Zoque (ethnicity)

The Zoque people (tzoque, soque or zoc) or zoque culture is a Mexican ethnic group from the states of Chiapas, Oaxaca and Tabasco that is culturally, geographically and linguistically close to the Mixes and Popolucas.

Etymology

The term zoque is likely to come from the Nahuatl word zoquitl, which means mud or quagmire, that is; the mud men. This term must have been coined by the Mexica (Nahuatl speakers) c.  S.XV-XVI in the military campaigns of the huey tlatoani Ahuízotl in his campaigns in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and Chiapas, seeking control of the trade routes of the Xoconochco region. However, the interpretation of Danish linguist Søren Wichmann suggests that the term comes from a form of greeting used in dialectal variants of Zoque from Chiapas.

Self-denomination

The Zoques of Chiapas call themselves and the speakers of their language as O'de püt: people of words, people of language, people of many languages, men who think, man of his word, true, authentic. On the other hand, the Zoques of the Chimalapas call themselves Angpøn, which means those who speak the language; The form used for their language is Anepaan, which originally meant industrious people, a meaning that has now disappeared.

Population and location of the zoques

This ethnic group is made up of 100,348 people, according to the 2000 census. The March 1982 earthquake and the Chichonal eruption deeply affected the Zoque area and caused the relocation of almost 12,000 Zoque to other areas of the state of Chiapas. In this way, today the Zoque live in their traditional communities, but also in other recently relocated settlements and in other traditionally Zoque settlements that today have lost a large part of their Zoque population.

The traditional Zoque area includes the northwest part of Chiapas, mainly in the municipalities of Tapalapa, Amatán, Copainalá, Chapultenango, Francisco León, Ixhuatán, Ixtacomitán, Jitotol, Ocotepec, Ostuacán, Pantepec, Rayón, Tapilula, Tecpatán, Coapilla and Ocozocoautla. They also lived in the north of the isthmus of Tehuantepec, in the state of Oaxaca.

In the south of Tabasco, they are located in the municipalities of Tacotalpa and Huimanguillo. In this last municipality, there is the archaeological zone of Malpasito, which is the only Zoque archaeological site open to the public.

The area of recent Zoque colonization is much more dispersed, in the municipalities of Ixtacomitán, Juárez, Pichucalco, Chiapa de Corzo, Acala and Ocosingo. Finally, the area with another historical presence of the Zoque population is made up of the following municipalities Solosuchiapa, Amatán, Reforma, Coapilla, Ixtapangajoya, Pueblo Nuevo Solistahuacán, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chicoasén, Cintalapa, Jiquipilas, Ocozocoautla, San Fernando, Simojovel and Huitiupán. Currently, small family communities of Zoques can be found in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States.

History

Pre-Columbian Mexico

The Zoques supposedly descend from the Olmecs who emigrated to Chiapas and Oaxaca, where they mostly settled. In pre-Hispanic times, the Zoques inhabited a large area of Chiapas, extending to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and part of the state of Tabasco. They had good social and commercial dealings with the Mexica, which helped the economic prosperity of their culture in Chiapas. However, in 1484 they were invaded and subjugated by the Mexica, during the reign of Ahuízotl, forcing them to pay tribute.

Conquest and New Spain

The Spanish conquest of the Zoque territory began in 1523, led by Luis Marín. The distribution of the zoques among the encomenderos is established, forcing them to do forced labor and pay excessive taxes. The diseases, exploitation and miserable conditions in which they lived caused incidents of rebellion that were put down by the colonizers' troops.

Independence and the 19th Century

With independence, the situation of the Zoques did not improve, since they continued to be exploited by the mestizos and criollos. Many of the reform laws of the 19th century encouraged the concentration of land in the hands of a class of large landowners who supported the Indians in conditions of servitude on the large haciendas. The recomposition of the Mexican state into federated states also contributed to ethnic fragmentation, and the Zoque ethnic group was one of those fragmented by the territorial political division by dividing it between the states of Chiapas, Tabasco, Oaxaca and leaving the Zoque-Popolucas in the state. from Veracruz.

20th century

The climate of violence and political instability at the beginning of the XX century also affected the Zoque ethnic group, although later the The subsequent agrarian process and the integrationist educational policies implemented by the state favored its development. It was not until 1922 when they were provided with ejidos and their living conditions improved a little, but the post-revolutionary period marked the attempt at 'integration' of the Indians in Mexican society and culture, which decreased the number of speakers of the Zoque language.

