The Pipil of The Pacific Coast of Guatemala, according to the written sources
Dr. Ruud van Akkeren
Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam
Erasmus Universiteit, Rotterdam

Conquest of Cotzumalguapa. Drawing from the Relación de Tlaxcala (siglo XVI).

Common opinion on the Postclassic peoples of the Pacific Coast of Guatemala tells they were Pipil, who had come from Mexico in several migrations. Few additional details are known. In a study that combines archaeology with the ethnohistoric study of indigenous and Spanish documents, we are trying to enhance our knowledge of these peoples. The project is directed by Dr. Frederick J. Bove, and is financed with a grant from the National Science Foundation, USA.

The ethnohistoric component is in charge of Dr. Ruud van Akkeren, who specializes in the study of indigenous documents. In his research, he has payed considerable attention to the role of mexicanized or Pipil lineages for the formation of the Postclassic highland nations such as the K'iche', Tz'utujil or Kaqchikel. According to his work, the Coastal populations were the source of Mexican influence, sometimes called Toltec.The K'iche' and Kaqchikel left important information about the Coastal peoples in their texts, but it is necessary to put together scattered references, and relate them with data from other Colonial sources. With this project, we wish to characterize better this amorphous group, and give it a face.

Ruud van Akkeren
vanakk@xs4all.nl

Ruud van Akkeren obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Leiden, Netherlands. He is the author of the books Place of the Lord's Daughter: Rab'inal, its history, its dance-drama, Winaq re Juyub' Taq'aj, Gente de los Cerros y Valles, and coauthor of Xajooj Keej, El Baile del Venado de Rabinal. He has also published numerous articles. He teaches part-time courses of Mesoamerican history, mythology and cosmovision in the Netherlands, at the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam and the Erasmus Universiteit, Rotterdam. He spends the rest of the year in Guatemala, working in various research and educational projects. His wide ethnographic and linguistic experience derives from years of residence at the town of Rabinal, Baja Verapaz.