Political Organization: Quiché and Mende Cultures
When someone hears the word ‘political’ mentioned in the topic of a subject or speech, they may not always want to listen even though politics are found everywhere in society. Politics along with religion are two very sensitive terms that cause controversy more often than not, but we can look at cultures and their political organization and structure to see how they function in their perspective countries. The Quiché of Guatemala is an indigenous group of people who descend from the Mayan empire. They have a strong political organization and make up the majority of the population of that country. Another indigenous group that makes of the majority of the population of their country is the Mende of Sierra Leon in Africa. While these two groups are very different ethnically, we can compare their backgrounds and see how they function in society. With this said, we can say that while both the Mende and Quiché both have their own political structure within their respective larger societal bodies, they differ in most aspects of their political organizations but do have a few similarities. This paper will explain in part some of the differences and commonalities amongst these noble people in terms of the type of political structure, how religion plays a part in their politics and how strong each group is within their larger societal bodies.
The term ‘Political Organization’ is defined as “the way in which power is distributed within a society as to control peoples behavior and maintain social order” (Ferraro, 2006, p. 308). Most types of political organization come with three dimensions that distinguish one form from another. These three dimensions are very important to societies across the planet, with the first dimension being how distinct the political roles are from other aspects of society. The next dimension has to deal with authority and how it is bestowed on the select few of those in power. The dimension that covers the size of the people that are in direct control of the already established political structure would be the last type (Ferraro, 2006, p. 308).
Human beings want to feel secure and safe from hostility or possibly forced change. Political organization could essentially be the best means of survival for any given group. This is the norm throughout most of the world and has been represented in many ways. However, not all political organizations may be a safe bet for all and especially in regards to the existence of the state. Anthropologist, Robert Carneiro writes, “force, and not enlightened self interest, is the mechanism by which political evolution has led, step by step, from autonomous villages to the state” (Ferraro, 2006, p. 308). All societies have some form of political organization and with this they can protect their culture. Of course the population of the given group of people will usually, if not always, define what type of political structure is given. Comparing two types of groups that have similar lifestyles and populations numbers, yet are part of a larger group can prove interesting.
While the cultures or the Mende and Quiché are not related in any way and separated by the vast Atlantic Ocean, they do share three similarities. Their numbers are similar, both use farming as their greatest means of survival, and they both are subcultures of larger groups. The Mende are a subgroup of the Mande people, which incorporate large tribal numbers all over Western Africa, and the Quiché are descendants of the ancient Maya. While all over Central America and southern Mexico, Quiché, which are the descendants of the Maya, make up a very good percentage of Guatemala at 40% of the population ("Quiché"). The Mende make up about one-third the population of Sierra Leone (“Assessment…”). Both the Mende and Quiché are both are under control of a state society and their territorial power is nothing in comparison to their distant past even though they make up the majority of the people of their respective countries.
The Quiché also spelled “K'iche'”, live in a mostly agrarian society and the vast majority of their population inhabits the highlands region of Guatemala. Their language is spoken second only to Spanish and their close communities. Like many Native American cultures, the Quiché are quite family oriented and have brought together Christianity in the form of Catholicism mixing it heavily with their indigenous beliefs. Most of the local markets subsist on micro-economies and no real infrastructure exists through them. Their sociopolitical organization is quite interesting. Ian Mast in the book Encyclopedia of World Cultures writes,
Organization within the villages is subject to the prevailing civil-religious hierarchy. Municipal government offices are filled by the members of the community. Individuals are able to build status within the community based on the positions they have been able to fill. Social and religious life are organized in the same manner. In every community, there are a number of religious brotherhoods, called cofradías. Each of these has its own set of offices, and these are filled on a rotational basis by members of the cofradía. Those serving in the office of mayordomo are responsible for sponsoring the various fiestas and religious events that occur during the period of their office.
Thus we can see that religion is also tied to the political organization of the Quiche.
Tribal societies, like the Quiche, can easily be defined as a group of people that are more for food production and area more stationary group rather than a peripatetic one. The Quiché aren’t differentiated between their people with wealth or rank and most decisions are based on a group collective rather than a single individual (Ferraro, 2006, p. 308). This differs greatly from the Mende who are more of a chiefdom society.