Traditions

The traditional dress is practically only worn by women, and on special occasions. Some very old men in the most remote communities wear white blanket shirts. The women wear a white short-sleeved blouse embroidered on the neck and a long poplin skirt in various colors.

The houses are mostly rectangular with one or two rooms, with Bajareque or adobe walls whitewashed inside and out. The floors are made of dirt, the hipped roofs are made of tile or straw. In the municipal capitals the buildings are made of cement.

Economy

Like the other groups, agriculture is the main economic activity. Production is very varied, according to the orographic characteristics of the areas. They generally grow corn, beans, chili and pumpkin. Commercial crops are coffee, cocoa, pepper, banana, mamey, anona and guava. The lands are of low quality, so production is scarce. They raise pigs and poultry in small quantities as a supplement to their diet. However, the natural area where the Zoques live is very rich in natural resources: three of the most important hydroelectric dams in the state of Chiapas are located there (Malpaso, Peñitas and Chicoasén) and the area is rich in hydrocarbons.

Location

The current territory of the Zoques in the state of Chiapas, Oaxaca and Tabasco is included in three specific areas: the Gulf slope, the Sierra and the Central Depression, although due to the geographical mobility of the group this location cannot be taken as definitive.

On the slope of the Gulf of Mexico, the Zoque indigenous people are concentrated in the municipalities of Amatán, Chapultenango, Francisco León, Ixhuatán, Ixtacomitán, Ostuacán, Solosuchiapa and Tapilula; in the Central Depression are those of Copainalá, Chicoasén, San Fernando, Ocozocoautla and Tecpatán; and, finally, in the Sierra Madre of Chiapas in the municipalities of Coapilla, Ocotepec, Pantepec, Rayón and Tapalapa. This territory, located in the central-western region of the state, is characterized by having varied vegetation that includes everything from tropical savannahs to evergreen forests with a temperate climate.

In Tabasco, the Zoques are located mainly in the municipalities of Tacotalpa and Huimanguillo, in the latter municipality is the Malpasito archaeological zone, which is the only archaeological site of this culture open to the public.

Infrastructure

Roads and highways

There is a wide network of roads and highways that connect the different municipalities where there is a Zoque population. These allow the flow of people and goods in different means of transport such as buses, taxis and mixed ejidal transport vans. The main highways in the region are the Tuxtla Gutiérrez-Villahermosa, the Tuxtla Gutiérrez-Tecpatán and the Panamericana. In recent years they have been favored with the paving of their roads from the district capital of Copainalà to the municipalities with a Zoque population, such as Pantepec, Tapalapa, Ixtacomitán, Chapultenango, Coapilla and Ocotepec, thereby leading to development for those municipalities. Likewise, it is palpable to see that in these towns with a Zoque presence they have benefited from other means of communication such as: rural telephony, mobile telephony (Copainalá, Chicoasén, Tecpatán, Coapilla).

Schools

The existence of schools is evident in the municipalities with a Zoque population, the creation of formal education schools, indigenous education and Conafe community courses has allowed the educational service to reach the most remote communities, thereby achieving In the smaller rancherías, the school population is served from initial education to the sixth grade of primary education. In the main towns of each municipality you can take telesecundaria and in the municipal capitals, high school studies can be done in Copainalá, Tecpatán, Ocozocoautla, Tuxtla Gutiérrez and Pichucalco and university studies in the state capital or in Oaxaca. Recently, in towns that have had accelerated population growth, secondary education centers have been opened, as is the case of Cobach, with this it has been possible to serve telesecundaria graduates, in their town of origin and two Universities in the area. zoque Autonomous University of Chiapas in Copainalá and Technological University of La Selva in Rayón.

Religious schools

Another form of unofficial education is that provided by religious groups, who in addition to preaching religion, teach reading and writing, as well as some trades.

Health services

Another infrastructure in the Zoque towns is the extensive network of Rural Medical Units of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), located in each municipal seat, where basic health needs are attended to, such as gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases., as well as in the vaccination and deworming campaigns that are carried out periodically.

Historical background

Evidence of pre-ceramic occupation has been found in the central depression of Chiapas dating to around 3500 BC. C. The people who left these remains were nomadic hunters, fishermen and gatherers.

