CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTHWEST GUATEMALA—McBRYDE 9 
DEMOGRAPHY 
POPULATION 
‘An estimated (1936) 2,450,000% inhabitants of 
Guatemala, some 60 percent of them Indians, and 
most of the rest Ladinos (middle and lower-class 
native-born inhabitants of white, mixed, or even 
Indian blood, but culturally Spanish),* live in an 
area of about 108,000 sq. km. (about 43,000 sq. 
miles). The percentage of Indians varies widely, 
from approximately 14 percent in coastal Amatitlan 
to 97 percent in highland Totonicapan. 
ETHNOGRAPHIC ELEMENTS IN THE 
MODERN POPULATION 
INDIANS 
The Indians of Southwest Guatemala are short 
(men about 5 ft. or 152.4 cm., women 4 ft. 8 in. 
or 142.3 cm.),° slight of bone, of medium musculature, 
and for the most part, dark reddish brown in color. 
Marked prognathism, large mouths with thick lips, 
and poor teeth are common facial characteristics, as 
are Mongoloid eyes; hair is black, straight, and 
copious, and baldness is rare. Variations in skin 
color are numerous, the dark shade of the Xanka- 
tales (Nahuala—Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan) suggest- 
ing an admixture of Negro blood; Santa Cruz la 
Laguna natives also appear quite dark; while 
Pedranos are noted for their lighter skin color and 
relatively handsome appearance. Various legends 
tell of a band of white settlers, pirates according to 
one common version, who came in and intermarried 
at a very early date. Physical traits are often found 
to characterize entire municipios or larger groups 
wherein relationships are close. Meédel wrote that 
Indians of the Tropics were darker than those of 
extratropical regions, who appeared but little 
different from the Spaniards (Médel, Ms., p. 193, 
t5216)). 
3 My estimate is close to that of the Foreign Commerce Yearbook 
for 1937 (2,420,273). (See U. S. Bureau of Foreign and Domestic 
Commerce, 1938.) The 1939 Statesman’s Yearbook gives an estimate 
for 1937 of over 3,000,000, while the official Guatemala Government 
figure for 1941 is 3,283,209. When this is compared with the 1921 
total of 2,004,900, the growth of over 60 percent seems phenomenal. 
I estimated an increase of approximately 30 percent, or 2,600,000, for 
1940, on the basis of past rate of population growth. 
4For a fuller definition of “Ladino,” see p. 12. Ladinos and upper- 
class whites of Spanish descent (the aristocracy of Guatemala are not 
called ‘‘Ladinos’” except in the census) are politically, socially, and 
economically superior to the Indians, who generally occupy a position 
almost comparable with that of Negroes in the South of the United 
States. 
® According to measurements listed by Strong (1934, p. 32), the 
average height of 251 men, from 5 different villages was 154.1 cm. 
(5 ft., % in.); 121 women, 141.4 cm. (4 ft., 7% in.). Chichicaste- 
nango men and women were shorter than those farther north. 
Musculature is unbalanced, particularly among the 
men, who generally have tremendously developed 
necks and legs, yet slight, almost frail arms. Since 
they travel long distances at frequent intervals with 
heavy loads on their backs, and climb steep trails 
much of the time, such a condition is not difficult to 
understand. However, even canoemen on the lake 
show little better development, despite frequent use 
of paddles. Their lifting power in back and arms is 
not great; I have found that two or three men will 
struggle painstakingly to beach a small dugout that, 
judged by American standards, requires no great 
effort for one (McBryde, 1938, p. 14). Traders carry 
loads commonly weighing 100 pounds (45.36 kg.) 
or more, but one may observe that they do nearly all 
the work of lifting with their legs. The loads are 
generally set up on some object (cacastes or carrying 
frames have legs to aid in this purpose), the cargador 
squats very low, adjusts the tumpline across his fore- 
head, then lifts the load from the ground by 
straightening up with a powerful push. (For illustra- 
tions of cacastes, which are made in Totonicapan, see 
pls. 12, c; 13, a; 23, d; 39, e.) The back plays 
little part in this process, though often there is 
some aid with the arms in “shoving off,” by using 
the long pointed staff (5 or 6 ft. or somewhat less than 
2 m., long, with sharp metal tip) frequently carried 
by merchants (pls. 4, c; 12, c; 13, a; 23, d; 39, e). 
Women seem to have arms as well muscled as 
those of men, for they spend much of their time 
grinding. corn and washing clothes, operations that 
not infrequently are performed with a sizable baby 
slung on behind. In many regions, especially along 
the lake shore, they derive considerable exercise also 
from climbing 2,000 feet up a steep trail to market 
with such a burden, then adding a large basketload 
of produce, balanced on the head, during the return 
trip. 
Better than words can describe, the sketches and 
photographs show characteristic native types seen 
in various villages, particularly those around the Lake 
(pls. 6, 7, 8, 9), bringing out their physical type as 
well as their dress. 
Whereas in Mexico and in El Salvador a great 
proportion of the Indians have dropped their native 
languages and speak only Spanish (which makes the 
linguistic census classification unsatisfactory), this is 
not true to the same extent in Guatemala. Except in 
