LACANDN

Mayan Indians living in a territory on the Mexico-Guatemala border. Some Lacandn probably live in Belize, across the eastern border of Guatemala. Currently divisible into two major groups, the total number of Lacandn is less than 600 and decreasing. They inhabit a rich tropical rain forest, well supplied with water, fish, game, and fertile soil. The Lacandn have preserved until recently a quite isolated and primitive way of life. They are farmers, growing corn, beans, squash, and tomatoes together in mixed plots. Other vegetables and fruits may also be grown in separate gardens. They also gather wild fruit, hunt game, and fish. Lacandn settlements may consist of single households or clusters of several households, known as caribales. The houses are thatched huts that may or may not have walls, supported on pole frameworks. Possessions are stored in the thatch, and food is hung from the roof in baskets. Crafts include the construction of dugout canoes, the spinning and weaving of cloth, leather tanning, and the making of bark cloth, nets, hammocks, pottery, flutes, bows, and stone-tipped arrows. Clothing usually consists of a long, loose tunic reaching almost to the ground, worn by both sexes. The hair is customarily worn long and loose by both sexes. There is still little trade or contact with the outside world. The Lacandn are among the few Middle American Indian groups that successfully resisted the introduction of Roman Catholicism, and most have preserved their traditional beliefs. Unfortunately, disease and waning population have resulted in the loss of some elements of their traditional culture and religion, but prayer and several rituals are commonly practiced.