The Zoque chiefdoms prior to the arrival of the Spanish followed the dominant relationship pattern in which the weaker ones were tributary to the stronger ones. The area of expansion of the Zoques in pre-Columbian times included the coast of Chiapas to Guatemala, the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the south of Veracruz, the southwest of Tabasco and the northwestern center of Chiapas. Subsequently, incursions by Mayan, Zapotec and Chiapanec groups reduced their territory and subjected them to paying tribute. Around 1484 the Aztecs consolidated the conquest of Chiapas, which is why the Zoques in the center and west of the state began to pay them tribute. The arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the XVI century further reduced the Zoque territory and increased the amount of their tributes.

The capital of one of the main Zoque tribes was Quechula, currently under the waters of the Malpaso dam. The warrior caste had Javepacuay as its capital in the valleys of Ocozocoautla de Espinosa and La Ciénega. In the disappeared municipality of Francisco León (buried by the eruption of the Chichonal volcano) are the ruins of Gualeguas, an ancient Zoque city. Another Zoque chiefdom settled in present-day Cunduacán, Tabasco.

The Zoques who owned the most coveted lands, such as those who lived in the central depression, near Tuxtla Gutiérrez and in the western valleys, quickly adopted Spanish and the values and customs of the dominant group. The Spanish Crown subjected the Zoques to the heaviest work and concentrated them in villages. Due to forced labor and newly acquired diseases, the Zoques drastically decreased in number.

In the central depression, the Spanish dedicated themselves mainly to cattle raising and the trade in cochineal, cotton, sugar and leather, leaving agricultural work and traditional activities such as blanket weaving to the Zoques. They achieved great perfection. The mistreatment and forced labor caused discontent among the Zoque population, giving rise to incidents of rebellion that were put down by the colonizers' troops.

The Mexican War of Independence meant for the Zoque population a new period of exploitation and forced labor at the service of new masters, mestizos and lay people. During the 19th century laws were enacted that favored the concentration of land in a few hands, thus forming a class of large agrarian owners. in the region that kept the Indians in conditions of servitude on the large estates.

From the agrarian distribution that began after the Mexican Revolution, the Zoques entered a process of "integration" to national culture. Although the number of Zoque speakers has decreased significantly, the ritual and ceremonial life of these towns remains alive.

Language or language

The indigenous language used by this group is the Zoque language, belonging to the Mixe-Zoque linguistic family.

Medicine

For the care of the Zoque indigenous people, in addition to the official institutions already mentioned, there is a good number of traditional doctors, among whom we can mention herbalists and bone workers or sobadores. In a 2017 study on medicinal plants in the Zoque town of Ayapa (Tabasco), 140 species for medicinal use belonging to 65 different botanical families (104 of American origin and 36 introduced) were identified from five informants, which They were used for 70 different conditions, 104 plants are species of American origin and 36 were introduced.

Housing

It is tradition that the roof is made of grass, the walls are made of clay and the floor is made of dirt. Currently this is only found in the most remote rancherías, since it has been replaced by constructions made of sheet, cement, partition and stone. The houses have a patio or plot where a wide variety of fruit trees are grown: mangoes, lemons, oranges, sugar apples, bananas, flowers and plants for medicinal and culinary use.

Generally, the house is rectangular in shape, with a single room, which has a smaller annex used as a kitchen.

Crafts

In general terms, it can be said that the crafts of the Zoques are varied and colorful, even that they are not typical of the group, since some of them, such as those made with wood, began to be manufactured recently in the Casa de la Culture of Tecpatán.

In the towns of Tapalapa and Ocuilapa pottery is made; In Ocotepec, wacas (vine baskets for washing coffee and cocoa beans) are made, which have a great tradition.

In the municipality of Tacocalpa, Tabasco, and mainly in the towns of Tapijulapa and Oxolotán, the crafts made of wicker (bejuco from the region) are famous, with which various items are made: baskets, napkin holders, centerpieces, flowers or photo frames, and furniture such as living rooms and dining rooms.

Territory, ecology and social reproduction

In the region inhabited by the Zoques there are three different ecological zones: the Gulf slope, the mountains and the central depression. The first and second zones correspond to the so-called northern mountains, with altitudes exceeding 2000 m s. n. m. The predominant climate ranges between tropical-humid and temperate. The original vegetation of the mountains was made up of jungles and tropical forests, as well as pine-oak-liquidámbar forests; The current landscape is made up of cornfields, coffee plantations, fallow mountains, grasslands and unusable lands such as rocky cliffs and moors.

