![Guelaguetza01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Guelaguetza01.JPG)
The Indigenous people of Oaxaca are descendants of the inhabitants of what is now the state of
Oaxaca
Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
who were present before the
Spanish invasion.
Several cultures flourished in the ancient region of Oaxaca from as far back as 2000 BC, of whom the Zapotecs and Mixtecs were perhaps the most advanced, with complex social organization and sophisticated arts.
According to the
(CDI) Oaxaca has the greatest percentage of indigenous people after
Yucatán
Yucatán (, also , , ; yua, Yúukatan ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán,; yua, link=no, Xóot' Noj Lu'umil Yúukatan. is one of the 31 states which comprise the political divisions of Mexico, federal entities of Mexico. I ...
, at 48% of the population.
There are 16 formally registered indigenous communities, some of which are culturally diverse themselves.
Many of the people are socially marginalized, living in poverty.
Speakers of each language
![Oaxaca indigenous people](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Oaxaca_indigenous_people.svg)
The 16 groups and the number of speakers of their languages according to the 2005 census are:
*
Zapotec – 357,134
*
Mixtec
The Mixtecs (), or Mixtecos, are indigenous Mesoamerican peoples of Mexico inhabiting the region known as La Mixteca of Oaxaca and Puebla as well as La Montaña Region and Costa Chica Regions of the state of Guerrero. The Mixtec Culture wa ...
– 290,049
*
Mazateco – 164,673
*
Chinantec
The Chinantec or Chinantecan languages constitute a branch of the Oto-Manguean family. Though traditionally considered a single language, ''Ethnologue'' lists 14 partially mutually unintelligible varieties of Chinantec.Palancar, Enrique L. (2014 ...
o – 104,010
*
Mixe – 103,089
*
Chatino – 42,477
*
Trique
The Triqui (, ) or Trique () are an indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous people of the western part of the Mexican state of Oaxaca, centered in the Municipio (Mexico), municipalities of Juxtlahuaca, Tlaxiaco and Putla. They number around 2 ...
– 18,292
*
Huave – 15,324
*
Cuicateco – 12,128
*
Zoque – 10,000 (est)
*
Amuzgo
The Amuzgos are an Indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous people of Mexico. They primarily live in a region along the Guerrero/Oaxaca border, chiefly in and around four municipalities: Xochistlahuaca, Tlacoachistlahuaca and Ometepec in Guerrero, ...
– 4,819
*
Oaxacan Chontal
Tequistlatec, also called Chontal, are three close but distinct languages spoken or once spoken by the Chontal people of Oaxaca State, Mexico.
Chontal was spoken by 6,000 or so people in 2020.
Languages
* Huamelultec (Lowland Oaxaca Chontal), ...
– 4,610
*
Tacuate – 1,726
*
Chochotec
Chocho (also Chocholtec, Chocholteco Chochotec, Chochon, or Ngigua) is a language of the Popolocan branch of the Oto-Manguean language family spoken in Mexico in the following communities of Oaxaca: San Miguel Chicahua (settlement of Llano Se ...
– 524
*
Ixcateco – 207
*
Popoloco – 61
Of these : 477,788 are non-Spanish monolingual.
The majority of people speak languages of the
Oto-Manguean
The Oto-Manguean or Otomanguean languages are a large family comprising several subfamilies of indigenous languages of the Americas. All of the Oto-Manguean languages that are now spoken are indigenous to Mexico, but the Manguean branch of the ...
family, either the Popolocan-Zapotecan branch or the Amuzgo-Mixtecan branch.
Background
![British Museum Zapotec funerary urn 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/British_Museum_Zapotec_funerary_urn_1.jpg)
The Oaxaca region is at the convergence of the
Sierra Madre Oriental
The Sierra Madre Oriental () is a mountain range in northeastern Mexico. The Sierra Madre Oriental is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that f ...
and the
Sierra Madre del Sur mountain ranges, resulting in a rugged and mountainous terrain with a large, temperate
central valley.
The climate is temperate, cooler at higher altitudes and warmer by the coast and in the
Papaloapan region
The Cuenca del Papaloapan Region is in the north of the state of Oaxaca, Mexico where the foothills of the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca meet the coastal plain of Veracruz.
The principal city is San Juan Bautista Tuxtepec, the second largest in Oaxaca st ...
, which is part of the Gulf of Mexico coastal plain.
Oaxaca is the historic home of the
Zapotec and
Mixtec
The Mixtecs (), or Mixtecos, are indigenous Mesoamerican peoples of Mexico inhabiting the region known as La Mixteca of Oaxaca and Puebla as well as La Montaña Region and Costa Chica Regions of the state of Guerrero. The Mixtec Culture wa ...
peoples among others, and contains more speakers of
indigenous languages
An indigenous language, or autochthonous language, is a language that is native to a region and spoken by indigenous peoples. This language is from a linguistically distinct community that originated in the area. Indigenous languages are not neces ...
than any other Mexican state.
