People / group

K'iche' people

Also known as Quiché

The K'iche' are a Maya people of the western highlands of Guatemala, centred on the departments of El Quiché, Totonicapán and Quetzaltenango. In the 15th century their kingdom, ruled from Q'umarkaj, dominated much of the highlands until Pedro de Alvarado conquered it in 1524. Their sacred book, the Popol Vuh, survives, and K'iche' is the most widely spoken Maya language today.

K'iche' people
Image: Bruno Rijsman · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 5 state histories

K'iche' kingdomTz'utujil kingdomMam kingdomKaqchikel kingdomState of Los Altos

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). K'iche' people. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/kiche-people
MLA
“K'iche' people.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/kiche-people. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “K'iche' people.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/kiche-people.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘K'iche' people’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/kiche-people (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