Land ownership in the mountain municipalities is private and ejidal. In the first, extensive livestock farming prevails while in the ejidos, livestock farming, coffee cultivation and subsistence agriculture are practiced.

The central depression is characterized by altitudes between 500 and 800 m s. n. m. The vegetation is variable although acacias and nances predominate in the surroundings of Tuxtla Gutiérrez and the valleys of Ocozocoautla and Jiquipilas. To the north, already in the middle of the Malpaso jungle, the vegetation corresponds to a rainy climate with trees more than 40 m high.

The Grijalva flows through the area, and along its course the Chicoasén and Malpaso hydroelectric dams have been built. Here, most of the land is privately owned and dedicated to livestock farming. The farmers in the area are fundamentally subsistence farmers. The Zoques who live in the cities of Tuxtla Gutiérrez and Ocozocoautla work on their own as mechanics, blacksmiths, merchants or paid employees in the service sector.

On the Gulf slope, the area is covered with grasslands for raising cattle, owned by mestizos. In this area, large oil deposits were discovered that Petróleos Mexicanos is now exploiting. The peasant population has been displaced from various places and many have had to work as laborers in the drilling companies.

Social organization

The Zoques are a heterogeneous group. Although in all municipalities religion continues to be an important element of social cohesion, it no longer plays any role in the civil administration of the municipalities. Until approximately 1940, the civil-religious office system was still in force in most of the area's municipalities; However, the integration of the region into national life has led to social differentiation within the communities, and traditional authority systems have ceased to have any influence on the political life of these people.

The traditional ceremonial cycle of the Zoque peoples continues in the hands of the cargo systems, of which the mayordomos, priostes, executors, breakers, alférez and fiscals stand out.

Cosmogony and religion

In the cosmogony of the Zoques, the surface of the earth is called nasa kobak (head of the Earth) and is surrounded by the sea (muha'no'); The subsoil is called nasa kukomo (center of the earth). The sky is called sapˀne and the cardinal points have specific designations: the East (rise of the sun) hamsore; the West (where the Sun is lost) handoˀbo; the North koyinasomo and the South kusmunasomo. "The ancients said" that in each of the cardinal points "there was a naked old man".

The Sun (hama) as the main deity is considered the "mere father" and from Christian syncretism it is directly associated with Jesus Christ. The human life cycle is directly associated with the sun's journey through the celestial vault. The Sun is born at dawn, grows during the day until it grows old. After hiding, he sexually penetrates the Earth, and thanks to this action, a new sun, a new life, is created. "The Zoques believe that when a child is born it comes where the Sun rises, and when it dies it goes where it sets."

During this journey the sun is associated with different colors and alternate worlds; the red sun, develops from the birth of the Sun until partial occultation, corresponds to earthly life, that which takes place on the face of the earth. It is our reality, the here and now. In the Zoque language this world is known as Naas-Jama, time in Naas-Jama is measurable, continuous and irreversible. It advances in a spiral, ascending during the day and descending at night following the solar cycle. The yellow Sun is associated with the partial occultation of the sun, identified as the very moment in which it begins its nocturnal journey when it enters the Underworld. This phase corresponds to the world of Tsu'an, the place of "charm" the place where only those invited by the owners of the hills go to live, in this place people do not age, there is only wealth, celebration and happiness. The white sun is the threshold of midnight, the world of I'ps töjk (labyrinth) is inhabited by people who completed their life cycle on the earth's surface, and have abandoned it to continue life in the Underworld. It is a large labyrinth with underground rivers. Men do not work, but are the farming instruments themselves, who are in charge of the tasks. Various deities live in I'ps töjk, from there they govern earthly life. The deities are a male and female couple and their power is dual (positive and negative). The fourth age of the sun, the black sun, is the site of "the Great Darkness" Pagujk tsu'. Its location is so deep that it is lost in the sea of darkness, in this place those who have committed suicide go to live. Time and space will have stopped, "the inhabitants will not be able to recognize each other; They will barely notice a silhouette among the shadows that from time to time is illuminated by lightning that flashes from the distant world of Enchantment, where it is evident that they are celebrating.

Among the mythological characters that appear recurrently in Zoque oral tradition are the "owner of the land" that appears in the mountains and hills as a protector of vegetation and wild animals, "the lightning men" nahuales or sorcerers who have the ability to transform into lightning, wild men (Tzamapón in Francisco León), La piowacwe, and mythical snakes like Tzawatzan, or chan (flying snake) or the onvayomo (serpent woman).