![Oaxaca ocho venado](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Oaxaca_ocho_venado.png)
Excavations have shown that the region has had a settled population for at least 4,000 years.
In the pre-Columbian period, the
Zapotec developed an advanced civilization centered in
Monte Albán
Monte Albán is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site in the Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán Municipality in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca (17.043° N, 96.767°W). The site is located on a low mountainous range rising above the plain in the ...
in the central valley, which lasted between 300 BC and 700 AD.
The state was expansionist, and extended its authority to the north, west, and southwest.
Further to the west, Mixtec settlements have been dated back to 1500 BC, and the Mixtec also developed advanced city states such as
Tilantongo
Tilantongo was a Mixtec citystate in the Mixteca Alta region of the modern-day state of Oaxaca which is now visible as an archeological site and a modern town of Santiago Tilantongo. It is located at 17°15' N. Lat. and 97°17' W. Long. Its Mix ...
and
Tututepec
Tututepec is a Mesoamerican archaeological site. It is located in the lower Río Verde valley on the coast of Oaxaca that formed the nucleus of an extensive Mixtec state during the Late Postclassic period (ca. 12th to early 16th centuries). At i ...
. The Mixtec were known for their exceptional mastery of jewelry, in which gold and turquoise figure prominently.
Around 1250 AD the
Aztecs
The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...
began pushing down from the North.
Mixtec groups in turn invaded the Valley of Oaxaca and established the
Cuilapan
Cuilapan de Guerrero is a town and municipality located in the central valley region of Oaxaca in southern Mexico. It is to the south of the capital city of Oaxaca on the road leading to Villa de Zaachila, and is in the Centro District in the ...
state.
Shortly before the Spanish arrived, most of the west and central areas of Oaxaca had come under Aztec control.
The Aztec empire disintegrated after the fall of their capital of
Tenochtitlan
, ; es, Tenochtitlan also known as Mexico-Tenochtitlan, ; es, México-Tenochtitlan was a large Mexican in what is now the historic center of Mexico City. The exact date of the founding of the city is unclear. The date 13 March 1325 was ...
to the Spanish in August 1521.
The Spanish crown granted Oaxaca to the conquistador
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca (; ; 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of w ...
as his prize.
The Spanish introduced new food such as wheat and sugar cane and new methods of cultivation.
Diseases introduced by the Spanish greatly diminished the native population of Oaxaca, as did the insatiable appetite for gold, which led more and more Oaxacans into the dangerous mines.
![Benito Juarez Presidente](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Benito_Juarez_Presidente.jpg)
Over the 300 years of colonialism, many aspects of life became Europeanized.
Important government positions were filled by the Spanish and their descendants, and later by elite mestizos, persons of mixed European and indigenous ancestry.
However, Oaxaca remained largely an agriculture-based economy with little development throughout the colonial period, following Mexican independence in 1821 and following the revolution of 1910.
By the 1980s and 1990s, Oaxaca was one of Mexico's poorest states.
The state, and the indigenous people in particular, had some
of the nation's highest rates of illiteracy, malnutrition, and infant mortality.
Oto-Manguean
The
Oto-Manguean languages
The Oto-Manguean or Otomanguean languages are a large family comprising several subfamilies of indigenous languages of the Americas. All of the Oto-Manguean languages that are now spoken are indigenous to Mexico, but the Manguean branch of the ...
are a large family comprising several families of
Native American languages
Over a thousand indigenous languages are spoken by the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. These languages cannot all be demonstrated to be related to each other and are classified into a hundred or so language families (including a large numbe ...
, which has not been positively related to any other group of languages.
The Oto-Manguean family has existed in southern Mexico at least since 4000 BCE and probably before.
The highest number of speakers of these languages are found in Oaxaca where the two largest branches, the
Zapotecan and
Mixtecan languages
The Mixtecan languages constitute a branch of the Oto-Manguean language family of Mexico. They include the Trique (or Triqui) languages, spoken by about 24,500 people; Cuicatec, spoken by about 15,000 people; and the large expanse of Mixtec langu ...
, are spoken by almost 1.5 million people combined.
Zapotecan group
Zapotec
The
Zapotec people are concentrated in
Oaxaca
Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...
, but Zapotec communities exist in neighboring states as well. The present-day population is estimated at approximately 300,000 to 400,000 persons, many of whom are monolingual in one of the native
Zapotec language
The Zapotec languages are a group of around 50 closely related indigenous Mesoamerican languages that constitute a main branch of the Oto-Manguean language family and which is spoken by the Zapotec people from the southwestern-central highland ...
s. In
pre-Columbian
In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, th ...
times the
Zapotec civilization
The Zapotec civilization ( "The People"; 700 BC–1521 AD) was an indigenous pre-Columbian civilization that flourished in the Valley of Oaxaca in Mesoamerica. Archaeological evidence shows that their culture originated at least 2,500 years ag ...
was one of the highly developed cultures of
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. W ...
