TheIndigenous people of Oaxaca are descendants of the inhabitants of what is now the state ofOaxaca,Mexico, who were present before theSpanish 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.[1]
According to theNational Commission for the Development of the Indigenous Peoples (CDI) Oaxaca has the greatest percentage of indigenous people afterYucatán, 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.[2]
The 16 groups and the number of speakers of their languages according to the 2005 census are:
Of these, 477,788 are non-Spanish monolingual.[3]The majority of people speak languages of theOto-Manguean family, either the Popolocan-Zapotecan branch or the Amuzgo-Mixtecan branch.
The Oaxaca region is at the convergence of theSierra Madre Oriental and theSierra Madre del Sur mountain ranges, resulting in a rugged and mountainous terrain with a large, temperatecentral valley.The climate is temperate, cooler at higher altitudes and warmer by the coast and in thePapaloapan region, which is part of the Gulf of Mexico coastal plain.Oaxaca is the historic home of theZapotec andMixtec peoples among others, and contains more speakers ofindigenous languages than any other Mexican state.[4]
Excavations have shown that the region has had a settled population for at least 4,000 years.In the pre-Columbian period, theZapotec developed an advanced civilization centered inMonte Albán 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.[5]
Further to the west, Mixtec settlements have been dated back to 1500 BC, and the Mixtec also developed advanced city states such asTilantongo andTututepec. The Mixtec were known for their exceptional mastery of jewelry, in which gold and turquoise figure prominently. Around 1250 AD theAztecs began pushing down from the North. Mixtec groups in turn invaded the Valley of Oaxaca and established theCuilapan state.Shortly before the Spanish arrived, most of the west and central areas of Oaxaca had come under Aztec control.[6]
The Aztec empire disintegrated after the fall of their capital ofTenochtitlan to the Spanish in August 1521.The Spanish crown granted Oaxaca to the conquistadorHernán Cortés as his prize.[7]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.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]By the 1980s and 1990s, Oaxaca was one of Mexico's poorest states. The state, and the indigenous people in particular, had someof the nation's highest rates of illiteracy, malnutrition, and infant mortality.[8]
TheOto-Manguean languages are a large family comprising several families ofNative American languages, 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, theZapotecan andMixtecan languages, are spoken by almost 1.5 million people combined.[9]
TheZapotec people are concentrated inOaxaca, but Zapotec communities exist in neighboring states as well. The present-day population is estimated at 300,000 to 400,000 persons, many of whom are monolingual in one of the nativeZapotec languages. Inpre-Columbian times theZapotec civilization was one of the highly developed cultures ofMesoamerica, which among other things included a system of writing.[citation needed]
There are four basic groups of Zapotecs: theistmeños, who live in the southernIsthmus of Tehuantepec[10] theserranos, who live in the northern mountains of theSierra Madre de Oaxaca, the southern Zapotecs, who live in the southern mountains of the Sierra Sur and the Central Valley Zapotecs, who live in and around theValley of Oaxaca.[citation needed]
Chatino communities are located in the southeastern region of Oaxaca. Speakers ofChatino languages are numbered around 23,000 (Ethnologue surveys), but ethnic Chatinos may number many more. They call themselvesKitse Cha'tño and their languageCha'tña.Chatino populations are found in the followingOaxacan municipalities, mostly in the area aroundJuquila:Santos Reyes Nopala,San Juan Quiahije,San Miguel Panixtlahuaca,Santiago Yaitepec,Santa Cruz Zezontepec,San Juan Lachao,Santa María Temaxcaltepec,Santa Catarina Juquila andTataltepec de Valdés.[citation needed]
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, andtelesecundarias (distance education programs for secondary and high school students) have been established.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
TheMazatec speak a closely related group oflanguages spoken in the northern part of the state of Oaxaca, and in some communities in the states ofPuebla andVeracruz.[citation needed]The nameMazatec is anexonym and comes fromNahuatl, meaning "deer people". The Mazatec people refer to themselves in their own languages asHa shuta Enima (or other variants), meaning approximately "workers of the mountains, humble people of custom".[11]
TheMazatec shamans are known for their ritual use ofpsilocybe mushrooms. Someshamans on occasion use other plants, such asSalvia divinorum andmorning glory seeds.María Sabina was one of the best known of theMazatec Shamans.Julieta Casimiro, a Mazatec Healer, has gained international recognition as a member of theInternational Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers – a group of spiritual elders,medicine women and wisdom keepers since its founding in 2004.[12]
TheChocho people live in the Oaxaca communities ofSanta María Nativitas,San Juan Bautista Coixtlahuaca andSan Miguel Tulancingo in theCoixtlahuaca district of theMixteca Region. Starting from around 1900, improved education in Spanish resulted in reduction of the number of Chocho speakers, who are now mostly elderly.[13]As of 1998, theChocho language had 770 speakers.[14]
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.[15]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.[13]
Ixcatec, also known as Xwja, is a language spoken by the people of the village ofSanta María Ixcatlan in the north of theCañada region of Oaxaca. The name Ixtepec means "people of cotton" inNahuatl.The number of speakers was given to be 119 in the early 1980s, but according to theConsejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, 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.[16][17]
The name "Popoloco" is aNáhuatl 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.[18]The language is related to Mazatec and Chochotec.[19]
TheMixtec inhabit Oaxaca,Guerrero andPuebla in a region known asLa Mixteca. TheMixtecan languages form an important branch of theOtomanguean language family.The term Mixtec (Mixteco in Spanish) comes from theNahuatl wordMixtecapan, or "place of the cloud-people."