There are entities considered evil that, it is believed, threaten the lives of the Zoques at all times. Thus, for example, any fall to the ground is interpreted as an attempt by the "owner of the land" for taking over the soul of the person; or, they must be protected during sleep, since in this state the soul of the zoque wanders freely, and the spirit of the night is on the lookout in order to "steal it", leaving the body soulless. The devil, although he is an entity of Catholicism, is associated with different evil spirits that incarnate in animals.

The current Zoque worldview and religion is the result of the fusion of pre-Hispanic worldviews and the cultures imposed and brought by the first Dominican friars in the century XVI, in this sense three religious groups are identified among the Zoques: the Catholics, the Adventists or Protestants and those who recognize themselves as "customsmen". There is mutual rejection and lack of recognition, which leads to conflicts to obtain power.

It is important to note that among the customarians, despite not recognizing the Catholic priest as the highest authority, they admit and celebrate Catholic saints; They carry out traditional festivals, dances and ritual sacrifices.

For these celebrations there is a complex organizational system whose hierarchy is based on the age of the participants: the oldest occupy the most important positions and the young ones occupy the auxiliary positions. They have as sacred places, in addition to the hermitages and the houses of the "freighters", the caves and mountains of the territory.

Parties

In the town of Tapijulapa, in Tabasco, one of the most important Zoque rituals is celebrated, called: The Sardine Fishing Dance. This festival of pre-Hispanic origins is a dance of a social, mestizo and festive nature, celebrated during Lent. It is a demonstration to represent this activity, as an offering, and is carried out during the cave of "The Old Man" which is located in the community of Villa Luz, Tapijulapa. It starts with the "rayada" of the "cueza" in the streams that are near the cave (Arroos de Azufre) there they prepare the "barbasco" with lime that they wrap in "tanay" and those that they carry to the entrance of the cave hanging from their shoulders, to later start the dance asking the gods for a good catch, and then enter the cave to fish for sardines.

The traditional festivals of the Zoques are maintained and carried out with greater sumptuousness and organization in urban areas (such as Tuxtla Gutiérrez and Ocozocoautla) than in rural areas. This is because in the urban context the celebration of the festival has reached a higher status than in other locations, in addition to the fact that there are greater economic resources to carry it out.

Each locality celebrates the saint of its devotion and some other important Catholic holidays, such as Candlemas Day (February 2), Three Kings Day (January 6) and Carnival whose date varies and can last up to one week. In all of them there are dances, music, masses and processions carried out by the local inhabitants themselves or by specialized groups, such as the one from the Santa Ana neighborhood, Copainalá, which carries out presentations inside and outside the municipality both on ritual occasions and at folk dance festivals.

January 8 is National Zoques Day.

Relations with other towns

The scheme of subordination of indigenous people to mestizos that is observed throughout the country is present in the Zoque communities.

Mestizo and white groups tend to monopolize political and economic power, leaving the less important positions to the indigenous population. In this way, it is common to see that the municipal president, the police chief, the owner of the largest and most prosperous store, the coffee grower or landowner with the most economic resources is a white Creole or a mestizo while the servants, employees or laborers are Zoque indigenous people.

The role of the Zoques as smallholder peasants is reduced to being small producers of basic grains, coffee, livestock and some artisanal products such as pottery and basketry. They also constitute the basic workforce for white and mestizo ranchers and farmers, as well as for some labor market activities in cities such as Villahermosa, Cancún, Coatzacoalcos and Tuxtla Gutiérrez.

In the cities, the Zoques maintain an unequal relationship with the white and mestizo populations as domestic employees, truck drivers, merchants, etc. This interaction does not prevent them from continuing to recognize themselves as Zoques, from using their language among themselves or from going to their town of origin on festival days.

The relations that exist between the Zoques and members of other indigenous peoples, mainly Tsotziles, are, in general, cordial; Some ejidos in the municipalities of Rayón, Pantepec and Tapalapa are inhabited and used in common, without difficulties that can be attributed to ethnic differences. On the contrary, the Zoques of Pantepec prefer to go to traditional Tsotzil doctors than to those of their own group.

To survive, the Zoques are also employed as wage earners in the cities in the construction industry, mainly in Cancún, Villahermosa, Oaxaca and Tuxtla Gutiérrez.

Books about the zoques (see bibliographical reference)

• The Zoques of Chiapas
• Language and History among the Zoques of Chiapas
• Zoque-popolucas