, which among other things included a system of writing.
There are four basic groups of Zapotecs: the ', who live in the southern
Isthmus of Tehuantepec
The Isthmus of Tehuantepec () is an isthmus in Mexico. It represents the shortest distance between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. Before the opening of the Panama Canal, it was a major overland transport route known simply as the Te ...
the ', who live in the northern mountains of the
Sierra Madre de Oaxaca
The Sierra Madre de Oaxaca is a mountain range in southern Mexico. It is primarily in the state of Oaxaca, and extends north into the states of Puebla and Veracruz.
Geography
The mountain range begins at Pico de Orizaba, and extends in a southeas ...
, the southern Zapotecs, who live in the southern mountains of the Sierra Sur and the Central Valley Zapotecs, who live in and around the
Valley of Oaxaca
The Central Valleys ( es, Valles Centrales) of Oaxaca, also simply known as the Oaxaca Valley, is a geographic region located within the modern-day state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico. In an administrative context, it has been defined as comprising ...
.
Chatino
Chatino communities are located in the southeastern region of Oaxaca. Speakers of
Chatino languages
Chatino is a group of indigenous Mesoamerican languages. These languages are a branch of the Zapotecan family within the Oto-Manguean language family. They are natively spoken by 45,000 Chatino people,
whose communities are located in the sout ...
are numbered around 23,000 (Ethnologue surveys), but ethnic Chatinos may number many more. They call themselves ''Kitse Cha'tño'' and their language ''Cha'tña''.
Chatino populations are found in the following
Oaxacan municipalities, mostly in the area around
Juquila
Santa Catarina Juquila is a town in the State of Oaxaca, Mexico, and is the seat of the municipality also called Santa Catarina Juquila.
It is part of the Juquila District in the center of the Costa Region
The Costa Region or Costa Chica lies on ...
:
Santos Reyes Nopala
Santos Reyes Nopala is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico.
It is part of the Juquila District in the center of the Costa Region.
The name Nopala is derived from the Nahuatl word for nopatlan,
Environment
The municipality ...
,
San Juan Quiahije
San Juan Quiahije is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico.
It is part of the Juquila District in the centre of the Costa Region.
The origen of Quiahije is not known, some people conjecture it might mean "Stone Forest" in the Z ...
,
San Miguel Panixtlahuaca
San Miguel Panixtlahuaca is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico.
It is part of the Juquila District in the center of the Costa Region
The Costa Region or Costa Chica lies on the Pacific coast of the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, ...
,
Santiago Yaitepec
Santiago Yaitepec is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico, two kilometers southeast of Santa Catarina Juquila.
It is part of the Juquila District in the center of the Costa Region
The Costa Region or Costa Chica lies on the P ...
,
Santa Cruz Zezontepec,
San Juan Lachao,
Santa María Temaxcaltepec
Santa María Temaxcaltepec is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico.
It is part of the Juquila District in the center of the Costa Region
The Costa Region or Costa Chica lies on the Pacific coast of the state of Oaxaca, Mexico ...
,
Santa Catarina Juquila
Santa Catarina Juquila is a town in the State of Oaxaca, Mexico, and is the seat of the municipality also called Santa Catarina Juquila.
It is part of the Juquila District in the center of the Costa Region.
The name "Juquila" comes from "Xuhquilil ...
and
Tataltepec de Valdés
Tataltepec de Valdés is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico.
It is part of the Juquila District in the center of the Costa Region
The Costa Region or Costa Chica lies on the Pacific coast of the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, sou ...
.
The region that the Chatinos inhabit is rich in natural resources. Traditionally many Chatino people have been involved in agriculture which depends very much on the climate, so some Chatinos have had to emigrate to the corners of the district of Juquila to work on coffee plantations. Most Chatino communities have public services, and there are runways for airports in many municipalities. Federal bilingual schools, high schools, and ''
telesecundaria
''Telesecundaria'' is a system of distance education programs for secondary and high school students created by the government of Mexico and available in rural areas of the country as well as Central America, South America, Canada and the United ...
s'' (distance education programs for secondary and high school students) have been established.
The traditional authorities of this people are organized in a system based on civil and religious roles, in which advice from elders is treated as the greatest authority. They believe in the Holy Grandmother, the Holy Father Sun, the Holy Mother Earth, and the Holy Mother Moon. In addition, they worship the deities of water, wind, rain, the mountain, and fire.
Popolocan group
Mazatec
The
Mazatec
The Mazatec are an indigenous people of Mexico who inhabit the Sierra Mazateca in the state of Oaxaca and some communities in the adjacent states of Puebla and Veracruz.
