The Ixil Community is a name given to three neighbouring towns in the Quiché department in the western highlands of Guatemala . These towns are Santa María Nebaj , San Juan Cotzal , and San Gaspar Chajul . The area's population is predominantly of Ixil descent. When viewed on a map, the three Ixil towns appear to form a triangle, because of this, the Guatemalan military used the term Ixil Triangle when planning its campaigns in this region. Although the term "Ixil Triangle" has been used in some popular handbooks., most people in the region, as well as scholars and indigenous rights activists, avoid using this term as it reproduces the military "gaze", and instead prefer "Ixil region" or "Ixil community."
18-726: Due to its location in the Cuchumatanes mountains , the Ixil Community has remained isolated from the rest of the world. Its people have therefore maintained their traditional culture — free from influences of the outside world. Although the introduction modern western media is rapidly eroding the culture as young men and women look North for economic prosperity and abandonment of the culture and language are present problems. Most men are farmers, and most women are weavers. Their diet primarily consists of maize based products. Small round tortillas or corn dumplings known as tamalitos are
36-587: A spice . The seed maturation time varies between species from 6 to 18 months after pollination. The male cones are similar to the other Cupressaceae , with 6 to 20 scales. In hardiness zones 7 through 10, junipers can bloom and release pollen several times each year. Different junipers bloom in autumn, while most pollinate from early winter until late spring. Many junipers (e.g. J. chinensis , J. virginiana ) have two types of leaves; seedlings and some twigs of older trees have needle-like leaves 5–25 mm ( 3 ⁄ 16 –1 in) long, on mature plants
54-501: A staple at almost every meal. This love of corn is ingrained in the culture, so much so that many of the Ixil refer to themselves as "men of corn". Stating that the first humans were rolled from masa or ground up maize. Other foods commonly eaten are boxbol , which are small corn dumplings steamed in squash leaves covered in chili sauce. Malanga, "güisquil" (pronounced "wiskil": many know it as "chayote"), beans, squash, and eggs make up
72-538: Is a table-shaped land in the Sierra. The Cuchumatanes has a variety of different biomes , including pine-oak lower montane and montane humid forest , while lower montane wet forest and neotropic grass- and shrublands are present on higher slopes and plateaus, and subtropical pluvial forest in the northern piemonte. The area is dominated by páramo grasslands , but there are also stands of juniper , pines and forests of fir trees. Sheep grazing has altered
90-481: Is called a chuj . It is made of rock or adobe with a live sod roof. With young people sending money home, their families have built new chuj out of cinder blocks. Juniper See text Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus Juniperus ( / dʒ uː ˈ n ɪ p ər ə s / joo- NIP -ər-əs ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae . Depending on the taxonomy , between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout
108-628: Is of the juvenile needle-like type, with no scale leaves. In some of these (e.g. J. communis ), the needles are jointed at the base, while in others (e.g. J. squamata ), the needles merge smoothly with the stem. The needle leaves of junipers are hard and sharp, making the juvenile foliage very prickly to handle. This can be a valuable identification feature in seedlings, as the otherwise very similar juvenile foliage of cypresses ( Cupressus , Chamaecyparis ) and other related genera are soft and not prickly. Junipers are gymnosperms , which means they have seeds, but no flowers or fruits. Depending on
126-637: Is the highest non-volcanic mountain range in Central America . The name "Cuchumatán" is derived from the Mam words cuchuj (to join or unite) and matán (with superior force) and means "that which was brought together by superior force". Cuchumatán may also be a derivation of the Nahuatl word kochmatlán , which means "place of the parrot hunters". Ther mountains' elevations range from 500 m (1,600 ft) to over 3,800 m (12,500 ft), and
144-1114: The Northern Hemisphere as far south as tropical Africa , including the Arctic , parts of Asia, and Central America . The highest-known juniper forest occurs at an altitude of 4,900 metres (16,100 ft) in southeastern Tibet and the northern Himalayas , creating one of the highest tree lines on earth. Junipers vary in size and shape from tall trees , 20–40 metres (66–131 feet) tall, to columnar or low-spreading shrubs with long, trailing branches. They are evergreen with needle-like and/or scale-like leaves . They can be either monoecious or dioecious . The female seed cones are very distinctive, with fleshy, fruit -like coalescing scales which fuse together to form a berrylike structure ( galbulus ), 4–27 millimetres ( 3 ⁄ 16 – 1 + 1 ⁄ 16 inches) long, with one to 12 unwinged, hard-shelled seeds . In some species, these "berries" are red-brown or orange, but in most, they are blue; they are often aromatic and can be used as
