 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2008) |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 60,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Mexico (Tabasco) | |
| Languages | |
| Chontal Maya, Spanish | |
| Religion | |
| Catholicism, Maya religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Ch'ol, other Maya peoples |
The Chontal Maya are a Maya people of the Mexican state of Tabasco. "Chontal", from the Nahuatl word for chontalli, which means "foreigner", has been applied to various ethnic groups in Mexico. The Chontal refer to themselves as the Yokot'anob or the Yokot'an, meaning "the speakers of Yoko ochoco", but writers about them refer to them as the Chontal of Centla, the Tabasco Chontal, or in Spanish, Chontales. They consider themselves the descendants of the Olmecs, and are not related to the Oaxacan Chontal.