Language family
The Mazatecan languages are part of the Popolocan family wh ...
speak a closely related group of
languages spoken in the northern part of the state of Oaxaca, and in some communities in the states of
Puebla
Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...
and
Veracruz
Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...
.
The name ''Mazatec'' is an
exonym
An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...
and comes from
Nahuatl
Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...
, meaning "deer people".
The Mazatec people refer to themselves in their own languages as ''Ha shuta Enima'' (or other variants), meaning approximately "workers of the mountains, humble people of custom".
The
Mazatec shamans The Mazatec Shamans are known for their ritual use of psilocybin mushrooms, psychoactive morning glory seeds, and ''Salvia divinorum''. María Sabina was one of the best known of the Mazatec Shamans. Her healing psilocybin mushroom ceremonies, call ...
are known for their ritual use of
psilocybe
''Psilocybe'' ( ) is a genus of gilled mushrooms, growing worldwide, in the family Hymenogastraceae. Most or nearly all species contain the psychedelic compounds psilocybin and psilocin.
Taxonomy
Taxonomic history
A 2002 study of the mol ...
mushrooms.
Some
shaman
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...
s on occasion use other plants, such as
Salvia divinorum and
morning glory
Morning glory (also written as morning-glory) is the common name for over 1,000 species of flowering plants in the family Convolvulaceae, whose current taxonomy and systematics are in flux. Morning glory species belong to many genera, some of ...
seeds.
María Sabina
María Sabina Magdalena García (22 July 1894 – 22 November 1985) was a Mazatec ''curandera'', shaman and poet who lived in Huautla de Jiménez, a town in the Sierra Mazateca area of the Mexican state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico."Sabina Rothe ...
was one of the best known of the
Mazatec
The Mazatec are an indigenous people of Mexico who inhabit the Sierra Mazateca in the state of Oaxaca and some communities in the adjacent states of Puebla and Veracruz.
Language family
The Mazatecan languages are part of the Popolocan family wh ...
Shamans.
Julieta Casimiro, a Mazatec Healer, has gained international recognition as a member of the
International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers
The International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers is an international alliance of indigenous female elders that focuses on issues such as the environment, internationalism, and human rights. The group met for the first time in October ...
– a group of spiritual elders,
medicine women and wisdom keepers since its founding in 2004.
Chocho
The
Chocho people
The Chochos (formerly Chochones; Chocho: ''Ngiwa'') are an indigenous people of the Mexican state of Oaxaca.
Language
Their traditional language, Chocho, is a member of the Popolocan branch of the Oto-Manguean language family. In 1998 it had ...
live in the Oaxaca communities of
Santa María Nativitas
Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...
,
San Juan Bautista Coixtlahuaca
San Juan Bautista Coixtlahuaca is a small town and municipality located in the Mixteca Region of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico, and the center of the Coixtlahuaca district. The name, "Coixtlahuaca" means 'plain of snakes' in the Nahuatl language. ...
and
San Miguel Tulancingo
San Miguel Tulancingo is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico. The municipality covers an area of .
It is part of the Coixtlahuaca district
Coixtlahuaca District is located in the northeast of the Mixteca Region of the St ...
in the
Coixtlahuaca district
Coixtlahuaca District is located in the northeast of the Mixteca Region of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico. As of 2005 the population was 9,018, down 2.8% from 2000.
The region is generally from 2,000m to 3,000m high, mostly hilly or mountainous with ...
of the
Mixteca Region
The Mixteca Region is a region in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, part of the broader La Mixteca area which covers parts of the states of Puebla, Guerrero and Oaxaca.
The region includes the districts of Juxtlahuaca, Silacayoapam, Huajuapan, Coixtlah ...
.
Starting from around 1900, improved education in Spanish resulted in reduction of the number of Chocho speakers, who are now mostly elderly.
As of 1998, the
Chocho language
Chocho (also Chocholtec, Chocholteco Chochotec, Chochon, or Ngigua) is a language of the Popolocan branch of the Oto-Manguean language family spoken in Mexico in the following communities of Oaxaca: San Miguel Chicahua (settlement of Llano Se ...
had 770 speakers.
The terrain of the Chocho country is mountainous with low rainfall, hot summers and cold winters.
Traditional houses have wood frames with walls made from the stem of the maguey plant, and roofs of palm or maguey leaves.
The main source of cash comes from weaving palm-leaf hats, which is done in caves to prevent the leaves from drying out.
The staple Chocho diet is maize supplemented with beans, chiles and fruits.
They may eat goat meat on Sundays, and chicken or turkey during festivals.
Coixtlahuaca was a thriving Chocho and Ixtatec market until about 1900, but since then many people have had move away due to loss of topsoil to erosion.
