"What hurts Indians the most is that our regalia are considered beautiful, but it's as if the person wearing them didn't exist." - Menchú
The Tribe
As part of the Quiché tribe, Quiché was the language in which was spoken, and is one of over 20 different languages spoken in Guatemala. The Quiché language is a Mesoamerican language of the Mayan language family, and Rigoberta spoke nothing else until she was nineteen years of age. The meaning of the word Quiché is, "many trees." El Quiché is also a name of a department of modern Guatemala which most of the tribe is found living in.
The culture surrounds nature, because nature is what they've used to survive since the culture's creation. Along with nature comes farming, a way of life in Quiché communities. An old legend depicts the tale of the first Quiché people who God created from corn after being unable use mud or wood.
A custom in the tribe is one that Rigoberta was told from the time she was a baby. People find it morally incorrect to eat food in front of a pregnant woman without offering to share, so that the baby will not grow up lacking food or a necessity. Mothers teach children to be respectful to everybody always for this reason, a strong principle in Rigoberta's mind.
Rigoberta's personal beliefs were based upon the freedom and equality of the indigenous people.
No comments:
Post a Comment