Chuj people

Chuj

Total population
approx. 68,000
Regions with significant populations
Huehuetenango	64,438
Mexico	approx. 3,000
Languages
Chuj, Spanish
Religion
Catholic, Evangelicalist, Maya religion

The Chuj or Chuh are a Maya people, whose homeland is in Guatemala and Mexico. Population estimates vary between 30,000 and over 60,000. Their indigenous language is also called Chuj and belongs to the Q'anjobalan branch of Mayan languages. In Guatemala, most Chuj live in the department of Huehuetenango in the municipalities of San Mateo Ixtatán and San Sebastián Coatán.

The Chuj, and their ancestors, are believed to have lived in the same area for 4,000 years. They first came into contact with Spanish conquistadores in the 1530s; however, they were not finally subdued by the Spanish colonial authorities until the 1680s. In the post-Colonial era, the Chuj lost much of their communal land, reducing them to extreme poverty. This resulted in a history of violent resistance to authority culminating in guerrilla activity against Guatemala's military junta in the 1980s.

The name Chuj is an exonym first used by the Spanish. According to folk tradition, the term was coined by Tzeltal conscripts of the Spanish, for whom it meant the loose wool overgarment traditionally worn by Chuj men. The Chuj themselves use an autonym based on their town of origin, i.e. ajSan Matéyo (from San Mateo Ixtatán), ajSan Sabastyán (from San Sebastián Coatán), or ajNenton (from Nentón).

The Chuj are a small grouping of Mayan people who live in Guatemala and Mexico. Following emigration to the United States in the 1980s, large numbers of the Chuj also live in Los Angeles.

Most of the Chuj live in Guatemala, in the highlands of the department of Huehuetenango. Their main centres of settlement in Huehuetenango are the towns of San Mateo Ixtatán and San Sebastián Coatán with some living in parts of the town of Nentón. Additionally, small numbers also live in the Mexican state of Chiapas.

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Wikipedia