[
]
Ixcatec
Ixcatec, also known as Xwja, is a language spoken by the people of the village of Santa María Ixcatlan in the north of the Cañada region
Cañada is a region in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico covering 4,300 square km. It includes two districts, Teotitlán and Cuicatlán.
The main administrative center is Teotitlán de Flores Magón, but Huautla de Jiménez is considered the most imp ...
of Oaxaca.
The name Ixtepec means "people of cotton" in Nahuatl
Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...
.
The number of speakers was given to be 119 in the early 1980s, but according to the Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes
The Secretariat of Culture ( es, Secretaría de Cultura), formerly known as the National Council for Culture and Arts ( es, Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes or CONACULTA), is a Mexican government agency in charge of the nation's museums ...
, there were only 8 speakers of the language in 2008.
The last speakers of the language are persons aged 70 years who can barely speak Spanish and cannot read or write, handicapping efforts to document and preserve the language.
Popoloco
The name "Popoloco" is a Náhuatl
Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have small ...
word meaning "incomprehensible", and is applied to several unrelated people.
The Popoluca of Oaxaca call themselves Homshuk, which means "God of Corn".
In the 2000 census, only 61 Popoloco speakers were counted in Oaxaca.
The language is related to Mazatec and Chochotec.
Amuzgo-Mixtecan group
Mixtec
The Mixtec
The Mixtecs (), or Mixtecos, are indigenous Mesoamerican peoples of Mexico inhabiting the region known as La Mixteca of Oaxaca and Puebla as well as La Montaña Region and Costa Chica Regions of the state of Guerrero. The Mixtec Culture wa ...
inhabit Oaxaca, Guerrero
Guerrero is one of the 32 states that comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo and its largest city is Acapulcocopied from article, GuerreroAs of 2020, Guerrero the pop ...
and Puebla
Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...
in a region known as La Mixteca
La Mixteca is a cultural, economic and political region in Western Oaxaca and neighboring portions of Puebla, Guerrero in south-central Mexico, which refers to the home of the Mixtec people. In their languages, the region is called either Ñuu Djau ...
. The Mixtecan languages
The Mixtecan languages constitute a branch of the Oto-Manguean language family of Mexico. They include the Trique (or Triqui) languages, spoken by about 24,500 people; Cuicatec, spoken by about 15,000 people; and the large expanse of Mixtec langu ...
form an important branch of the Otomanguean
The Oto-Manguean or Otomanguean languages are a large family comprising several subfamilies of indigenous languages of the Americas. All of the Oto-Manguean languages that are now spoken are indigenous to Mexico, but the Manguean languages, Mang ...
language family.
The term Mixtec (''Mixteco'' in Spanish) comes from the Nahuatl
Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...
word ''Mixtecapan'', or "place of the cloud-people."
Amuzgo
Amuzgo
The Amuzgos are an Indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous people of Mexico. They primarily live in a region along the Guerrero/Oaxaca border, chiefly in and around four municipalities: Xochistlahuaca, Tlacoachistlahuaca and Ometepec in Guerrero, ...
is an Oto-Manguean
The Oto-Manguean or Otomanguean languages are a large family comprising several subfamilies of indigenous languages of the Americas. All of the Oto-Manguean languages that are now spoken are indigenous to Mexico, but the Manguean branch of the ...
language spoken in the Costa Chica region of Guerrero
Guerrero is one of the 32 states that comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo and its largest city is Acapulcocopied from article, GuerreroAs of 2020, Guerrero the pop ...
and Oaxaca
Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...
by about 44,000 speakers.
The name Amuzgo is claimed to be a Nahuatl
Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...
exonym but its meaning is shrouded in controversy; multiple proposals have been made, including 'moss-in'.
A significant percentage of the Amuzgo speakers are monolingual; the remainder also speak Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
.
Four variants of Amuzgo are officially recognized by the governmental agency, the Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas (INALI).
Cuicatec
The Cuicatec are closely related to the Mixtec
The Mixtecs (), or Mixtecos, are indigenous Mesoamerican peoples of Mexico inhabiting the region known as La Mixteca of Oaxaca and Puebla as well as La Montaña Region and Costa Chica Regions of the state of Guerrero. The Mixtec Culture wa ...
s. They inhabit two towns: Teutila and Tepeuxila
San Juan Tepeuxila is a town and Municipalities of Oaxaca, municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 366.16 km².
It is part of Cuicatlán District in the north of the Cañada, Oaxaca, Cañada Region.
As o ...
in western Oaxaca. According to the 2000 census, they number around 23,000, of whom an estimated 65% are speakers of the language.
