Tepehuanes Municipality is a

municipality 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 ...

in the

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

Durango Durango (), officially named Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Durango; Tepehuán: ''Korian''; Nahuatl: ''Tepēhuahcān''), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in ...

. It is located in the North West of Durango at 25°12'"-26°25'"N 105°23'"-106°40'"W, at an elevation of about 1,830 meters (6000 feet). The municipal seat is at

Santa Catarina de Tepehuanes Santa Catarina de Tepehuanes is a locality of Tepehuanes Municipality in Durango, 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 ...

Borders

It is bordered to the north by the municipality of Guanaceví, the municipality of El Oro to the east, the municipality of

Santiago Papasquiaro Santiago Papasquiaro is a city located in a valley situated on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Madre Occidental in the state of Durango, Mexico. As of 2010, the city of Santiago Papasquiaro had a population of 26,121, while the municipality has a ...

to the south, the municipality of Canelas to the southwest, the municipality of Topia to the west, and the municipality of Tamazula to the northwest along with the state of

Chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to: Places * Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state **Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state **Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state **Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state **Chihuahua Mu ...

Territory

The total area of the municipality (urban and rural) is 6401.50 square kilometers, which represents 95.95% of the state.

Name

The town gained its name from the native Tepehuan Indians. Their name is

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 small ...

for mountain dweller.

Population

As of 2010, the municipality had a total population of 10,745, down from 11,605 as of 2005. The municipality had 340 localities, the largest of which (with

(4,761)), classified as urban.

History

Founding

When the Spanish arrived in the area, they met a large tribe known as the Great Tepehuan Nation living on the eastern side of the

Sierra Madre Occidental The Sierra Madre Occidental is a major mountain range system of the North American Cordillera, that runs northwest–southeast through northwestern and western Mexico, and along the Gulf of California. The Sierra Madre is part of the American ...

. The Tepehuan practiced ritual cannibalism and were fierce with their enemies. The capital of the Tepehuan Nation was named Ubamari in honor of a Tepehuan god. In 1597 Father and Jesuit Jerónimo Ramírez arrived from the northeast of Durango on a mission to establish missionaries and evangelize the natives who inhabited the region. After great difficulty and the help of a Tepehuan woman, he convinced the Tepehauns to establish a settlement on the bend that forms the terrain next to the Tepehuan River where the church symbolized the foundation. On 16 July 1597 the mission of Santa Catarina de Tepehuanes, Durango was founded, and would later be the base of the municipality of Tepehuanes.

Rebellion of 1616

Although the Spanish were well received by the natives, the Spanish sought enrichment and power. They considered themselves a superior race, not just for the color of their skin, but for the power of their arms. They subjugated and enslaved the natives for their own private services. Nineteen years after the founding of the mission in Tepehuanes at the start of the 17th century, a rebellion by the Tepehuans began led by the violent and bewitching

Quautlatas Quautlatas (Northern Tepehuán pronunciation: /quäutlˈätäs/) was a Tepehuán religious leader who inspired the bloody Tepehuán Revolt against the Spanish in Mexico in 1616. Quautlatas was known as "The Tepehuán Prophet". The Tepehuán and t ...

who martyred several priests, along with 70 black slaves, 200 Spaniards of all age and condition, and the countless converts who embraced their faith so much they chose death over renouncing it.

18th Century to Today

For the 18th century Tepehaunes was part of

. In 1910 the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...

began and Tepehuanes was not spared the fighting between the revolutionaries and the federalists. It's during the revolution that Tepehuanes became an independent municipality in 1917 due to the breakdown of political leadership. Félix López was its first municipal president. In March 1917 the Revolutionary Leader, Fransico Villa, was defeated in Tepehuanes by the General, Miguel Aguirre Gonzalez.

Climate

Communities

Tepehuanes has several branching communities (pueblos) surrounding the town. *El Taiste *San Jose De La Boca *La Purísima *El Rincón *Carreras *Los Pinos *San Nicolás de El Presidios *Sandías *La Ciénega *Corrales *Arroyo Chico *San Isidro De Las Calabazas *Los Cerritos *El Sebollin *Los Bagres *El Corazon *La Candela *Presidios *San Ignacio *Zapiguri del primo efrain huevon *La Mesa De Navar *San Pedro De Pescaderos *El Potrero De Chaidez *El Refugio *San Miguel

References

{{Coord, 25, 20, 35.11, N, 105, 43, 25.46, W, region:MX_type:city, display=title Municipalities of Durango