The Chamula uprising in Chiapas, Mexico - from the perspective of present Indians and Ladinos
First, depiction and interpretation of this uprising of 1867-70 in printed secondary literature as well as published oral accounts are discussed. Then oral versions of 21 people recorded by the author are presented. Next, recurrent topics of the stories are discussed against the background of published literature, and a final chapter discusses four methodological aspects related to oral tradition: how oral texts are handed down, possible influence of pictorial or written sources, types of narration, and the influence of the context on the contents of the narrated text.
##In the center of the book there are 24 oral traditions on these events. 22 of them were narrated by Tzotzil Indians of five different communities and two by Ladinos. Together with the 14 versions already published by colleagues, these oral documentations considerably enlarge our knowledge about that religious and military movement. All the texts published here are presented in their original versions with a German translation and various comments. The transcription was made on the basis of the respective idiolect, and thus the texts constitute an important source of material for linguists.
It became evident that the events which occurred in the surroundings of the town of San Cristóbal are better documented in the written sources, while those which occurred in indigenous communities dominate in the oral traditions. Therefore the two kinds of sources are complementary.##
Keywords: Chamula uprising (1867-70), uprising of Chamula, oral tradition
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