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Cultures > Belize
Maya > History
of the Kekchi and Mopan Maya of Belize
Did you know that
most of the Mayan people in Belize today are immigrants?
Although Belize is in the heartland of what used to be the Mayan Empire, the current
Mayan descendents that live there now mostly came from Mexico and Guatemala. Most of the
original Mayan inhabitants were the victims of plagues or armed conflict. Today, three
groups are represented, the Yucatec Maya who came from Yucatan Mexico, the Mopan who came
from the Peten area of Guatemala, and the Kekchi who migrated from the Verapaz region of
We spent the most time in the southern Toledo district of Belize, where the Kekchi and
Mopan dwell. They together comprise the largest percentage of Mayan descendents in Belize
today and have remained the most traditional and culturally distinct. Thus we chose to
focus on them and their history.
Of the three, the Mopan are the only group who can claim
indigenous heritage in Belize. Originally they were a lowland group living in the
west-central region of Belize and the Peten region of Guatemala. When the British took
control of the area from the Spanish and founded British Honduras they moved quickly into
the interior. Their logging operations brought them to the west and consequently most of
the Mopan were kicked out or died of disease.
The modern Mopan arrived in southern Belize in 1886. Fleeing enslavement and unfair
taxation in Peten a large group made it to what is now the Toledo district in the south
and established the town of San Antonio. Although there are small villages in the west and
others around the Toledo district, the town of San Antonio continues to be the largest
settlement of Mopan in Belize today.
Mopan society today is little changed in over a hundred years. Missionaries have
successfully instituted Christianity into most communities and the church plays an
important role. However the foundation of the society is still based mostly on subsistence
agriculture, family units, communal assistance, and self-government. They subsist on
staple crops of beans, corn, rice, tubers, cacao and sugar cane. Increasingly they are
becoming involved in cash crops of citrus and rice and are experimenting with mechanized
farming. Lack of economic means however, keep them from fully modernizing.
In the modern era, the Kekchi have had perhaps the most tragic
history of any Mayan group. Traditionally they are from the Verapaz region of Guatemala
and were a culturally distinct group. Their language has no similarities to the Mopan and
they have been Christian Converts for much longer.
Their history in Belize dates from the 1870's and 1880's when large numbers escaped
from Guatemala. At the time an infamous despot by the name of Barrios was rallying Ladino
(White European Spanish) and Mestizo populations (mixed Spanish and Indian) against the
indigenous Indian populations in order to take over Indian lands and institute severe
economic reforms. The Kekchi, among others, were the victims. They were forced to give up
their land to European coffee farmers invited by the Barrios regime and work as slave
After emigrating to southern Belize they established the community of San Pedro de
Colombia and branched out into the rest of the Toledo district. Over the years they have
mixed with some Mopan communities. They as well practice subsistence slash and burn
agriculture and have a self-governing "alcalde" system. They are recognized as
the poorest and most disenfranchised of the ethnic groups in Belize. Despite this they are
renowned for their cooperative practices in farming and town development. Rich in terms of
cultural traditions and autonomous pride they have keyed the current trend of Mayan
cultural revivalism in Belize today.
Current Lifestyle, Culture, and Survival Skills:
and KEKCHI CULTURE