It has been a long time since I wrote for the last time, but it is always a good time to start again! And what better occasion to do it than remembering a beautiful true story I heard not so long ago in a radio station from Mexico City, and which motivated me to read and learn more about a fantastic indigenous community in Mexico, the Tojolabal Community.
Roots
The Tojolabales are a subgroup of the Mayans and they name themselves Tojolwinik’otik (legitimate men) which comes from the language they speak, the Tojolabal, which derives from the roots tojol (legitimate) and ab’al (word).
The Tojolabales are a subgroup of the Mayans and they name themselves Tojolwinik’otik (legitimate men) which comes from the language they speak, the Tojolabal, which derives from the roots tojol (legitimate) and ab’al (word).
Location
The Tojolabales live in the state of Chiapas, mainly in the municipality of Las Margaritas, although there are various important settlements in Altamirano, Comitán, Independencia and La Trinitaria.
View of the Origin of the Universe and Religion
The universe is conceived on three levels:
- Satk’inal or ‘sky’
- Lumk’inal or ‘earth’
- K’ik’inal or ‘infra world’
Each is inhabited by beings whose actions may influence the harmony at the community or the individual level. Throughout his life, the native seeks to maintain the equilibrium between the different forces that integrate the universe. One of the ways in which he or she can do so is throughout the observance of the traditional rituals, such as the communitarian festival named Ta’an k’oy. The teachings of tradition and religion maintain that the abandonment of the rituals and customs may cause a disorder in the individual and the community.
An exemplary lifestyle …
The Tojolabales seek the overall equilibrium, thus the actions of every individual affect the community as a whole. However, in the Tojolabal language, there are no concepts of ‘evil’, ‘war’ or ‘enemy’, instead the prosperity of the community depends upon friendship and cooperation.
The Tojolabales seek the overall equilibrium, thus the actions of every individual affect the community as a whole. However, in the Tojolabal language, there are no concepts of ‘evil’, ‘war’ or ‘enemy’, instead the prosperity of the community depends upon friendship and cooperation.
‘…the world is not here for our disposal. Opposite to this, everything lives, everything has a heart and it is our responsibility to learn how to coexist with this living world and to be respectful of it’ (Lenkersdorf 2004)
The question that remains: Why not trying to live in the Tojolabal style?
Sources:
- Ibero 90.9 FM. Website: http://ibero909.fm/ programme streamed on May 15th, 2008
- Lenkerdof, Carlos. (2004). ‘Conceptos Tojolabales de Filosofía y del Altermundo’
- National Commission for the Development of Indigenous People (Mexico). Website: http://www.cdi.gob.mx/
1 comment:
nice informative post
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