The music of the indigenous people of the southern Mexican State of Chiapas reflects many varied influences, past and present. These Mayan people are subsistence farmers, with sheepherding, cattle raising, hunting, and handicrafts as secondary occupations. Their diet consists of maize and beans. Vegetables, fruit, and meat are occasional supplements. Hot chile peppers are eaten with every meal. Coffee, sugarcane beer (chica), and homemade rum are consumed regularly. Rum or “posh” drinking is an integral part of all celebrations. Because of the rugged, mountainous terrain and lack of roads and communication, each community , even within the same language group, has its own distinct outlook. They refer to their language as the ”Real Speech” and their music as the “Real Song”. Anyone who wears different clothing or who speaks differently is regarded as a foreigner no matter what his origin. The four languages spoken here; Tzoztil, Tzeltal, Chol, and Tojolabal, all share their basic Mayan roots with both Aztec and Spanish borrowings. A song may express the pantheistic catholicism peculiar to the Mayan folk, with many loan words from the Spanish, or it may by a modern version of an ancient Mayan incantation, mysterious and obscure today. . Ritual, social, and religious expression are viewed as one concept for them. This is the ”custumbre” ( custom). Music is always performed in the context of “custumbre”, never for its own sake. Many members of the community spend much time and expense practicing “custumbre”. The musician may be any member of the community who can attain the skill to practice “custumbre” through music. The musician may enjoy his work, but always it is an obligation or duty. He is paid in food and drink when performing, otherwise he must support himself with other work. Music is played on instruments either fabricated by the musicians or by a special craftsman within his community or from a neighboring one. The double-skinned drum, 3-hole flute, and all string instruments are all based on 16th Century European models as none of them are known to have existed in the Americas before the arrival of the Spaniards. Other instruments of cheap commercial manufacture are purchased in “Ladino” or non-indigenous towns. Only two instruments played today are of pre-Columbian ancestry, the rattle or ”Sonaja” and the log drum or “Teponaztle”. The Chamulas are a rzoztil speaking group liVing in the cool altitudes near San Cristobal las Casas. They make harps, guitars, and violins of various sizes. They are used by themselves and sold to other groups. These instruments are made entirely by hand with the most primitive of tools.