a Tzotzil Maya town and a province in the highlands of the modern state of Chiapas
This Maya town (currently spelled Zinacantán) is famous today for its colorful textiles. It has been studied by anthropologists and linguists. It is named for a biting bat (tzinacantli) that evolved into a "demon" in local lore. In the sixteenth century, it was known for being the origin of the Nahua long-distance traders called nahualoztomeca who disguised themselves, cutting their hair and learning the local language, for example, to penetrate the area prior to its being brought under central-Mexican domination. See the text of the Florentine Codex, Book 9, Folio 18 recto and verso.