Q'anjob'al

Q'anjob'al

ETHNONYMS: Kanhobal, Kanjobal

Orientation

The Q'anjob'al are one of a number of Mayan groups living in Guatemala. Specifically, they inhabit the Cuchumatan Mountains in the department of Huehuetenango. The terrain in this isolated region is filled with high ridges and deep gorges. Because of differences in elevation, the climate ranges from very warm (27-32° C) in the valleys to very cool (10-16° C) in the mountains.

At present, there are about 70,000 Q'anjob'al Indians living in the northwestern highlands of Guatemala. They speak the Q'anjob'al language, which belongs to the Macro-Mayan Language Family. It is part of the Q'anjob'al Language Branch, which also includes Chuj, Tojolab'al and Jakalteko.

History and Cultural Relations

The Spanish Conquest of the Q'anjob'al began in the 1520s, when Pedro de Alvarado led soldiers through present-day Guatemala with the purpose of conquering the various Indian groups who lived there. Many forces contributed to the conquest of the Q'anjob'al by the Spaniards. European disease, military attacks, and missionary settlements all served to weaken and deplete the Q'anjob'al population.

During the colonial period, private landholders exerted their political power to subsume indigenous lands into their own personal estates. The private landholders used these lands to grow coffee, which was a lucrative cash crop during the colonial period. Because of government policies, Q'anjob'al Indians lost more than 70 per cent of their lands to Ladinos between 1880 and 1920. As a result of three centuries of colonial policy that rewarded large private landholders over the indigenous Q'anjob'al, the latter were reduced to peasant farmers and migrant laborers.

Q'anjob'al lands have been under continued pressure, and, as a result, many individuals have turned to left-wing political causes, which promise land reform. The government of Guatemala's response has been to repress the Q'anjob'al violently. Because of this policy, many Q'anjob'al began emigrating to the United States during the mid1980s.

Settlements

Q'anjob'al villages reflect the agricultural character of the people. Settlements usually consist of a central urban center that is utilized for trade and regional government; however, most Indians live in dispersed households near their fields. Houses generally consist of one-room dwellings made of pole walls and thatch roofs. Many Q'anjob'al construct sweat baths adjacent to the main structure.

Economy

Agriculture is the central component of Q'anjob'al economic life. The staple crops, maize, beans, and squashes, are grown on milpa plots according to swidden agricultural practices. The Q'anjob'al are unique because they have not only cultivated maize as a subsistence crop, but they have also been able to grow surpluses, which they sell for cash. They farm on the sides of mountains and slopes that are often as steep as 45°. Because of the slopes, they are unable to use heavy plows or animals. They utilize the traditional hoe, machete, and digging stick. Opportunities are severely limited outside of agriculture; those unable to farm because of a lack of land are forced to become migrant laborers.

Weaving is the main economic activity for women. They utilize traditional looms to create intricately designed clothes and blouses. Clothing is not only produced as an economic good, but also as a symbol of municipal identity. Because each town has its own particular design, it is possible to tell which villages individuals come from by simply looking at their clothing.

Kinship

Q'anjob'al descent is traced patrilineally. There is also evidence that vestiges of traditional clans and lineages are still recognized. Children are given their father's surname. All of those people who have the same surname are considered to be members of the same clan. It is prescribed that one should marry someone with a different last name, that is, someone who does not belong to the same patrilineal clan. One is, however, expected to marry another member of the village.

Fictive kinship, or compadrazgo is also an important element of Q'anjob'al kinship. Compadrazgo is the system of ritual relations created between godparents and children and between godparents and the parents of the children. These relations serve religious and social purposes and are most often called into action during births and baptisms.

Marriage and Family

From the age of 3 or 4, children are dressed in miniature copies of the clothes their parents wear. Female children work with their mothers around the home, and male children accompany their fathers to the milpa plot.

Marriage involves much ritual social interaction, and it is necessary for the groom's parents to pay a bride-price to the family of the bride. Marriages are arranged by the parents of the bride and groom. Most often marriage occurs between the ages of 12 and 16 for females and 15 and 18 for males. Upon marrying, the couple moves into the compound of the groom's father. Households are generally nuclear units; however, because sons build their houses close to their father's dwelling, it is possible to describe Q'anjob'al households as patrilocal extended-family compounds.

Sociopolitical Organization

The sociopolitical organization of the Q'anjob'al follows the traditional model of a Latin American civil-religious hierarchy. It is important to note that each town has its own complement of offices within its own hierarchy. The civil sector consists of a hierarchy of offices consisting of mayor, police, and assistants. The most prestigious and wise individuals who have held office can become a principal. Each town has a council of principales, which directs the affairs of the town. They also appoint individuals to civil offices.

The religious sector is similar in that it consists of a hierarchical system of offices. The most important position to be held is that of mayordomo. This office is held by a married couple; their responsibilities include taking care of church affairs and maintaining the physical condition of the saints. The most prestigious aspect of this office is sponsorship of the festivals that are held annually to celebrate the patron saint of the town. Mayordomos sponsor these festivals with their time, effort, and money. Much status and prestige is conferred to those who have filled the office.

Religion and Expressive Culture

Q'anjob'al religion is a combination of elements of traditional beliefs with Catholicism. Although they recognize the Catholic God, Jesus, and the Virgin Mary, they place them within the context of their own traditional religious perspectives. God is believed to have appeared on earth during the creation and Jesus is believed to have been crucified in each local village. The Virgin Mary and the saints are spiritual beings that protect local villages from evil. The Q'anjob'al believe that evil exists in many forms and that it may exist simultaneously with good in the same deity.

A central symbol within the Q'anjob'al cosmology is the cross. Crosses stand in front of the churches in the villages. These crosses vary in height from 4.5 to 21.2 meters high. Whereas Catholics identify the cross with the Crucifixion, the cross also represents traditional conceptions of the heavens and the earth. In addition, it is an integral part of the Maya calendar, which is the basis for much of Q'anjob'al cosmology.

Bibliography

Burns, Allan F. (1988). "Resettlement in the US: Kanjobal Maya in Indiantown, Florida." Cultural Survival Quarterly 12(4): 41-45.

Burns, Allan F. (1993). Maya in Exile: Guatemalans in Florida. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

Wagley, Charles (1969). "The Maya of Northwestern Guatemala." In Handbook of Middle American Indians, edited by Robert Wauchope. Vol. 7, Ethnology, Part One, edited by Evon Z. Vogt, 46-68. Austin: University of Texas Press.