Intro -- Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Methodology -- Introduction Ütz ipetik -- 1 Town Origins Ri laq'ab'enïk -- 2 Land, Labor, and Integration Ri rach'ulew rik'in ri samaj -- 3 Epidemics Nima yab'il -- 4 Natural Disasters Nima'q taq k'ayewal -- 5 Education, Exclusion, and Assertiveness Ri tijob'äl rik'in ri qetamab'al, man junam ta' -- 6 Kaqchikel in the Military Qawinäq pa ri ajlab'al -- 7 Ubico's Legacy Achike rub'anikil ri champomal richin ri tata'aj -- 8 Leaders K'amol taq b'eya' -- 9 Ethnic Relations Qak'aslem kikin ri ch'aqa chïk winaqi' -- Glossary -- Timeline of Guatemalan Presidents from 1831 -- Notes -- Sources.

In this rich and dynamic work, David Carey Jr. provides a new perspective on contemporary Guatemalan history by allowing the indigenous peoples to speak for themselves. Combining the methodologies of anthropology and history, Carey uses both oral interviews and meticulous archival research to construct a history of the last 130 years in Guatemala from the perspective of present-day Mayan people. His research took place over five years, including intensive language study, four summers of fieldwork, and a year-long residence in Comalapa, during which he conducted most of the 414 interviews. By casting a wide net for his interviews-from tiny hamlets to bustling Guatemala City-Carey gained insight into more than a single community or a single group of Maya. The Maya-Kaqchikel record their history through oral tradition; thus, few written accounts exist. Comparing the Kaqchikel point of view to that of the western scholars and Ladinos who have written most of the history texts, Carey reveals the people and events important to the Maya, which have been virtually written out of the national history. A motto of the Guatemalan organization Maya Decinio para el Pueblo Indigena (Maya Decade for the Indigenous People) is that people who do not know their past cannot build a future. By elucidating what the Kaqchikel think of their own past, Carey also illuminates the value of non-Western theoretical and methodological approaches that can be applied to the history of other peoples. Valuable to historians, anthropologists, archaeologists, or anyone interested in Mayan and Latin American studies, this book will inform as well as enchant.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2018. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.