Amuzgo is anOto-Manguean language spoken in the Costa Chica region ofGuerrero andOaxaca by about 44,000 speakers.[20]The name Amuzgo is claimed to be aNahuatl exonym but its meaning is shrouded in controversy; multiple proposals have been made, including[amoʃ-ko] 'moss-in'. A significant percentage of the Amuzgo speakers are monolingual; the remainder also speakSpanish.[citation needed]
Four variants of Amuzgo are officially recognized by the governmental agency, the Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas (INALI).[21]
TheCuicatec are closely related to theMixtecs. They inhabit two towns:Teutila andTepeuxila in western Oaxaca. According to the 2000 census, they number around 23,000, of whom an estimated 65% are speakers of the language.[22]
TheTrique are an indigenous people of the western part of Oaxaca, centered in themunicipalities ofJuxtlahuaca,Tlaxiaco andPutla. They number around 23,000 according to theEthnologue surveys. All Triqui peoples are known for their distinctive wovenhuipiles, baskets, and morrales (handbags).[23]
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 (4,900–9,800 ft). This high elevation permits low-lyingcumulus clouds to envelop entire towns during the afternoons and evenings.
Like many other southern Mexicans, many Triqui men travel toOaxaca City,Mexico City, or theUnited States asday laborers ormigrant 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 andremittances sent back to Oaxaca confer economic benefits to both migrant Triquis and their families in Oaxaca.[24][25] Triqui women are more likely to remain in the Triqui region and do not travel as often as Triqui men do.[citation needed]
As of 1992, there were about 6,000 speakers of Tacuate, aMixtec language, of whom less than 20% were monolingual.[26]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 theMixteca de la Costa area:Santa María Zacatepec in thePutla district andSantiago Ixtayutla in theJamiltepec district.[27]
The Chinantecs live in Oaxaca andVeracruz,Mexico, especially in the districts ofCuicatlán,Ixtlán de Juárez,Tuxtepec andChoapan. Their languages belong to the Western Oto-Mangue group.TheEthnologue lists 14 differentChinantecan languages.[28]
People who speak languages of theMixe–Zoque family in Oaxaca are theMixe and theZoque.It has been speculated that they may be descendants of theOlmec people, who created the first Mesoamerican civilization around 1500 to 400 BC.[29]
TheMixe inhabit the eastern highlands ofOaxaca. They speak theMixe languages, 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 bySIL international in 1993. The Mixe name for themselves isayüükj'ä'äy meaning "people who speak the mountain language".[30] The word "Mixe" itself is probably derived from theNahuatl word for cloud:mixtli.
TheZoque of Oaxaca live primarily in the municipalities ofSanta María Chimalapa andSan Miguel Chimalapa in theSelva Zoque (Zoque forest), an area of 594,000 hectares of diverse and ecologically important forests in theIstmo 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.[31]
In the pre-Hispanic period, the Zoque lived throughout Chiapas, and as far away as the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and parts of the state ofTabasco. In 1494 they were invaded and defeated by the Aztecs, during the reign ofAhuizotl, and forced to paytribute.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.[citation needed]
TheHuave people live on a peninsula reserved for them called the Zona Huave between the Gulf of Tehuantepec and the Pacific Ocean in theIstmo de Tehuantepec region. Terrain includes low forested hills, pastures and swamps. The towns are San Mateo de Mar,San Dionisio del Mar,San Francisco del Mar 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.[32]TheHuave language is alanguage isolate, unrelated to any other.[33]The most vibrant speech community is in San Mateo del Mar, whose people call themselvesIkoots, meaning "us" and refer to their language asombeayiiüts, meaning "our language".[34]
Oaxacan Chontal, also calledTequistlatecan, consists of two related but mutually unintelligible languages,Huamelultec (Lowland Oaxaca Chontal), andHighland Oaxaca Chontal.There has been speculation that the languages may be part of theHokan family ofCalifornia, or perhaps theJicaque family ofHonduras.[35]The name "Chontal" comes from theNahuatl, 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.[36]
Lowland Chontal is mostly spoken aroundSan Pedro Huamelula andSantiago Astata in the Pacific coastal area of the westernTehuantepec District, which is in the west of theIstmo 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 SeptemberSome trees are suitable for lumber, but the region is becomingdeforested. Mostly the people use slash-and-burn agriculture to cultivate maize.[35]
As of 1990, about 3,600 spoke highland or Sierra Chontal.[37]The speakers of this language live in the districts ofYautepec andTehuantepec in the municipalities ofSan Carlos Yautepec,Santa María Ecatepec,Asunción Tlacolulita,San Miguel Tenango andMagdalena 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.[36]
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