Contrary to the Quiché, the head Chief of any given Mende region gets the highest status and leadership amongst the people and he in turn has others under him who might have their own subordinate leadership roles. Like the Quiché, the Mende have religious leaders who help in social control in the political structure by assigning and overseeing religious ceremonies to rectifying violations of the laws (Aguwa). Another aspect where religion plays a role in the local political structure is when local chieftains attribute their success to the supernatural. William P. Murray for the American Ethnologist writes, "Mende political actors may evoke the presence of enabling mystical powers. Chiefs often attribute their success in gaining political office to powerful "medicine" men, especially mori-men who use ritual techniques derived from Islamic symbols and practices to ensure the chief's success" (568).
 Rigoberta Menchu |
Like many other Native American tribes’ past history, the Quiché were subjected to the rule of the invading Europeans and their once vast empire shrunk to what it is today. However, more attention is being given to the Quiché and they along with other similar indigenous groups have brought national attention by advocating their own rights. Rigoberta Menchu who being a Mayan descendant and member of the Quiché people first gained notice when she won the noble peace prize in 1992, which coincidentally was the 500th anniversary of the voyage of Christopher Columbus (Van Cott). Menchu being exiled from Guatemala due to the bloody civil war campaigned diligently for indigenous rights. Some two hundred thousand people were killed during Guatemala’s war with the majority being Mayan descendant farmers, which make up the majority of the population of Guatemala. This is one prime example that was mentioned by Robert Carneiro with this theory of force mentioned earlier.
 Flag of Sierra Leon (2010) |
The Mende make up the ethnic majority of people in the West African nation of Sierra Leon (Mende Information). And much like the Quiché, they do share a Civil war in their perspective country. Sierra Leon’s Civil war lasted from 1991-2002 and at the end of the war, the Mende once again gained political power. However, many Mende fled the country during the tumultuous 11-year war, and much like the Quiché, the Mende had many refugees living in other places outside their country. The difference between the two sub-groups is that the Civil war in Sierra Leon wasn’t over indigenous rights of the Mende but more of political reasons (“Assessment …”). Also, the Mende have a long history of fighting. In the assessment of the Mende people the United Nations Refugee Agency writes,
The Mende have a long history of protest and militant activity. Protests have been reported as far back as pre-colonial times (PROT45X = 2). While the majority of this activity has been limited to conventional political organizing, extended periods of protests and demonstrations over government neglect were reported during the 1990s (PROT90X and PROT95X = 3). These protests escalated to rebellious activity in the late 1990s (REBEL95X = 3). Because the recent situation in Sierra Leone has become so poor, it is impossible to determine if the Mende are currently acting as a group in any form, especially since power struggles between different chiefs within the Mende group have occurred (PROT03 = 0, REB03 = 0). In 2002, a chief, Kpulun, who was supposed to be reinstated to power had someone appointed to his position. This raises tensions within the group as confusion exists amongst the leadership [“Assessment…”].
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| Flag of Guatemala (2010) |
The Quiché are now more peaceful than their Mayan past shows and looking for their rightful representation among their nation as farmers. The Civil War in Guatemala lasted the longest for any nation in the western hemisphere and one of the longest in history. The Guatemalan Civil War officially began in 1960 and ran until 1996 and it wasn’t until 1980 that the Quiché first gained national attention with the historically noted Spanish Embassy incident, also known as the “Spanish Embassy Fire”. It was during the Embassy raid by local Quiché Indians, which were protesting against what they said were unfair killing of Indian peasants by the Guatemalan army. Due to the violence, The Spanish government vacated their embassy in Guatemala and cut off official diplomatic relations with the nation for approximately four years. Because of this happenstance at the embassy, it became known as a turning point in the Guatemalan Civil war and gave a better voice to the indigenous people and especially the Quiché [Lucas].
The political organization of the Quiché of Central America and the Mende of Western African may not be identical in history or origins but both cultures are similar in the fact that they are a subculture of larger groups and make up the majority of their perspective countries and both share the commonality as an agrarian society. The Mende who are strong believers in the supernatural are similar to the Mende with their mixture of Catholicism and their passed down traditions of ancient Mayan culture. While both of these groups are far removed from one another and really share no cultural heritage, it is interesting how both societies are facing some, if only a few, similar problems. Both of these groups have shared a long grueling Civil War and have expressed their need for representation among other cultures of the world and have notably done so.
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