Zinacantán

Partial view of Zinacantan with Saint Lawrence Church in the middle

Zinacantán is a municipio (municipality) in the southern part of the Central Chiapas highlands in the Mexican state of Chiapas. About 98% of its population are (also spelled Tzotzil (or Tsotsil) Maya, an indigenous people with linguistic and cultural ties to other highland Maya peoples.

Zinacantán literally means "land of bats" and comes from the Nahuatl language. People in Zinacantán speak Tzotzil (or Tsotsil) (a Mayan language) and they call their own land "Sots'leb", that is, "land of bats" in their own language.

Population

• More than 30.000 inhabitants (2006).
• Density: 21,83 inhab./km².

Location

• Altitude: 2.558 meters.
• Latitude: 16º 45' N
• Longitude: 092º 42' O

Traditional charges and feasts in Zinacantán

Many feasts are celebrated during the year. In every feast men are in charge of the celebration -- they are: martomoetik, alperesetik and moletik. The first two of these three names are loan words from the Spanish "mayordomos" and "alférez", respectively. They have to pay whatever is needed in order to celebrate the feasts. These three kinds of "cargos" (charges) are in fact a hierarchy. They constitute an ascending scale in the same order as they are described below. One can never become one of the moletik if he hasn't been a martomo first and then an alperes. These charges are just for men, although their wives have important roles in their husbands' charges. There are twelve martomoetik, twelve alperesetik and six moletik, who are chosen by the inhabitants of Zinacantan every year. Each one has a different feast assigned to him during the year, although they each have to assist in every feast throughout the year.

The martomoetik are those in charge to buy whatever is needed for the feast within the church (flowers, candles, pine leaves, etc.). The alperesetik are those who buy and prepare everything needed for the feast outside the church: fireworks, kameró (which is a sort of "bomb" or explosive that they use at certain moments of the feast in order to emphasize its importance), etc. The moletik are the elders who are in charge of teaching the youngsters how to organize the feast. Three days before of the very day of the feast they begin to celebrate by wearing their traditional clothes and performing the corresponding traditional rites.

The patron saint of Zinacantán is San Lorenzo (Saint Lawrence) whose feast day is August 10th. This traditional feast lasts four days (from August 8th until 10th). The feast of Saint Sebastian, January 20th, is also important in Zinacantan. In fact, Saint Sebastian's feast lasts from January 18th until 22nd. There are also many other feasts which are less important: Epiphany on January 6th, Our Lady of the Candelaria on February 2nd, Ash Wednesday, Holy Week, Pentecost, Saint Dominic on August 4th, Saint Matthiew on September 22nd, Christmas, and many others.

History of Zinacantán

In pre-Columbian times before the Conquerors' arrival, Zinacantán already had strong links with the Aztecs in the Central Zone of Mexico. Zinacantecans exchanged their products (salt, amber, etc.) with Aztec traders.

The first missionaries who came to evangelize the native inhabitants in Zinacantán were the Dominican Friars. They settled in Zinacantan in the 16th century and built a wooden chapel to begin their mission. These missionaries left Zinacantán before they were expelled from Mexico by the government in the 17th century. They resumed their pastoral work in Zinacantan in 1976.

References

• This article draws upon information contained in the Spanish-language Wikipedia article, es:Zinacantán.