Tzotzil love poem

Here is the Tsotsil version of my love poem (Alternatives and dialects : Villa Corzo, San Miguel Mitontic, Angel Albino Corzo, Huixtán, Santa Catarina Pantelho, Chamula Tzotzil, La Concordia, San Andrés Larráinzar Tzotzil, San Pedro Chenalhó, Chenalho Tzotzil, San Pablo Chalchihuitan, San Bartolomé Venustiano Carranza Tzotzil, Huixtán Tzotzil, Zinacantán Tzotzil, Autonym : Bats’i k’op).

The version presented here is in the dialect of San Andrés Larráinzar.

Tzotzil is a Mayan language spoken in the state of Chiapas in Mexico, precisely in Altos de Chiapas, an area of valleys and mountains between 1,000 and 2,000 meters, and lower elevations in the northeast.

This language is close to Ch'ol and Tzeltal, the proto-Ch'ol of the late classical period is its ancestor.

Bats'i k'op, which belongs to the Tzeltal-chol group of Mayan languages, is spoken for all of its different dialects by about 400,000 people.

The linguistic zone of Altos Chiapas is surrounded by those of their neighbors, the Zoques, the Tojolabales, the Choles and the Tzeltals.

The word tzotzil comes from sots'il winik which means "batman", Tzotzlem (Zinacantán,) "Place of bats", indicates the place in Chiapas where they were established before the arrival of the Spaniards.

This language is close to Ch'ol and Tzeltal, the proto-Ch'ol of the late classical period is its ancestor.

Linguistics and archeology seem to indicate that the ancestors of the Tsotsils arrived in Chiapas between -100 and 300. During the Aztec period, they sent salt, amber and quetzal feathers, towards Tenochtitlán, the Aztec capital.

The Spanish domination of the time of the conquest could not have had all the desired effect. Indeed the great numerical disproportion between Spaniards and natives, allowed only a rather partial integration of evangelization for example. The Tzotzils have always had a very personal interpretation of the Christian faith.

The Chiapas where the Tzotziles live are in fact areas that can be quite different, both for the altitude, and for the varieties of plants or climates that can be found there, since it goes from the subtropical climate jungle to forests of oaks and pines. There is therefore a local economy that can be different, breeding, coffee etc, but this place of passage remains important for trade.