Central American Wonders: Modern Belizean Maya

Though they were first encountered by westerners with the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors in the sixteenth century, the native Mayan people of Belize have inhabited the country for many centuries. And while indigenous people are no longer the dominant force in Belizean demographics, thousands of Mayans still inhabit the small towns and villages of this wonderfully relaxed Central American nation. Though most modern Maya are Roman Catholic villagers and townspeople, many have clung to their heritage and continue subsistence farming in small, rural communities.

Formerly a European colony known as British Honduras, modern natives are divided into three groups, as did while studying the ancient Mayans. The first of these three groups are the Mopan, who mostly inhabit central Belize around Stann Creek District. Speaking their own language, referred to as Mopan Maya, about five thousand individuals still live in Belize, with about half that number in neighboring Guatemala. It should be noted that the Mopan are the only Maya in Belize that inhabited the country at the peak of their Mayan civilization.

Secondly, the Kekchi Maya, who mostly inhabit southern Toledo District, also speak their own Mayan dialect, and are more populous than the other two groups combined. Nearly nine thousand speakers live in Belize, with greater numbers in El Salvador and neighboring Guatemala. Being more isolated than other groups has also driven them to intense self-sufficiency, they settled mostly along river banks and formed farming communities after leaving nineteenth century Guatemala, when German coffee growers drove them out.

Finally, the rarest of these three groups are the Yucateco, who have all but disappeared from the nation. Scattered mostly through the northern districts of Corozal and Orange Walk, less than one thousand members of this indigenous group still live in the country. This may someday lead to an endangerment of their linguistic heritage in Belize, as fewer speakers pass the language on to a new generation - only a few thousand speakers remain nationwide, though a much larger population exists in Mexico. Some may blame the problem on a nationwide exodus

Though they are no longer the crown civilization of the New World, the modern Maya of Belize are still represented in three distinct groups spread throughout the country. A visit to this Central American wonder is incomplete without cultural exchange, and the Maya are more than willing to share their world with travelers.