The Mam are a Native American people of the highlands of western Guatemala. A Hupa man, 1923 The scope of this indigenous peoples of the Americas article encompasses the definitions of indigenous peoples and the Americas as established in their respective articles. ...

In Pre-Columbian times the Mam were part of the Maya civilization, and their native language, still spoken as a first language by many, is in the Maya language family. The term Pre-Columbian is used to refer to the cultures of the New World in the era before significant European influence. ... The Maya civilization is a historical Mesoamerican civilization, which extended throughout the northern Central American region which includes the present-day states of Guatemala, Belize, western Honduras and parts of El Salvador, as well as the southern Mexican states of Chiapas, Tabasco and the entirety of the Yucatán peninsula. ... The Mayan languages are a family of related languages spoken from South-Eastern Mexico through northern Central America as far south as Honduras. ...

The Pre-Columbian Mam capital was Zaculeu. Many Mam live in and around the nearby modern city of Huehuetenango. The city of Quetzaltenango was originally Mam. Many more Mam live in small hamlets in the mountains, keeping many of their native traditions. Zaculeu is a Pre-Columbian archeological site in the highlands of south western Guatemala, a short distance outside of the city of Huehuetenango. ... Huehuetenango is a city in the highlands of Western Guatemala. ... Buildings flanking the Central Park Square in Quetzaltenango Building flanking the Central Park Square in Quetzaltenango Quetzaltenango is the second most populous city of Guatemala, after Guatemala City, and is the capital of Quetzaltenango Department. ...

There are at least three major divisions in the language: Northern Mam spoken in the province of Huehuetenango, Southern Mam spoken in and around Quetzaltenango and Central Mam spoken in and around San Marcos. Because of a lack of literacy skills and interaction, the language can vary widely from village to village, even though the villages may be separated by just a few miles. None the less, all native speakers of the Mam language are typically able to understand one another, though perhaps with some difficulty.

Bibliography

• England, Nora C. (1983). A grammar of Mam, a Mayan language. Austin: University of Texas Press.