Abstract

GUERRERO MARTINEZ, Fernando. Reflections about the History of the Relationship Between the Tojolabal, the Tseltal, and the Chuj Peoples. Rev. pueblos front. digit. [online]. 2020, vol.15, e439.  Epub Mar 05, 2021. ISSN 1870-4115.  https://doi.org/doi.org/10.22201/cimsur.18704115e.2020.v15.439.

This work stems from the consideration that the Tojolabal language is mixed: it comes from the contact between Tseltal and Chuj, according to recent linguistic studies. Taking this into consideration, we analyze the available information about the history of these Mayan peoples and their relationship through time. This is accomplished by articulating data from ethnographic research and colonial documents, seen from a historic point of view. Evidence suggests a multilingual region in which diverse groups met during the XVI century, while from the point of view of current inhabitants, history and myth are linked to explain the population movements and links throughout time. The analysis invites to consider one of the hypothetical scenarios proposed by linguists about the kind of contact that may have happened between the Tseltal and the Chuj.

Keywords : linguistic contact; mixed language; Mayan; narrative; history and myth.