The Chʼortiʼ people (alternatively, ''Chʼortiʼ Maya'' or ''Chorti'') are one of the

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

Maya peoples The Maya peoples () are an ethnolinguistic group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica. The ancient Maya civilization was formed by members of this group, and today's Maya are generally descended from people ...

, who primarily reside in communities and towns of southeastern

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

, northwestern

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

, and northern

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

. Their

indigenous language An indigenous language, or autochthonous language, is a language that is native to a region and spoken by indigenous peoples. This language is from a linguistically distinct community that originated in the area. Indigenous languages are not neces ...

, also known as Chʼortiʼ, is a survival of Classic Choltian, the language of the inscriptions in Copan. It is the first language of approximately 15,000 people, although the majority of present-day Chʼortiʼ speakers are

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

as well.

History

The Chʼortiʼ area, which had

Copán Copán is an archaeological site of the Maya civilization in the Copán Department of western Honduras, not far from the border with Guatemala. This ancient Maya city mirrors the beauty of the physical landscape in which it flourished—a fert ...

as its cultural center, was the headquarters of the ancient

Mayan civilization The Maya civilization () of the Mesoamerican people is known by its ancient temples and glyphs. Its Maya script is the most sophisticated and highly developed writing system in the pre-Columbian Americas. It is also noted for its art, arc ...

. The Chʼortiʼ people, led by the Mayan chief , strongly but unsuccessfully resisted the Spanish conquerors. The Chʼortiʼ belong to the Meridional Mayans, and are closely related to the Mayans in

Yucatán Yucatán (, also , , ; yua, Yúukatan ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán,; yua, link=no, Xóot' Noj Lu'umil Yúukatan. is one of the 31 states which comprise the political divisions of Mexico, federal entities of Mexico. I ...

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

and Northern

. They are also somewhat related to the Choles, Mayans who currently live in

Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...

Geographical location

NATIVE AMERICAN INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF EL SALVADOR IN CENTRAL AMERICA ISTHMUS

Historically, the Chʼorti Mayans were located in the

Ocotepeque Ocotepeque is a municipality in the Honduran department of Ocotepeque. The town of Nueva Ocotepeque is the municipal seat and the capital of the department. The department borders two countries, Guatemala and El Salvador and covers 1,630 ...

and Copan departments, as well as in the northern strip of the

Cortes Cortes, Cortés, Cortês, Corts, or Cortès may refer to: People * Cortes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Hernán Cortés (1485–1547), a Spanish conquistador Places * Cortes, Navarre, a village in the South border of N ...

and Santa Barbara departments. This geographical area possibly also extended to

on the south, to

Chiquimula Chiquimula is a city in Guatemala. It is the capital of the department of Chiquimula and the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name. It is located some 174 km from Guatemala City and within Guatemala known as "La per ...

on the west, and to the Golfo Dulce to the north. Currently, the majority of the Chʼorti are located in

(in

, Jocotan,

Esquipulas Esquipulas (Nahuatl: Isquitzuchil, "place where flowers abound"), officially Municipality of Esquipulas, whose original name was Yzquipulas, is a town, with a population of 18,667 (2018 census), and a municipality located in the department of Chi ...

, Quezaltenango and

La Union La Union (), officially the Province of La Union ( ilo, Probinsia ti La Union; Kankanaey'': Probinsyan di La Union;'' Ibaloi'': Probinsya ne La Union;'' pag, Luyag/Probinsia na La Union; Tagalog'': Lalawigan ng La Union),'' is a province in th ...

). The current Guatemalan Chʼortiʼ population estimate is 46,833. The Chʼortiʼ population in

live in areas of difficult access in the Copan and

departments, like Chonco, Colon Jubuco, San Rafael, Tapescos, Carrizalon, La Laguna, Santa Rita, Antigua Ocotepeque,

Nueva Ocotepeque Nueva Ocotepeque, with a population of 13,940 (2020 calculation), is the capital of the Ocotepeque Department of Honduras. It is situated in the north-south valley of the Lempa River, north of the El Salvador border, and east of the Guatemal ...

, and

Sensenti Sensenti is a municipality in the Honduran department of Ocotepeque. Demographics At the time of the 2013 Honduras census, Sensenti municipality had a population of 11,453. Of these, 99.11% were Mestizo, 0.53% Indigenous, 0.24% Black or Afro ...

. The current Honduran Chʼortiʼ population estimate is 4,200. They are mostly farmers, and they lived in areas mixed with

mestizos (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed European and Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturally European even though their ...

Organization and culture

The Chʼortis in Copan speak

; most Chʼorti speakers are in Guatemala. This is because the political division between Honduras and Guatemala, and the inherent movement restriction between the two countries. However, the traditional customs of dress have been kept, as well as musical traditions, expressed using instruments like teponangas, drums, whistles, chinchins, sonajas and horns. The most traditional dance is called the "dance of the giants". Their food is based mainly on corn and beans. Corn is prepared in different ways: as a drink, like chilate, pozol, sweet atole, and sour atole (chuco), tortillas, tamales, totoposte and also alcoholic drinks like chicha. Chʼorti' religion is based on admiring and adoring nature, through rituals dedicated to the gods of the Earth and the Wind.

Notes

{{authority control Chiquimula Department Copán Department Indigenous peoples in El Salvador Indigenous peoples in Guatemala Indigenous peoples in Honduras Indigenous peoples of Central America Maya peoples Mesoamerican cultures Ocotepeque Department