History
In the Mam language Cuchumatán means, ¨to meet or come together for strength.¨ The breakdown is from the word kuchu, meeting which is from the verb (kuchuj) and from matán, which is the adverb for strength; giving the idea that the mountains were brought together by strength. The Mexican professor Marcos Becerra, in his book, ¨Nombres Geográficos Indígenas del Estado de Chiapas¨ which confirms the pluralization of the mountain range, Cuchumatanes, that comes from the two towns in the department, San Martín Cuchumatán and Todos Santos Cuchumatán.
There exists archeological evidence that shows that the area of the Cuchumatanes was occupied from the early classical period, or from approximately 1500BC. The facts about the history of the Mam town is reduced to the years before the conquest, when during the rein of Quicab the Great (1425-1475) the Quiché dominance spread to the heart of the mountains, and probably to the Todos Santos Cuchumatán.
When the Spanish Conquistador Gonzalo of Alvarado took Zaculeu he fought a Mam warrior force of 8,000 men who arrived from the heart of the mountains to assist in the defense of Zaculeu; lead by Caibil Balam. The army was made up of militia from the Mam towns that we know today as San Martín, Santiago Chimaltenango, San Juan Atitán, and Todos Santos Cuchumatán. When Zaculeu fell in 1525 the Spanish extended their control throughout what is now the department of Huehuetenango.
After the conquest the Spanish initiated a system of hierarchy to exploit the indigenous people Marcos Ruiz was given command of the Todos Santos area (Cuchatlán) in 1528. Until the year 1549 the townspeople gave Marcs Ruiz a yearly tribute of 10 acres of corn, 8 dozen chickens and 200 blankets.
With the birth of real documents in 1540, missionaries worked to form towns in Huehuetenango. According to the historian Fray Antonio of Remesal, in 1549 they had succeeded in reducing the number of towns in the mountains by condensing them into one town called Cuchumatlán.
Until the year 1600 Todos Santos appeared like a town visited by those in the convent in Cuilco, attended by the missionaries of the order of the Lady of Mercy, as much in San Martín was looked over by the convent in Jacaltenango.
In 1625, an Irish priest named Tomas Gage passed through Todos Santos Cuchumatán. In the chronicle of his visit, he notes that, after leaving Chiapas Mexico, he passed through San Martín, and later through Big Cuchumatlán, a town slightly larger than San Martín, consisting of about 20 houses.
The historian Fransisco Antonio of Fuentes and Guzmán, in his ¨Recordación Florida¨ (1690), made a reference to the town of Cuchumatlán, and chronicled that it contained 800 people, workers, dedicated to the cultivation of corn, beans, and especially the chili ¨Guaqui¨. In addition, he recorded the important production of small sheep, thread, artisan weavings, and cider, which was made by ¨stretching¨ apples.
In relation to the church’s visits, between 1768 and 1770, the archbishop Pedro Cortés y Larraz, mentioned that the town of Todos Santos Cuchumatán was populated with 472 habitants, and with San Martín Cuchumatán that had 97 twonspeople, belonged to the church of Our Lady Candelaria of Chiantla. For a different perspective, in the Description of the Province of Totonicapán, by Joseph Domingo Hidalgo, published in 1797, the autor noted that the town of Todos Santos, situated in the cradle of the Cuchumatanes had a very cold climate and that its population (827) dedicated themselves to raising sheep, selling wool, and making blankets.
During the colonial period Todos Santos Cuchumatán continued to be under the jurisdiction of the mayor of Totonicapán. In 1825 the Consititutional Assembly of Guatemala divided the territory in the state into 7 departments, one of which was Totonicapán. IN the division the administration of justice in Guatemala directed that Todos Santos Cuchumatán continued to be part of the state of Huehuetenango which was in the department of Totoniciapán. In 1866 the territory of Huehuetenango was promoted to a department.
Todos Santos Cuchumatán is also mentioned in the discussion for the election of delegates of the Constitutional Assembly in 1878.
