Xinca people

Xinka (Xinca)
Total population
264,167 [1]
Regions with significant populations
 Guatemala264,167
Languages
Spanish, formerly Xincan languages
Religion
Catholicism, evangelism, Maya religion
Related ethnic groups
Purépecha, Kaqchikel, Miskito, Totonakowie, Achi

The Xinka, or Xinca, are a non-Mayan indigenous people of Mesoamerica, with communities in the southern portion of Guatemala, near its border with El Salvador, and in the mountainous region to the north.

Their languages (the Xincan languages) are not known to be related to any other language family,[2] although they have many loan words from Mayan languages.[3]

The Xinka may have been among the earliest inhabitants of southeastern Guatemala, predating the arrival of the Maya and the Pipil.[2]

  1. ^ "Distribución de la Población" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  2. ^ a b Coe 1999, p.38.
  3. ^ Sharer & Traxler 2006, p.23.