Triqui
The Trique
The Triqui (, ) or Trique () are an indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous people of the western part of the Mexican state of Oaxaca, centered in the Municipio (Mexico), municipalities of Juxtlahuaca, Tlaxiaco and Putla. They number around 2 ...
are an indigenous people of the western part of Oaxaca, centered in the municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
of Juxtlahuaca
Juxtlahuaca is a cave and archaeological site in the Mexican state of Guerrero containing murals linked to the Olmec motifs and iconography. Along with the nearby Oxtotitlán cave, Juxtlahuaca walls contain the earliest sophisticated painted art ...
, Tlaxiaco
Tlaxiaco is a city, and its surrounding municipality of the same name, in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is located in the Tlaxiaco District in the south of the Mixteca Region, with a population of about 17,450.
The city is formally known as Her ...
and Putla. They number around 23,000 according to the Ethnologue
''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' (stylized as ''Ethnoloɠue'') is an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the living languages of the world. It is the world's most comprehensiv ...
surveys. All Triqui peoples are known for their distinctive woven huipil
''Huipil'' (Nahuatl: '' huīpīlli'' ; Ch'orti': ''b’ujk''; Chuj: ''nip'') is the most common traditional garment worn by indigenous women from central Mexico to Central America.
It is a loose-fitting tunic, generally made from two or three re ...
es, baskets, and morrales (handbags).
Triqui people live in a mountainous region, called "La mixteca baja", in the Southwest part of Oaxaca. The elevation within the Triqui region varies between 1,500 – 3,000 meters (4,921 – 9,843 feet). This high elevation permits low-lying cumulus cloud
Cumulus clouds are clouds which have flat bases and are often described as "puffy", "cotton-like" or "fluffy" in appearance. Their name derives from the Latin ''cumulo-'', meaning ''heap'' or ''pile''. Cumulus clouds are low-level clouds, gener ...
s to envelop entire towns during the afternoons and evenings.
Like many other southern Mexicans, many Triqui men travel to Oaxaca City
Oaxaca de Juárez (), also Oaxaca City or simply Oaxaca (Valley Zapotec languages, Zapotec: ''Ndua''), is the capital and largest city of the eponymous Administrative divisions of Mexico, Mexican state Oaxaca. It is the municipal seat for the surr ...
, Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
, or the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
as day labor
Day labor (or day labour in Commonwealth spelling) is work done where the worker is hired and paid one day at a time, with no promise that more work will be available in the future. It is a form of contingent work.
Types
Day laborers (also kn ...
ers or migrant worker
A migrant worker is a person who Human migration, migrates within a home country or outside it to pursue work. Migrant workers usually do not have the intention to stay permanently in the country or region in which they work.
Migrant worker ...
s. As the average daily salary of a rural Oaxacan is less than $5 (U.S.) and La Mixteca is the poorest region of Oaxaca, migration and remittance
A remittance is a non-commercial transfer of money by a foreign worker, a member of a diaspora community, or a citizen with familial ties abroad, for household income in their home country or homeland. Money sent home by migrants competes wit ...
s sent back to Oaxaca confer economic benefits to both migrant Triquis and their families in Oaxaca.
Triqui women are more likely to remain in the Triqui region and do not travel as often as Triqui men do.
Tacuate
As of 1992, there were about 6,000 speakers of Tacuate, a Mixtec language
The Mixtec () languages belong to the Mixtecan group of the Oto-Manguean language family. Mixtec is spoken in Mexico and is closely related to Trique and Cuicatec. The varieties of Mixtec are spoken by over half a million people.2000 census; t ...
, of whom less than 20% were monolingual.
Most of the people are engaged in subsistence agriculture, with some keeping cattle and goats, and with women producing textile crafts for a source of cash.
Land tenure is usually communal.
The Tacuate live in two municipalities in the Mixteca de la Costa
La Mixteca is a cultural, economic and political region in Western Oaxaca and neighboring portions of Puebla, Guerrero in south-central Mexico, which refers to the home of the Mixtec people. In their languages, the region is called either Ñuu Dja ...
area: Santa María Zacatepec in the Putla district and Santiago Ixtayutla
Santiago Ixtayutla is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico.
It is located in the Jamiltepec District in the west of the Costa Region
The Costa Region or Costa Chica lies on the Pacific coast of the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, s ...
in the Jamiltepec district
Jamiltepec District is located in the west of the Costa Region of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico.
Municipalities
The district includes the following municipalities:
* Mártires de Tacubaya
* Pinotepa de Don Luis
*Pinotepa Nacional
* San Agustín C ...
.
Chinantec
The Chinantecs live in Oaxaca and Veracruz
Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...
, Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, especially in the districts of Cuicatlán, Ixtlán de Juárez
Ixtlán de Juárez is a town and municipality in the Mexican state of Oaxaca about 65 km north of the city of Oaxaca on Federal Highway 175 towards Veracruz.
It is part of the Ixtlán District in the Sierra Norte de Oaxaca region.
Adminis ...
