Sotz'leb

The Sotz'leb, better known as the Tzotzil, are a Maya people of the central Chiapas highlands, whose principal towns include Zinacantán and Chamula. Their name derives from sotz', the bat, and they call their language Bats'i k'op, the true language. Together with the Tzeltal, their ancestors entered Chiapas between 100 BCE and 300 CE.

On the eve of the conquest their society formed at least seven small polities, exporting quetzal feathers and amber to Aztec Tenochtitlán and trading salt from the wells of Ixtapa. In 1522 the lord of Zinacantán submitted to the Spaniards and helped Luis Marín subdue neighboring tribes, while Chamula resisted and was abandoned.

Disease, forced resettlement and encomienda vassalage greatly reduced their numbers. Colonial labour exactions provoked revolts in 1528 and 1712, and in 1824 their highlands passed with Chiapas from Guatemala to Mexico.