Wednesday, the carnival is celebrated, where The maxes come out to dance with traditional music. There are four days of celebration; It is celebrated on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Ash Wednesday. They go out to pull the bull in the Chamula plaza, where they turn around thirteen times along with the maxes, who dance traditional songs, such as bolomchon, yajvalel and binajel, among others.

Flora and fauna

The forests are predominant in the region, the varieties of trees are cypress, pine, romerillo, sabino, manzanilla, oak, shrimp and sepillo.

The fauna is varied and you can find the ocotera snake, the poisonous nauyaca snake, the swallow hawk, the ocotero woodpecker, the flying squirrel, the wild boar, the bat, the jaguar deer, field ocelots and the skunk , in addition to rats, armadillos and opossums. Of domesticated animals there are dogs and cats, chickens, horses and sheep. And every December the frosts fall.

History

Before the conquest of the Spanish, the town was an important center of the Tzotzil population. In 1524 the Spanish took the square, which was a commission of the soldier and historian Bernal Díaz del Castillo during the years from 1524 to 1528. In 1549 the town was merged with the communities of Analco and Momostenango.

The place has been the scene of various rebellions, in 1869 it was the Caste War through the Chamula leader Pedro Díaz Cuscat, a historical event that Rosario Castellanos immortalized in her novel "Oficio de Tinieblas". Once the rebellion was defeated, the local population was forced to work on the Soconusco farms by Governor José Pantaleón Domínguez. During the development of the Mexican Revolution in 1912, a new rebellion led by Jacinto Pérez Pajarito arose.

News

In 2006, a group of young people from Chamula with the idea of valuing and preserving their Mayan-Tsotsil language through music formed the group called Vayijel (guardian animal).

On July 23, 2016, the municipal president of San Juan Chamula, Domingo López González, was assassinated.

Gastronomy

Atole sour tamales made with corn and beans, smoked meat broth accompanied by chili cabbage and a touch of "Jojoch" potatoes and carrots. A very traditional drink is pozol, ground yellow corn stored in banana leaves. It is taken very frequently during the day. It is prepared at the moment, accompanied by salt and chili. A very traditional dish is chicken broth without vegetables, it is served at meetings and parties, especially during carnivals.

In San Juan Chamula pox (pronounced posh) is produced, a regional liquor used in ceremonial events. It is a very strong drink, made by fermenting corn. The most prominent place of production is the town of Cruz Ton.

Temple

For a small fee, tourists can visit the church, a very peculiar place whose interior cannot be photographed due to the same beliefs of the inhabitants. The architecture of the temple is colonial style; However, both the interior and exterior are painted white and the stone from the original construction has been completely covered. Inside there are no traditional benches to sit and pray, as the inhabitants kneel and pray. They create a very special mystical atmosphere by performing rituals that are the product of the mixture of 16th century evangelization with pre-Hispanic Mayan religious beliefs. Believers pray in front of multicolored candles of different sizes; rows of candles are usually found attached to the ground^{[citation needed]}.

Also the floor is almost completely covered with the branch of a pine tree, since the Chamula beliefs consider it a sacred tree and with the objective of being in front of God, they approach through the pine tree and the light of the candles (which illuminate their path). The figures of the saints have mirrors, and the confession is carried out personally in front of one of the different saints and the mirror is for the believer to reflect himself. The Chamulas have the conviction not to lie to themselves^{[citation needed]}.

Annually, pilgrimages are carried out on the days of Saint Martha and Magdalene, who are considered the patron saints of the community. Neighbors from other nearby communities carry out the procession to San Juan Chamula carrying the images dressed in luxurious traditional huipils. June 24 is an important date of celebration, as it is the day of Saint John the Baptist, the authorities wear their ceremonial costumes and a baton of command theoretically inherited by Saint John himself. The "Kin Tajimoltic" coincides with the five unnamed days of the Mayan calendar.

On this date religious syncretism is accentuated, women are not allowed in the celebration, the inhabitants believe that there was a fusion between San Juan and the ajaw and that this " Indianized" he went to live on the Tzontehuitz hill to the east of the municipality and from there he takes care of the souls of the Chamulas.

The cemetery is a peculiar place, where the graves have no tombstones and the crosses are of multiple colors.

Traditional music such as bolomchon (jaguar), yajvalel vinajel (owner of the sky), konkonal nichim (sacred flowers), etc.

Illustrious people

• Miguel Caxlan (Evangelist)
• Pedro Díaz Cuscat
• Agustina Gómez Checheb
• Manuela Pérez Jolcogtom
• Juan Pérez Jolote
• Sgto. Jacinto Pérez Pajarito
• Xun Gallo
• Vayijel
• Aureliano Hernández
• Julio Fernando Tovar Delgado
• Mane'

International Relations

Twinnings

• Sanford, United States (2022)

Bibliography.

Siméon, Rémi. Dictionary of the Nahuatl or Mexican language. Ed. XXI century, Mexico, 1988.