According to a government mandate on December 11, 1935, San Martín was established as a separate town in the municipal governance of Todos Santos, which was established with the same mandate. According to the Census of 1955, the municipality is responsible for providing drinking water, five urban schools and two rural schools. In 1973 electricity was brought into the town by the organization INDE.
There exists archeological evidence that shows that the area of the Cuchumatanes was occupied from the early classical period, or from approximately 1500BC. The facts about the history of the Mam town is reduced to the years before the conquest, when during the rein of Quicab the Great (1425-1475) the Quiché dominance spread to the heart of the mountains, and probably to the Todos Santos Cuchumatán.
When the Spanish Conquistador Gonzalo of Alvarado took Zaculeu he fought a Mam warrior force of 8,000 men who arrived from the heart of the mountains to assist in the defense of Zaculeu; lead by Caibil Balam. The army was made up of militia from the Mam towns that we know today as San Martín, Santiago Chimaltenango, San Juan Atitán, and Todos Santos Cuchumatán. When Zaculeu fell in 1525 the Spanish extended their control throughout what is now the department of Huehuetenango.
After the conquest the Spanish initiated a system of hierarchy to exploit the indigenous people Marcos Ruiz was given command of the Todos Santos area (Cuchatlán) in 1528. Until the year 1549 the townspeople gave Marcs Ruiz a yearly tribute of 10 acres of corn, 8 dozen chickens and 200 blankets.
With the birth of real documents in 1540, missionaries worked to form towns in Huehuetenango. According to the historian Fray Antonio of Remesal, in 1549 they had succeeded in reducing the number of towns in the mountains by condensing them into one town called Cuchumatlán.
Until the year 1600 Todos Santos appeared like a town visited by those in the convent in Cuilco, attended by the missionaries of the order of the Lady of Mercy, as much in San Martín was looked over by the convent in Jacaltenango.
In 1625, an Irish priest named Tomas Gage passed through Todos Santos Cuchumatán. In the chronicle of his visit, he notes that, after leaving Chiapas Mexico, he passed through San Martín, and later through Big Cuchumatlán, a town slightly larger than San Martín, consisting of about 20 houses.
The historian Fransisco Antonio of Fuentes and Guzmán, in his ¨Recordación Florida¨ (1690), made a reference to the town of Cuchumatlán, and chronicled that it contained 800 people, workers, dedicated to the cultivation of corn, beans, and especially the chili ¨Guaqui¨. In addition, he recorded the important production of small sheep, thread, artisan weavings, and cider, which was made by ¨stretching¨ apples.
In relation to the church’s visits, between 1768 and 1770, the archbishop Pedro Cortés y Larraz, mentioned that the town of Todos Santos Cuchumatán was populated with 472 habitants, and with San Martín Cuchumatán that had 97 twonspeople, belonged to the church of Our Lady Candelaria of Chiantla. For a different perspective, in the Description of the Province of Totonicapán, by Joseph Domingo Hidalgo, published in 1797, the autor noted that the town of Todos Santos, situated in the cradle of the Cuchumatanes had a very cold climate and that its population (827) dedicated themselves to raising sheep, selling wool, and making blankets.
During the colonial period Todos Santos Cuchumatán continued to be under the jurisdiction of the mayor of Totonicapán. In 1825 the Consititutional Assembly of Guatemala divided the territory in the state into 7 departments, one of which was Totonicapán. IN the division the administration of justice in Guatemala directed that Todos Santos Cuchumatán continued to be part of the state of Huehuetenango which was in the department of Totoniciapán. In 1866 the territory of Huehuetenango was promoted to a department.
Todos Santos Cuchumatán is also mentioned in the discussion for the election of delegates of the Constitutional Assembly in 1878.
According to a government mandate on December 11, 1935, San Martín was established as a separate town in the municipal governance of Todos Santos, which was established with the same mandate. According to the Census of 1955, the municipality is responsible for providing drinking water, five urban schools and two rural schools. In 1973 electricity was brought into the town by the organization INDE.