The Triqui (, ) or Trique () are an indigenous people of the western part of the

Mexican state The states of Mexico are first-level administrative territorial entities of the country of Mexico, which is officially named Mexico, United Mexican States. There are 32 federal entities in Mexico (31 states and the capital, Mexico City, as a sepa ...

of Oaxaca, centered in the municipalities of Juxtlahuaca,

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 Putla Villa de Guerrero or simply Putla, is a town and municipality in the State of Oaxaca, Mexico. It is part of Putla District in the west of the Sierra Sur Region. Its original name was Puctitlán, which means “place with a lot of smoke ...

. They number around 23,000 according to

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. The Triqui language is a

Mixtecan language 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 lang ...

of Oto-Manguean genetic affiliation. Trique peoples are known for their distinctive woven huipiles, baskets, and ''morrales'' (handbags). Triqui people live in a mountainous region, called "La Mixteca Baja", in the southwestern part of the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. The elevation within the Triqui region varies between . 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, Mexico City, or the United States as

day labour 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 workers. 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.

Custom

One of the notable customs of Triqui people is the practice of bride price. During pre-colonial and colonial times, this was a common practice amongst Native Americans in Mesoamerica, other groups like the Mixtecs of Oaxaca continue practicing a bride price based marriage. It is typical in Trique culture for a man to offer a bride's family money, food, and other products in exchange for the bride's hand in marriage. Generally, the husband and wife know each other prior to this arrangement and there is no arrangement without consent. Those opposed to this custom argue that it appears to them to be like slavery or prostitution. Those opposed to intervening in this custom argue that consent is required and that this Triqui custom is not conceived of as immoral.Grillo, Ioan.
Selling Brides: Native Mexican Custom or Crime?
" '' Time''. Sunday February 1, 2009. Retrieved on February 2, 2009.

Agriculture

The Triqui economic income comes through the cultivation of various crops such as

corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

bean A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...

pumpkin A pumpkin is a vernacular term for mature winter squash of species and varieties in the genus ''Cucurbita'' that has culinary and cultural significance but no agreed upon botanical or scientific meaning. The term ''pumpkin'' is sometimes use ...

, chili peppers, quelite, and

lima beans A lima bean (''Phaseolus lunatus''), also commonly known as the butter bean, sieva bean, double bean, Madagascar bean, or wax bean is a legume grown for its edible seeds or beans. Origin and uses ''Phaseolus lunatus'' is found in Meso- and Sou ...

among others. But the most important crops are both the

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

, and the coffee bean. The products are sold in tianguis (open-air markets) found in Chicahuaztla, Copala, San Martín, Itunyoso, Tlaxiaco, Putla, or Juxtlahuaca. The Triquis practice the slash and burn cultivation system. This work is done by various families (between 20-30 people) in order to plant milpa (corn fields) throughout large terrains. This type of collaborate work is known as «mipa colectiva» or «milpa en compañía»

Livestock

Another source of income for the Triqui families is the raising of animals. Mainly they raise cattle,

bovines Bovines ( subfamily Bovinae) comprise a diverse group of 10 genera of medium to large-sized ungulates, including cattle, bison, African buffalo, water buffalos, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes. The evolutionary relationship betw ...

, sheep, goats, pigs and horses. On a smaller scale, they also raise chicken, turkey and duck. In the lower lands, they also practice

beekeeping Beekeeping (or apiculture) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in man-made beehives. Honey bees in the genus '' Apis'' are the most-commonly-kept species but other honey-producing bees such as ''Melipona'' stingless bees are also kept. ...

Sports

The main sport practiced by the Triqui people is basketball, and as such, a basketball court can be found in all their surrounding communities. Tournaments are held during local festivals where all the athletes participate. The various institutes of education also hold basketball tournaments among all the surrounding schools. Gaining in popularity, although not widely practiced among the Trique is

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

. The documentary fil
Gigantes Descalzos
chronicles a team of Triqui youth basketball players.

References

Bibliography

External links

Triqui monograph on Everyculture.
{{Authority control Triqui