I Ask for Justice: Maya Women, Dictators, and Crime in Guatemala, 1898–1944

Glossary

Glossary abuso mercantil. Commercial abuse. acaparamiento. Stockpiling, hoarding. Administración de Rentas. Treasury Administration. agricultor. Landowning farmer. aguardiente. Distilled sugar cane spirits or rum. aguardiente clandestino. Moonshine or untaxed liquor sold by unlicensed individuals. alcalde. Mayor and often justice of the peace; alcalde primero, first mayor; alcalde segundo , second mayor. aldea. Village. alguacil. Bailiff. arroba. A Spanish weight of twenty-five pounds. asistencia de empírico. Unlicensed physician’s assistant. bandido. Crook, thief. buhonero. Long-distance or ambulatory merchant. cabecera. Municipal center. calumnia. Slander. chicha. Fermented beverage made from some combination of corn, sugarcane, and fruit. chorizo. Sausage. clandestinismo. Moonshining. cofrade. Member of a cofradía, or religious confraternity. cofradía. Religious confraternity. comandante. Commander. compadre. Fictive kin connected by godparent relationship. conciliación. Mediation, court meeting to reconcile disputes. concubina. Female domestic partner. contrabandista. Smuggler. contratista. Labor broker. curanderismo. Shamanism. defraudación al Fisco en el ramo de licores. Defrauding the Treasury of alcohol revenue , a crime. 296 I Ask for Justice don. Honorific title, Mr. doña. Honorific title, Mrs. empírico. Unlicensed physician. enganchador. Labor broker. falta. Misdeed. finca. Large landed estate. finquero. Finca owner. garrafón. Demijohn. guardia. Militia, armed police force or soldiers. güipil. Handwoven traditional Maya blouse. impuesto de piso. Municipal tax on a vendor’s space. indígena. Indigenous person. indio. Indian, often used as a pejorative. injuria. Offense, verbal and/or physical abuse. intendente. Intendant. ixto. Derogatory term used to denigrate Mayas. Jefatura Política. Governor’s Office. jefe político. Governor. jornalero. Day or wage laborer. juez de paz. Municipal justice of the peace. juez de primera instancia. Department judge, literally judge of first jurisdiction. juez del mercado. Market inspector and tax collector. justicia. Justice. juzgado de primera instancia. Department court, literally court of first jurisdiction. ladrón. Thief. madre desnaturalizada. Unnatural mother. madre sin entrañas. Soulless mother. mandamiento. Forced-labor draft. maxtate. Loincloth wrap that indígenas used to wear, diaper. milpa. Family cornfield. Ministerio de Hacienda. Treasury Ministry. molendera. Female corn grinder, often makes tortillas. mo’s. Derogatory Kaqchikel term for ladino. municipalidad indígena. Indigenous municipality. municipio. Municipality. nativo. Native. natural. Native. oficios de su sexo y raza. Occupations appropriate to one’s sex and race. patria potestad. A father’s legal control over his children and their property. peso. Guatemalan official currency until 1925, used in the central highlands into the 1930s. Policía de Hacienda. Treasury Police. po’t. Traditional indigenous, handwoven blouse. potestad marital. A man’s right over the person and property of his wife. principal. Indigenous religious and political leader. pues. Well, often serving a phatic function as a placeholder. puta. Whore. Glossary 297 qawinäq. Literally “our people,” Kaqchikel term for indigenous people. quetzal. Guatemalan currency adopted in 1925 and later pegged to the U.S. dollar. quintal. One hundred pounds. real. ⅛ of a peso. regidor. Councilman or alderman. regidor de indígenas. Indigenous councilman. reo. Criminal. Resguardo de Hacienda. Treasury Police. sapa. A gossip. sin instrucción. Without formal education. sinvergüenza. “Shameless” as adjective, “scoundrel” as noun. soltera. Single woman. susto. Fright. tapa de panela. Brown-sugar cake or disk, often used to produce aguardiente. texel. Member of a religious sisterhood. tinaja. Large earthen jar. tortillera. Female tortilla maker and vendor. tribunal. Court. üq. Traditional indigenous skirt. THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK ...