Loq’ola Tx’ava’ and the Hermeneutics of Proximity: Critical Cold-War Cartography; the Ixil Territory

Abstract (English)

This paper explores the development of a hermeneutics of proximity in the study of Cold War cartographies within the Ixil territory of Guatemala. Drawing on collaborative research with the B’oq’ol Q’esal Tenam (Indigenous ancestral authorities) and the Universidad Ixil, it contrasts the state-driven, distanced cartographic practices of counterinsurgency regimes with the lived, existential spatial knowledge of Ixil communities. The study critiques the epistemological underpinnings of Cold War cartographic objectivity, which abstracted and instrumentalized territories for geopolitical and military ends, often resulting in violence and displacement. Instead, it proposes a methodology rooted in Indigenous epistemologies, such as Loq’ola Tx’ava’, Komon Sajb’ichil, and Komon Tiichajil, emphasizing relationality, memory, and coexistence. By integrating these frameworks, the paper seeks to deconstruct dominant narratives of territorial control and foreground alternative ways of understanding space, knowledge, and existence within the historical and cultural contexts of Ixil communities. Ultimately, it advocates for a transition from objectivity to an epistemology of proximity that recognizes the profound connections between land, memory, and Indigenous resistance.