Living inconspicuously deep in the jungles of remote Chiapas, the Lacandon Indians have a peaceful, primitive culture. The Lacandons number only around 300, and are being "civilized" at an ever increasing rate. Paying silent homage to their Maya heritage, they paddle roughly hewn dugout canoes up and down the jungle rivers of Chiapas, perhaps on their way to Yaxchilan, a difficult to reach Maya ruin where they worship the ancient Maya gods that are believed to inhabit the site.
The faces of today's Lacandons so closely resemble the Maya faces depicted in the carved reliefs on Maya temples that they are sometimes referred to as "living reliefs."
Some are so completely isolated from modern innovations that they still rely on such primitive tools and implements as wooden knives and bows and arrows. Even the comfort of a warm blanket is a luxury unknown to these people; instead they sleep in hammocks at night, and are kept warm by the dying embers of a fire built
close to their beds.
If the Lacandons are the recluses of Chiapas, the Chamulas are the area's most overtly progressive and aggressive Indians. In the mid 19th century they even rose in open warfare against the "white" town of San Cristobal Las Casas. Their aggressiveness now has been turned to hard trading in the marketplace. Chamula men can be distinguished by their black, or sometimes white, tunics. The decorative colors used and the unique woven pattern of the tunic indicate the village from which each man comes. The women wear black huipiles with red tassels.
The Zinacanteco Indians of Chiapas provide local color. Their handwoven straw hats with wide brims are profusely decorated with multifarious, brightly colored ribbons. The Zinacantecos'basic attire consists of white cotton shirts and trousers, tunics, colorful sarapes, and kerchiefs worn around the neck. On their feet are the traditional Mexican huaraches with heelguards reminiscent of ancient Indian footwear.
Living inconspicuously deep in the jungles of remote Chiapas, the Lacandon Indians have a peaceful, primitive culture. The Lacandons number only around 300, and are being "civilized" at an ever increasing rate. Paying silent homage to their Maya heritage, they paddle roughly hewn dugout canoes up and down the jungle rivers of Chiapas, perhaps on their way to Yaxchilan, a difficult to reach Maya ruin where they worship the ancient Maya gods that are believed to inhabit the site.
If the Lacandons are the recluses of Chiapas, the Chamulas are the area's most overtly progressive and aggressive Indians. In the mid 19th century they even rose in open warfare against the "white" town of San Cristobal Las Casas. Their aggressiveness now has been turned to hard trading in the marketplace. Chamula men can be distinguished by their black, or sometimes white, tunics. The decorative colors used and the unique woven pattern of the tunic indicate the village from which each man comes. The women wear black huipiles with red tassels.
