Modern Mayan: Chiapas 1 / Various

• Track Listing

The music of the indigenous people of the southern Mexican state of Chiapas reflects many varied influences, past and present. These people are subsistence farmers, with shepherding, cattle raising, hunting and handicrafts as secondary occupations. The four languages spoken here-Tzoztil, Tzeltal, Chol, and Tojolabal-all share their basic Mayan roots with both Aztec and Spanish borrowings. Ritual, social, and religious expression are viewed as one concept by these people... Richard Anderson.