San Cristóbal Lachirioag (, alternatively ) is a town and

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 go ...

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 ...

in south-western

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 ...

. The municipality covers an area of 24.24 km². Many community members speak a local Villa Alta Zapotec language as a first language and Spanish as a second language. This community is an agricultural and spiritual one. There are many sacred parts in Lashichhiaj but the main one is Yawis which is the sacred Mountain where we pray for protection and healing . Elders tell stories passed down to them that in the sacred mountain Yawis was a flying animal bigger than an eagle that would pick people up and take them to the mountain and never seen again. It is part of the Villa Alta District in the center of the Sierra Norte Region. As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 1130.

References

Municipalities of Oaxaca {{Oaxaca-geo-stub