162-784: The Sierra Madre volcanic chain. Its southern border is defined by the Río Negro , which flows into the Chixoy River , which turns northwards and separates the Cuchumatanes from the mountains in the Alta Verapaz region. The highest peaks, which reach up to 3,837 m (12,589 ft), are located in the department of Huehuetenango. The mountains formed during the Cretaceous Period. The Altos de Chiantla
180-504: The Sierra or whether this did not occur until the Spanish arrived. It was not until the Spanish conquest, however, that the area came under intense cultivation. Potato farming either began or intensified, and sheep were introduced. People in the Sierra de los Chuchumantanes grow potatoes and raise sheep. There is little of the maize cultivation that characterises Mayan communities elsewhere. There are hundreds of miles of stone fences in
198-943: The Sierra to restrict the sheep. People place small soil islands on the tops of the stone fences to grow plants such as agave . Many young people leave the Sierra to find work elsewhere. Some of them go to the United States. Many send remittances home to their families, who use the money to buy pickup trucks , build new houses and install irrigation and electricity. The trucks have allowed locals to seek better markets for their potatoes and wool . Some people still live in Mayan-style houses with thatched roofs. But with young people sending money home, their families have built cinder block houses. These houses have roofs made of corrugated metal, and most of them have two stories. There are fewer rats in cinder block houses than in houses with grass roofs. The traditional Mayan sweat bath
SECTION 10
#1732802536698216-721: The area, causing both soil erosion and the depletion of the area's trees, as the sheep feast on new seedlings. Today, many of the area's trees grow in places that are too steep for sheep to reach. The plants of the Sierra de los Chuchumatanes resemble the plants of the Andes Mountains in South America more than those of the rest of Mesoamerica, due to the elevation and cool climate. A 300,000 ha site has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports significant populations of range-restricted and biome -restricted species of
234-474: The crossfire, and thousands of civilians were killed, tortured , or missing. The army's campaign against civilians in this region may have been motivated partially by a desire "to weaken and eventually eradicate Maya culture." Villagers slowly learned not to wear their traditional Maya clothing, because its distinctive appearance made them easy targets for soldiers. Sierra de los Cuchumatanes The Sierra de los Cuchumatanes , in western Guatemala ,
252-409: The leaves are overlapping like (mostly) tiny scales, measuring 2–4 mm ( 3 ⁄ 32 – 5 ⁄ 32 in). When juvenile foliage occurs on mature plants, it is most often found on shaded shoots, with adult foliage in full sunlight. Leaves on fast-growing 'whip' shoots are often intermediate between juvenile and adult. In some species (e.g. J. communis , J. squamata ), all the foliage
270-534: The northern Central American and Madrean highlands. Threatened species there include highland and horned guans , as well as pink-headed warblers . Historians believe that the Sierra and the Altos de Chiantla had few permanent residents before the Spanish came to Mesoamerica. They consider it possible that people planted potatoes, then left to live in nearby towns or villages, returning only at need. Scientists are not sure whether Mesoamericans brought potatoes to
288-559: The range covers an area of c. 16,350 km (6,310 sq mi). With an area of 1,500 km (580 sq mi) lying above 3,000 m (9,800 ft), it is also the most extensive highland region in Central America. The Sierra lies in western Guatemala in the departments of Huehuetenango and El Quiché . Its western and south-western borders are marked by the Seleguá River , which separates it from
306-652: The rest of their typical diet. The people of the Ixil community primarily speak the Ixil language . Some villagers speak Spanish as a secondary language. During the Guatemalan Civil War , the Guerrilla Army of the Poor (EGP) used the surrounding mountains as a base of operations. The Guatemalan Army pursued a scorched-earth policy to destroy villages. The villagers of the Ixil Community were caught in
324-408: The species, the seeds they produce take 1–3 years to develop. The impermeable coat of the seed keeps water from getting in and protects the embryo when dispersed. It can also result in a long dormancy that is usually broken by physically damaging the seed coat. Dispersal can occur from being swallowed whole by frugivores and mammals. The resistance of the seed coat allows it to be passed down through
#697302