, Tuxtepec
San Juan Bautista Tuxtepec ( nah, Tōchtepēc, "on the hill of rabbits"), or simply referred to as Tuxtepec, is the head of the municipality by the same name and is the second most populous city of the Mexican state of Oaxaca.
It is part of the Tu ...
and Choapan.
Their languages belong to the Western Oto-Mangue group.
The Ethnologue
''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' (stylized as ''Ethnoloɠue'') is an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the living languages of the world. It is the world's most comprehensiv ...
lists 14 different Chinantec languages.
Mixe–Zoque family
People who speak languages of the Mixe–Zoque family in Oaxaca are the Mixe and the Zoque.
It has been speculated that they may be descendants of the Olmec
The Olmecs () were the earliest known major Mesoamerican civilization. Following a progressive development in Soconusco, they occupied the tropical lowlands of the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco. It has been speculated that t ...
people, who created the first Mesoamerican civilization around 1500 to 400 BC.
Mixe
The Mixe inhabit the eastern highlands of Oaxaca
Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...
. They speak the Mixe languages
The Mixe languages are languages of the Mixean branch of the Mixe–Zoquean language family indigenous to southern Mexico. According to a 1995 classification, there are seven of them (including one that is extinct). The four that are spoken in ...
, and are more culturally conservative than other indigenous groups of the region, maintaining their language to this day. A population figure of 90,000 speakers of Mixe were estimated by SIL international
SIL International (formerly known as the Summer Institute of Linguistics) is an evangelical Christian non-profit organization whose main purpose is to study, develop and document languages, especially those that are lesser-known, in order to ex ...
in 1993. The Mixe name for themselves is ''ayüükj'ä'äy'' meaning "people who speak the mountain language" The word "Mixe" itself is probably derived from the Nahuatl
Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...
word for cloud: ''mixtli''.
Zoque
The Zoque of Oaxaca live primarily in the municipalities of Santa María Chimalapa
Santa María Chimalapa is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico.
It is part of the Juchitán District in the west of the Istmo de Tehuantepec region.
Environment
The municipality has an area of 3572.31 km², much of it ...
and San Miguel Chimalapa in the Selva Zoque
The Selva Zoque ( en, Zoque Forest), which includes the Chimalapas rain forest, is an area of great ecological importance in Mexico. Most of the forest lies in the state of Oaxaca but parts are in Chiapas and Veracruz. It is the largest tract of ...
(Zoque forest), an area of 594,000 hectares of diverse and ecologically important forests in the Istmo de Tehuantepec region.
Due to immigration of other groups, they now account for perhaps 34% of the population in this area.
As of the year 2000, about 1,757 Zoque speakers lived in Santa María and 1,675 in San Miguel Chimalapa.
In the pre-Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
period, the Zoque lived throughout Chiapas, and as far away as the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and parts of the state of Tabasco
Tabasco (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tabasco), is one of the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa.
It is located in ...
.
In 1494 they were invaded and defeated by the Aztecs, during the reign of Ahuizotl
Ahuitzotl ( nah, āhuitzotl, ) was the eighth Aztec ruler, the '' Huey Tlatoani'' of the city of Tenochtitlan, son of princess Atotoztli II. His name literally means "Water Thorny" and was also applied to the otter. It is also theorized that mo ...
, and forced to pay tribute
A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conqu ...
.
The Spanish conquest of the Zoque lands commenced in 1523, under the leadership of Luis Marin. The Zoque were parceled out amongst the settlers, where they endured forced labor and were obliged to pay high tribute. Diseases, exploitation and the miserable conditions under which they lived contributed to a significant decrease in their numbers.
Other languages
Huave
The Huave people
The Huave (also spelled Huavi or Wabi) are an indigenous people of Mexico. The autodenomination term used by the Huave themselves is ''Ikoots'' or ''Kunajts'' (the first-person inclusive pronoun, thus meaning "Us"), or ''Mareños'' (meaning "Sea Pe ...
live on a peninsula reserved for them called the Zona Huave between the Gulf of Tehuantepec and the Pacific Ocean in the Istmo de Tehuantepec region.
Terrain includes low forested hills, pastures and swamps.
The towns are San Mateo de Mar, San Dionisio del Mar
San Dionisio del Mar is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico.
It is part of the Juchitán District in the east of the Istmo de Tehuantepec region.
The town is named after its patron saint.
Geography
The municipality c ...
, San Francisco del Mar
San Francisco del Mar is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico.
It is part of the Juchitán District
Juchitán District is located in the east of the Istmo de Tehuantepec region of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico, covering ...
and Santa Maria del Mar. There are approximately 10,000 Huave speakers, most of whom fish or practice traditional agriculture. Recently a handicrafts union has been attempting to introduce traditional weavings as a commercial product.
