Maya peoples
Maya are an Indigenous ethnolinguistic group of Mesoamerica.
The Maya are an ethnolinguistic group of Indigenous peoples from Mesoamerica. The ancient Maya civilization was built by members of this group, and modern Maya are largely descended from those who lived in that same historical region. Today, they live in southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and the westernmost parts of El Salvador and Honduras. The term "Maya" is a modern label for these peoples, but it was not used by the Indigenous populations themselves in the past. There was no shared identity or political unity among the various populations, societies, and ethnic groups, as each had its own distinct traditions, cultures, and historical identity.
Around the start of the 21st century, an estimated seven million Maya lived in this area. In Guatemala, southern Mexico and the Yucatán Peninsula, Belize, El Salvador, and western Honduras, many remnants of their ancient cultural heritage have been preserved. Some Maya are well integrated into the majority Westernized mestizo cultures of the nations where they live, while others maintain a more traditional, culturally distinct way of life, often speaking one of the Mayan languages as their primary language.
One of the largest Maya groups, the Yucatec Maya, lives on the Yucatán Peninsula, which includes the Mexican states of Yucatán, Campeche, and Quintana Roo, as well as the nation of Belize. These people identify simply as "Maya," without further ethnic subdivisions (unlike in the highlands of western Guatemala). They speak a language that anthropologists call "Yucatec Maya," but speakers and Yucatecos refer to it simply as "Maya." Among Maya speakers, Spanish is commonly spoken as a first or second language.
There is considerable confusion about the correct terminology—Maya versus Mayan—and what these words mean when referring to contemporary or pre-Columbian peoples, to Maya groups in different parts of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and to languages or peoples. Linguists call the Maya language Yucatec or Yucatec Maya to distinguish it from other Mayan languages. This practice has often been misinterpreted to mean the people are also called Yucatec Maya, but that term refers only to the language; the correct name for the people is simply Maya (not Mayans). Yucatec Maya is one language within the Mayan language family.
Quick Facts
- Group
- Maya
- Flag Caption
- Flag of the Mayan people
- Population
- More than 11 million (2022)
- Popplace
- Parts of modern-day Guatemala, Mexico, United States, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The Yucatec Maya people, one of the largest groups, live in the Yucatan Peninsula, including Mexican states of Yucatán, Campeche, and Quintana Roo, as well as Belize. They identify simply as 'Maya' and speak Yucatec Maya. The Yucatán's Indigenous population first encountered Europeans after a party of Spanish shipwreck survivors came ashore in 1511. Later expeditions were led by Córdoba in 1517, Grijalva in 1518, and Cortés in 1519. Francisco Montejo and his son, Francisco de Montejo the Younger, attempted conquest from 1528 to 1540. The Spanish founded the city of Mérida in 1542, but the conquest of the western Yucatán was a prolonged process, not a single event. Notably, Chichen Itza had been largely abandoned centuries before the Spanish arrival, so it was not a site of active conquest in the 16th century.
Reader's Guide
The Maya peoples maintain numerous remnants of their ancient cultural heritage, with some integrated into majority westernised mestizo cultures and others continuing more traditional, culturally distinct lives, often speaking a Mayan language as a primary language. In the Yucatán Peninsula, between 750,000 and 1,200,000 people speak Mayan, though three times more are of Maya origins with ancient Maya surnames. The Caste War of Yucatán was one of the most successful modern Indigenous revolts in Mexico, with the Maya state of Chan Santa Cruz recognized as an independent nation by the British Empire for trading purposes. In the early 21st century, dozens of politicians from the Yucatán Peninsula are of full or mixed Maya heritage. Maya people in the United States have organized language and cooking classes since 2003, and Maya is taught at the college level, including at Indiana University since 2010. The Zapatista Army of National Liberation, launched in Chiapas in 1994, drew its strongest support from Chiapan Maya groups such as the Tzotzil, Tzeltal, Tojolabal, Chʼol, Mochó, and Kaqchikel.
Did You Know?
- The term 'Maya' was not historically used by the Indigenous populations themselves; there was no common sense of identity or political unity.
- The Yucatec Maya language is referred to by linguists as Yucatec or Yucatec Maya to distinguish it from other Mayan languages.
- A large 19th-century revolt by the Maya people of Yucatán, known as the Caste War of Yucatán, was one of the most successful modern Indigenous revolts in Mexico.
- Francisco Luna-Kan, elected governor of Yucatán from 1976 to 1982, was the first governor of the modern Yucatán Peninsula to be of full Maya ancestry.
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