The Cultural Importance of Identity and the Social/Economic/Political Units

Facts summarized from Collier
The Chiapas Indians are descendants of the Mayans, and speak dialects of Maya, Tzotzil and Tzeltal, as opposed to the Mexican Nationals, whose first language is Spanish. The Indians also differ from the Mexican Nationals in their ethnic character. They differ in physique and dress, and live according to traditions of Mayan origin. They are agrarians, and raise corn to support themselves.

The Indians' society is organized into hierarchical units. The divisions are most obviously made along geographical lines, but these lines are practically identical with both economic and cultural lines. At each level, a unit is mostly independent from its siblings, both socially and economically. At each level, there is a feeling of unity that is stronger than the next larger unit, and lesser than the next smaller.

The household consists of the immediate family, and its plots of land. This is the most closely knit unit of society. A household owns a number of lands on which corn is planted. The mountainous soil, unsuitable for growing corn, remains fallow for six years after a crop, so each household must own many plots. The family is usually run by an elder male member, who has the power to distribute work among household members, and to make decisions which concern the entire household. All household resources are shared among all members, and all members depend upon the others to keep the household running. They are all very loyal to the household, which is where the wealth, the land, is. Sons leaving the home after marriage must show their loyalty to their father through rituals before they are given a piece of land.

The hamlet is the next largest unit. It consists of a number of households in the same area. They are situated close together, with their fields around them. Often, the households are related to each other by blood: a man may run one household in a hamlet, and his son, another. Marriage is usually within the hamlet, too. However, they remain independent households, and usually do not share resources. They may be in dispute, often over a piece of land; the authorities of the township (next section) have the power to resolve conflicts, but local elders are always consulted first. Men are given duties such as committeeman or tax-collector. Altars in the hamlet are visited by shamans for healing and agricultural ceremonies. The households in the hamlet are very close and share family members and traditions, there is a great deal of unity within a hamlet.

The township is the largest unit of society. It consists of a center of culture and worship in the center of a number of hamlets. It has an administration made up of residents from the hamlets. This administration has the power to resolve conflicts among households. Each member of the township must leave work at the household for one year to serve in the township. This is considered a moral and spiritual duty. For the farmers who work to earn subsistance, this term is a great expense which must be prepared for by careful savings. Farmers who are more wealthy are able to buy higher positions in the administration. This gains them greater respect in the community, as well as benefitting them spiritually.

There is little communication between townships. Townships represent independent units of economy and culture. Each township has a distinctive set of traditions by which the Indians lead their lives: they have different rules for land distribution, different rituals, different dress, different greetings. In very rare circumstances, an Indian is transplanted in another township, but instead of blurring differences, the Indian usually adopts completely the styles of its new home, including the religion.

The center of the townships is the city, San Cristóbal de las Casas. In the city live Indians and Ladinos (Mestizos, Mexican Nationals). The Ladinos are native speakers of Spanish, and while they, too, are agrarians, they are also more apt to be educated, and are more aware of the existence of the rest of Mexico. San Cristóbal is the link between the townships and the rest of Mexico. The Indians trade very little with the outside world, but what trade does go on is managed by the Ladinos, who export the raw produce of the Indians and import manufactured goods.

From small to large unit, a degree of unity is lost. In the household, everything is shared. Between households, sharing of physical resources is lost. In the township, there is the loss of the blood ties and the physical proximity, although cultural and religious ties still hold. Between townships, even this is lost; all that remains is the common Mayan heritage, some minimal trading and a common disposition towards the Mexican Government. The Indians almost never interact at the national level, though they have kept up with changes in the government since the arrival of the Spaniards in order to ensure control of their lands.