United States or Guadeloupe ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
We met quantities of Chamula and Tenejapa indians on their way to market. The Chamulas carried chairs, loads of well-tanned skins, and sacks full of little, round wooden boxes, well and neatly made, while the Tenejapes were loaded with nets of oranges, limas, and ahuacates. We were sorry to leave the village of Chamula to one side, but lack of time forbade our visiting it.
On presenting our credentials to the officials, an order was given, and all the pure-blood indians, one hundred at least, were lined up before us for inspection. There were Tzotzils from Chamula, and Tzendals from Tenejapa, and among them many excellent faces, showing the pure types, finely developed. Having made our inspection, and indicated those whom we should use, we looked about the prison.
We had noticed, ever since we set out, that Gringalet always preferred to follow close to the boy, and seemed to have taken upon himself the task of watching over his safety. Our host told us that he was born and also married in the village of Tenejapa; but being enlisted for a soldier by force, he deserted and took up his abode on this plateau.
In San Cristobal, our journey had been matter of conversation among the mestizos and many and dire predictions had been made. "Ah, yes, it is easy for these gentlemen to do this work here in the cabecera, but let them get to Tenejapa, and Cancuc there it will be another matter; they will be killed upon the journey; if they reach Cancuc, they will never leave the town alive."
Their plans involved the killing of every white and mestizo in all the country; in reality, more than one hundred men, women, and children, in the fincas and little towns, were killed; San Cristobal, then the capital city, suffered a veritable panic, and it took the entire force of the whole state to restore order. The Tzendals of Tenejapa are picturesque in the extreme.
Not only do the two chief tribes which frequent it Tzotzils and Tzendals differ in dress, but even the different villages of each wear characteristic garments. The Tzotzil of Chamula differs from his brother of Huixtan and San Bartolome; the Tzendal women of Tenejapa, Cancuc and San Andres may be quickly recognized by difference in dress. Most interesting are the Tzotzils of Chamula.
It was amusing to note the terror of our arriero on the road. Until we passed Cancuc, he was constantly expecting attack from the dreadful indians of Chamula, Tenejapa, and Cancuc, telling us that such attacks might be expected at any time, but particularly in the early morning and in the dusk of evening. What indians we met were most gentle, and answered our salutations with apparent kindness.
After a long journey on the high, smooth road, we finally began descending into a pretty valley, and soon saw the great town of Tenejapa, below us, on a space almost as level as a floor, neatly laid out, and still decked with the arches erected for a recent fiesta.
Word Of The Day