Untitled - Smithsonian Institution

THOMAS] INDIAN LANGUAGES OF MEXICO AND CENTRAL, AMERICA 69
by Stoll in his Pokonclii division. The writei- has followed Stoll's
map, with which Sapper's agrees so far as he has given tlie area.
POKONCHI
This Maj^an (Halect, which Stoll has made the type of his Pokonchi
division, was spoken throughout a fairly extensive territory in the
center of Guatemala, about the headwaters of the Cahabon river, which
included the pueblos Tactic, Tamaja, and Tucuru. Its northern
border, where it joined the Kekchi territory, extended a short distance
south of Coban. Stoll's map has been followed, as Sapper's shows no
difference except in the extent of the area.
POKOMAM
{Synonym: Pokam)
This Mayan dialect, taken by some students as the type of the
Pokonchi division of the stock, w^as spoken throughout a consider-
able region in southeastern Guatemala, including the capital of the
republic, extending northward to the Rio Grande or upper Motagua,
and eastward to the boundary line between Guatemala and Salvador,
Other pueblos included are Amatitlan, Jalapa, Petapa, and Mita.
The territory given on the accompanying map is in accordance with
the eastern Pokomam area given by Stoll. The smaller western area
around Jacaltenango marked Pokomam was so given erroneously
on the authority of Juarres, as already stated. The error is corrected
by Stoll in his Die Sprache der Ixil-Indianer (1: 152-153). Sapper's
map shows two small detached areas, one at the western extremity
and the other in the eastern part of the area assigned by Stoll, the
remainder bemg marked as now wholly Spanish.
Chorti
This language is included by Stoll in his Pokonchi division, seemingly
on the strength of the opinion expressed by Brasseur de Bourbourg
(2: pp. Ixxxiv, Ixxxv, note 4), as he gives no vocabulary, but
Sapper is inclined to place it in the Tzental group. Judging by the
brief vocabulary, its closest affinity seems to be with Choi and Tzen-
tal, indicating that Sapper's conclusion, in which he follows Brinton,
is correct. The territory throughout which Chorti was spoken lies
along the eastern border of Guatemala, extending into Honduras and in-
cludmg the site of Copan. Eisen, as quoted by Stoll (2 : 107) , includes
in the area Copan (in Honduras) and the high mountains around
Jocotan (m Guatemala). Charencey (96) says the Chorti "flourished
in all the province of Chiquimula (Rep. Guat.) up to the banks of
the Gulf of Honduras [Dulce ?] aild along the borders of the Rio
Polichic [Motagua]." In his map (viii) of ruin sites Sapper gives an.