Page:History of the Spanish Conquest of Yucatan and of the Itzas.pdf/107



ITHERTO all our attention has been absorbed by the Maya-speaking peoples of Yucatan and northern Guatemala and with the entradas made from Yucatan into the Peten region and to Tayasal. Now, however, we are to consider, first, the early history of the Maya-speaking peoples of southern Guatemala and the entradas made from that region into the northern parts of the country in search of Lake Peten and Tayasal.

The Indian Tribes of Guatemala. The two chief tribes were the highly cultured Cakchiquel and Quiché. They lived in what may be described as the central portion of modern Guatemala. To the north of them dwelt the Choles, Lacandones, Mopanes, and Itzas; to the south, along the Pacific coast, were the Pipiles. With the exception of the latter, all these people spoke dialects of Maya. It is well to note, however, that both Fuentes y Guzman (1882) and Stoll (1884) arrived at the conclusion that at least two thousand years must have elapsed to permit of the development of the differences that exist between the Maya of Yucatan and the Maya of the Cakchiquel and of the Quiché.

Account of the Cakchiquel and of the Quiché. The migration myths of the Cakchiquel and of the Quiché show that they came originally from the region of Mexico. Much later the Pipiles, a Nahuatl tribe, formed trade colonies on the Pacific coast.

The Government and the Cities of the Cakchiquel and of the Quiché. The ruler was chosen alternately from two families, the Zotzil and the Xahil. In like manner the early Colombian chiefs of Tunja and of Muequeta alternately chose from among their relatives the chief of Suamo. The title of the ruler was