The Akatek (Akateko) are a

Maya people The Maya peoples () are an ethnolinguistic group of indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica. The ancient Maya civilization was formed by members of this group, and today's Maya are generally descended from people who lived within that historical reg ...

of Guatemala. Their indigenous

Akatek language Akateko (Acateco) is a Mayan language spoken by the Akateko people primarily in the Huehuetenango Department, Guatemala in and around the municipalities of Concepción Huista, Nentón, San Miguel Acatán, San Rafael La Independencia and San S ...

belongs to the Q'anjobalan branch of

Mayan languages The Mayan languagesIn linguistics, it is conventional to use ''Mayan'' when referring to the languages, or an aspect of a language. In other academic fields, ''Maya'' is the preferred usage, serving as both a singular and plural noun, and a ...

. Most Akatek live in

San Miguel Acatán San Miguel Acatán is a municipality in the Guatemalan department of Huehuetenango Huehuetenango () is a city and municipality in the highlands of western Guatemala. It is also the capital of the department of Huehuetenango. The city is situated ...

and

San Rafael La Independencia San Rafael La Independencia () is a municipality in the Guatemalan department of Huehuetenango Huehuetenango () is a city and municipality in the highlands of western Guatemala. It is also the capital of the department of Huehuetenango. The ci ...

, in the department of

Huehuetenango Huehuetenango () is a city and municipality in the highlands of western Guatemala. It is also the capital of the department of Huehuetenango. The city is situated from Guatemala City, and is the last departmental capital on the Pan-American Hig ...

Notes

Indigenous peoples in Guatemala Maya peoples Mesoamerican cultures Huehuetenango Department {{NorthAm-ethno-group-stub