Quiché (redirected from K'iche)

Quiché (kēchā`), indigenous peoples of Mayan linguistic stock, in the western highlands of Guatemala; most important group of the ancient southern Maya. The largest of the contemporary native groups of Guatemala, numbering over a million, they live principally in the region between Quezaltenango and Chichicastenango. From their origins, as told in the Popol Vuh, the Quiché have retained many ancient traditions, blending them with Western customs to create a distinctive mode of life. Pedro de Alvarado, with the help of the Cakchiquel or Kakchiquel, a neighboring but rival group similar in language and stock, conquered them in 1524. However, the Quiché waged periodic uprisings against both the Spanish and, later, the Guatemalan government. During the political upheaval of the 1970s and 80s in Guatemala, many Quiché fled the country for Mexico and the United States. Studies of modern Quiché communities include Ruth Bunzel, Chichicastenango (1952) and Manning Nash, Machine Age Maya (1958).

Bibliography

See also R. M. Carmack, Quichean Civilization (1973).

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Quiché

 or K'iche or Kiche

Indian group of the Guatemalan highlands, largest of all ethnic groups speaking a Maya language. The Quiché Maya had an advanced civilization in pre-Columbian times. Records of their history and mythology are preserved in the Popol Vuh. Traditional Quiché are agricultural. Their homes are thatched huts, and they practice weaving and pottery. Nominally Roman Catholic, they conduct traditional rituals as well. Many were killed or displaced during the Guatemalan military's counterinsurgency campaign of the early 1980s.

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Quiché 

an Indian people in Guatemala. Population, approximately 580,000 persons (1967, estimate). The Quiche comprise more than 90 percent of the population in the departments of Totonicapán, Quiche, and Suchitepéquez. They also live in the departments of Quezaltenango, Solóla, Baja Verapaz, and Retalhuleu.

The Quiche language belongs to the Maya-Zoque languages. The official religion is Catholicism, although many pre-Christian beliefs are maintained. An early class state of the Quiche existed before the Spanish conquest. Its chief city was Cumarcah (Utatlán). The Quiche put up fierce resistance against the Spaniards. The chief occupation of the Quiche is farming; a significant number of them engage in seasonal work on coffee plantations. Well-developed handicrafts include weaving and pottery-making.