The Quiche, or K'iche', (key-chay) are a pre-Columbian people descended from the ancient Mayans. Their villages and towns are still concentrated in the Guatemalan Highlands, so we were smack in the heart of Quiche country during our stay in Guatemala.
While some Quiche do live in larger cities or towns like Xela and Salcaja, many come from isolated mountain villages way above the valleys. During our clinic days in Guatemala, whole bus loads of Quiche came down to the Lions Clubs to get their eyes checked- in many cases they traveled half a day just to be there.
The Quiche speak a native language, completely unrelated to Spanish. Which made communicating with them particularly interesting during eye exams. Thankfully we could usually find one person in a group who knew both Quiche and Spanish.
And thus began a game of telephone: I would speak English, my translator would in turn speak Spanish, and the bilingual Quiche would speak, well, Quiche to her friend. Then the response came back along the line to me. I was never 100 percent sure my message got through accurately, but somehow we managed to get our points across.
It's easy to find Quiche women in a crowd- their outfits are absolutely amazing. The typical dress is made up of a skirt of a striped or checkered pattern, wrapped around the waist and held up by a belt, and a gorgeous blouse- beautifully hand-embroidered and wildly colorful. It made you just want to reach out and touch the delicate needlework. Goodness knows how much time, and what talent!, it took to make just one blouse.
Quiche women decorate their hair too- often in neat braids with a ribbon worked in so that it travels up one braid, comes straight across at the neck, and down again through the other braid.
The whole ensemble lends a wonderful festival atmosphere to what is actually just a regular work day.
You couldn't help but notice how strong these people were- stoic in demeanor, and just plain sturdy. We saw both men and women carry ridiculously heavy loads on their backs, or balanced atop their heads.
And many women came with babies attached. These little guys were strapped in by two overlapping shawls tied across their mother's chest. Enshrouded in fabric, and quiet as mice, you wouldn't even suspect a baby was hiding in there.
Young woman on market day, in Salcaja:
A perfectly balanced load:
Out host Marvin, showing us how the skirts are worn:
To learn more about the fascinating Quiche people, click here and here.
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