The Jakaltek people are a

Mayan people Mayan most commonly refers to: * Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Mayan languages, language family spoken ...

of Guatemala. They have lived in the foothills of the Cuchumatán Mountains in the Department of

Huehuetenango Huehuetenango () is a city and municipality in the highlands of western Guatemala. It is also the capital of the department of Huehuetenango. The city is situated from Guatemala City, and is the last departmental capital on the Pan-American High ...

in northwestern Guatemala since pre-Columbian times, centered on the town of

Jacaltenango Jacaltenango is a town and municipality situated in the Western Highlands of Guatemala. It is located in a valley surrounded by the Sierra Madre Mountains. Jacaltenango serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same na ...

Location and history

Located on a plateau overlooking

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, Jacaltenango is 1,437 m above sea level and its surrounding villages are located at both higher and lower elevations. The town of Jacaltenango is a governmental, religious, and market center of the region. In the

Jakaltek language The Jakaltek (''Jacaltec'') language , also known as Jakalteko (''Jacalteco'') or Poptiʼ, is a Mayan language of Guatemala spoken by 90,000 Jakaltek people in the department of Huehuetenango, and some 500 the adjoining part of Chiapas in sou ...

the town of Jacaltenango is called "Xajlaj", or “place of the big white rock slabs.” Jacaltecas

For many years, this area was physically and culturally the most remote from Spanish centers in the country. The 72-km trip from Huehuetenango, the capital of the department, was a two-day walk. Since 1974, when an unpaved road was built from the Pan-American Highway to Jacaltenango, it has been a five-hour bus ride from Huehuetenango to Jacaltenango. Electricity came to town in 1979. This relative isolation has resulted in the preservation of many customs in the community which have been lost elsewhere. For example, a few Jakaltek people still use the

blowgun A blowgun (also called a blowpipe or blow tube) is a simple ranged weapon consisting of a long narrow tube for shooting light projectiles such as darts. It operates by having the projectile placed inside the pipe and using the force created ...

for hunting small animals and birds. The Jakaltek also maintain a belief system which involves

Nagual In Mesoamerican folk religion, a nagual (pronounced a'wal is a human being who has the power to shapeshift into their Tonal (mythology), tonal animal counterpart. Nagualism is tied to the belief one can access power and spiritual insight by ...

s and Tonals.* Stratmeyer, Dennis & Jean , 1977,"The Jacaltec Nawal and the Soul Bearer in Concepcion Huista", in ''Cognitive Studies of Southern Mesoamerica'', Helen L. Neuenschander and Dean E. Arnold eds.,Summer Institute of Linguistics, Museum of Anthropology Publication 3 There is a sizable Jacalteco population in South Florida, specifically in Jupiter which is where most Jacaltecos in the United States live, as well as Indiantown (where most Guatemalans first settled in Florida, West Palm Beach, Lake Worth (home to the largest Guatemalan Maya community in Florida), and Homestead Florida. http://lanic.utexas.edu/project/rla/papers/Austin.pdf

Notes

{{authority control Indigenous peoples of Central America Maya peoples of Guatemala Huehuetenango Department Maya peoples of Mexico