Chamula

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San Juan Chamula is a municipio (municipality) and township in the state of Chiapas, Mexico, with over 50,000 inhabitants. The mumicipality is situated some 10 km (6.2 mi) from San Cristobal de las Casas.

Chamula is located in the Chiapas highlands, at an altitude of 2,200 meters (7,200 feet), inhabited by the indigenous Tzotzil Maya people, whose Tzotzil language is one of the Mayan languages.

The town enjoys unique autonomous status within Mexico, which means the Mexican government must ask permission to meddle in their affairs.^{[citation needed]} No outside police or military are allowed in the village. Chamulans have their own police force, which is evident on festival days.

The main agricultural products are corn, beans, potatoes, and cabbage. The village is in an economic sense relatively well off for a town in one of poorest states.

Women often make traditional clothing, blankets, and souvenirs that include Zapatista related items, such as pens with a clay figure on top in the figure of Subcomandante Marcos or Comandante Tacho.

The Chamula have also been documented to practice verbal dueling, a pun-creating game with sexual contexts.