The Huave language
Huave (also spelled Wabe) is a language isolate spoken by the indigenous Huave people on the Pacific coast of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. The language is spoken in four villages on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, in the southeast of the state, ...
is a language isolate
Language isolates are languages that cannot be classified into larger language families. Korean and Basque are two of the most common examples. Other language isolates include Ainu in Asia, Sandawe in Africa, and Haida in North America. The num ...
, unrelated to any other.
The most vibrant speech community is in San Mateo del Mar, whose people call themselves ''Ikoots'', meaning "us" and refer to their language as ''ombeayiiüts,'' meaning "our language".
Chontal
Oaxacan Chontal, also called Tequistlatecan
Tequistlatec, also called Chontal, are three close but distinct languages spoken or once spoken by the Chontal people of Oaxaca State, Mexico.
Chontal was spoken by 6,000 or so people in 2020.
Languages
* Huamelultec (Lowland Oaxaca Chontal), ...
, consists of two related but mutually unintelligible languages, Huamelultec (Lowland Oaxaca Chontal), and Highland Oaxaca Chontal
Highland Oaxaca Chontal, or Chontal de la Sierra de Oaxaca, is one of the Chontal languages of Oaxaca, Mexico. It is sometimes called ''Tequistlatec'', but is not the same as Tequistlatec proper, which is extinct.
Background
Highland Oaxaca ...
.
There has been speculation that the languages may be part of the Hokan
The Hokan language family is a hypothetical grouping of a dozen small language families that were spoken mainly in California, Arizona and Baja California.
Etymology
The name ''Hokan'' is loosely based on the word for "two" in the various Hokan ...
family of California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, or perhaps the Jicaque family of Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
.
The name "Chontal" comes from the Nahuatl
Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...
, meaning "foreigner" or "foreign", and is also applied to an unrelated language of Tabasco. The Chontal may have lived in the Villa Alta region to the east up to around 300 AD, but moved westward under pressure from the Mixes and moved to their present location in the 15th century due to Zapotec aggression.[ ]
Lowland Chontal is mostly spoken around San Pedro Huamelula
San Pedro Huamelula is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico.
It is in the west of the Tehuantepec District in the west of the Istmo Region, on the Pacific coast.
Environment
The municipality covers an area of 505.23 ...
and Santiago Astata
Santiago Astata is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico.
It is part of the Tehuantepec District
Tehuantepec District is located in the west of the Istmo Region of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico.
It includes the cities of Salin ...
in the Pacific coastal area of the western Tehuantepec District
Tehuantepec District is located in the west of the Istmo Region of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico.
It includes the cities of Salina Cruz and Tehuantepec
Tehuantepec (, in full, Santo Domingo Tehuantepec) is a city and municipality in the southeas ...
, which is in the west of the Istmo region.
There may be about 200 fluent first-language speakers and another 750 semi-speakers, all older than 40. Lowland Chontal is considered an endangered language.
The coastal lowlands cover about 870 km² made up of rugged foothills and mountain ridges 50–700 m above sea level.
The climate is tropically hot and sub-humid with a dry season from October to May and a rainy season from June to September
Some trees are suitable for lumber, but the region is becoming deforested.
Mostly the people use slash-and-burn agriculture to cultivate maize.[
As of 1990, about 3,600 spoke highland or Sierra Chontal.]
The speakers of this language live in the districts of Yautepec and Tehuantepec
Tehuantepec (, in full, Santo Domingo Tehuantepec) is a city and municipality in the southeast of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is part of the Tehuantepec District in the west of the Istmo Region. The area was important in pre Hispanic peri ...
in the municipalities of San Carlos Yautepec
San Carlos Yautepec is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico.
It is part of the Yautepec District in the east of the Sierra Sur Region.
The name "Yautepec" means "hill of black corn". Geography
The municipality covers an area ...
, Santa María Ecatepec, Asunción Tlacolulita, San Miguel Tenango and Magdalena Tequisistlán.
They practice subsistence agriculture growing corn, squash, beans and vegetables as well as fruit trees such soursop, mamey, sapodilla, avocado, guava and nanche. They also grow maguey mezcal, sugar, pepper and coffee. Livestock includes chickens, turkeys, pigs, goats and cattle. Hunting and fishing provide alternative food sources.[
]
See also
*Indigenous peoples in Mexico
Indigenous peoples of Mexico ( es, gente indígena de México, pueblos indígenas de México), Native Mexicans ( es, nativos mexicanos) or Mexican Native Americans ( es, pueblos originarios de México, lit=Original peoples of Mexico), are those ...
*Mixteca Alta Formative Project Mixteca Alta Formative Project (2003–present) is an archaeological project directed by Andrew Balkansky that focuses on the Mixtec of Oaxaca, Mexico. The project, which is funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Geographic Socie ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Indigenous People Of Oaxaca