Mythologies of the Otomi Tribe

The Otomi are an indigenous people of Mexico that inhabit a discontinuous territory in central Mexico. They are linguistically related to the rest of the Otomanguean-speaking peoples, whose ancestors have occupied the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt since several millennia before the Christian era.[1] Currently, the Otomi inhabit a fragmented territory ranging from northern Guanajuato, to eastern Michoacán and southeastern Tlaxcala.

The word Otomi, is used to describe the larger Otomi ethnic group and the dialect continuum. From Spanish, the word Otomi has become entrenched in linguistic and anthropological literature. Among linguists, the suggestion has been made to change the academic designation from Otomi to Hñähñú, the endonym used by the Otomi of the Mezquital Valley, but no common endonym exists for all dialects of the language.

The Otomi traditionally worshipped the moon as their highest deity. Even in modern times, many Otomi populations practice shamanism and hold pre-Hispanic beliefs such as Nagualism. The two most populous Otomie groups are the Highland or Sierra Otomí living in the mountains of La Huasteca and the Mezquital Otomí, living in the Mezquital Valley in the eastern part of the state of Hidalgo, and in the state of Querétaro. Sierra Otomí usually self identify as Ñuhu or Ñuhmu depending on the dialect they speak, whereas Mezquital Otomi self-identify as Hñähñu (pronounced [ʰɲɑ̃ʰɲũ]). Smaller Otomi populations exist in the states of Puebla, Mexico, Tlaxcala, Michoacán and Guanajuato. The Otomi language belonging to the Oto-Pamean branch of the Oto-Manguean language family is spoken in many different varieties some of which are not mutually intelligible.

The ethnic territory of the Otomi has historically been central Mexico. Since pre-Hispanic times, the Otomi people have inhabited that region and are considered native peoples of the Mexican highlands. The Otomi may have been found in Mesoamerica at least since the beginning of the sedentism, or the settling of the nomadic population, which took place in the eighth millennium B.C.E. The Otomi currently occupy a fragmented territory that extends through the states of Mexico, Hidalgo, Querétaro, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Tlaxcala, Puebla and Veracruz. All these states are located in the heart of the Mexican Republic and concentrate most of the country’s population. The areas with the highest concentrations of Otomi population are the Mezquital Valley, the Eastern Highlands, the Semi-desert at Peña de Bernal, Querétaro and the north of the state of Mexico.

ONE OF THE EARLY COMPLEX CULTURES OF MESOAMERICA, THE OTOMI WERE LIKELY THE ORIGINAL INHABITANTS OF THE CENTRAL MEXICAN ALTIPLANO BEFORE THE ARRIVAL OF NAHUATL SPEAKERS AROUND CA. 1000 AD, BUT GRADUALLY THEY WERE REPLACED AND MARGINALIZED BY NAHUA PEOPLES. IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD OTOMI SPEAKERS HELPED THE SPANISH CONQUISTADORS AS MERCENARIES AND ALLIES, WHICH ALLOWED THEM TO EXTEND INTO TERRITORIES THAT HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN INHABITED BY SEMI-NOMADIC CHICHIMECS, FOR EXAMPLE QUERÉTARO AND GUANAJUATO.THE OTOMI TRADITIONALLY WORSHIPPED THE MOON AS THEIR HIGHEST DEITY, AND EVEN INTO MODERN TIMES MANY OTOMI POPULATIONS PRACTICE SHAMANISM AND HOLD PREHISPANIC BELIEFS SUCH AS NAGUALISM. OTOMIES TRADITIONALLY SUBSISTED ON MAIZE, BEANS AND SQUASH AS MOST MESOAMERICAN SEDENTARY PEOPLES, BUT THE MAGUEY (CENTURY PLANT) WAS ALSO AN IMPORTANT CULTIGEN USED FOR PRODUCTION OF ALCOHOL (PULQUE) AND FIBER (HENEQUEN).

According to the best estimates of the Mexican government, there are about 42,000 Otomi people living around the Sierra Madre mountains, primarily in the Mexican state of Hidalgo, but also in smaller populations in the states of Queretaro, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Puebla, and Veracruz. Most communities survive through subsistence farming, or growing crops for a family’s own consumption, but the rocky soil also requires many Otomi men to work in cities for part of the year in order to support their families. Their main crops are corn, beans, and chilies, while some families also grow coffee and sugar cane to sell at markets. In the Otomi people’s language, they identify themselves as the Hñähñu, which means “hunters who walk loading arrows.” They live in various communities and even share some territories with other ethnic groups, such as the Nahua, Matlatzincas, and the Mazahua.

The Otomi language has at least ten different dialects among its diverse speakers. The most common are the Texcatepec dialect, found in the mountains of Veracruz; the Huehuetle dialect, spoken in Hidalgo and Veracruz; and the Tenango dialect, spoken in parts of Hidalgo. Of the various dialects, some are so different from one another that the speakers can barely understand each other, sparking debate whether they have developed into two completely different languages. Where the dialects overlap the most is in agricultural terms, lending support to the idea that they developed farming prior to expanding their territory. The Otomí language is a large, very diverse linguistic group with a strong cultural tradition throughout much of central and eastern Mexico. The Otomí (who call themselves Nahñu, or Hñahñu) belong to the seventh most common language group in Mexico and presently occupy portions of the states of Hidalgo, México, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Querétaro and Michoacán.

At one time, the Otomí held a great deal of power and prestige throughout east central Mexico. However, the rise of the Aztec Empire led to a steady decline of the Otomíes during the Fourteenth and Fifteenth centuries. Nahñu belongs to the Otopamean language family, a subfamily of the very large Otomanguean Linguistic Group. (Most of the Oaxacan indigenous groups — including the Zapotecs and Mixtecs — belong to this language family.) However, linguistic studies indicate that the Otomí split from the ancestral Otomanguean Group about 6,500 years ago. Today, the Otomí language family comprises seven languages: Otomi (proper), Mazahua, Matlatzinca, Ocuiltec, Southern Pame, Northern Pame, and Chichimec Jonaz.

Places of memory and living traditions of the Otomí-Chichimecas people of Tolimán: the Peña de Bernal, guardian of a sacred territory

The Otomi speakers of southern Mexico share their mountain homeland in close proximity with three other cultural communities. This arrangement started in the 17th century when Spanish governors gathered small, scattered populations together “within the sound of the bell,” to give administrators and missionaries better control over the indigenous populations. Across hillside fields, families plant maize, beans and chili peppers they will eat. People also raise coffee or sugar cane as cash crops. Though some Otomi keep domestic fowl for personal use, they do not typically raise any livestock. And today, many migrate to cities or immigrate to the U.S. for better jobs. For instance, the Otomi language is an Oto–Manguean language, which helps connect the speakers to over 240,000 people in Veracruz, México, Guanajuato, Tlaxcala, Puebla, Hidalgo, Michoacán, and Querétaro. There are numerous dialects of the Otomi that are related but with some distinctions that make one unintelligible to speakers of another.

The Disappearing ‘Otomi’ Indigenous Ethnic Group Of Temoaya Mountains, Mexico

Found in the Temoaya Mountains in the State of Mexico, the Otomí is one of the five major indigenous’ groups in Mexico. The Otomi civilization occupied this area before the Spanish conquest, with whom they took alliance. The Ottomi population is disappearing rapidly. In 2000 their population was 646,857, in 2010 only 98,000 Otomis were registered in Mexico. It’s estimated that by 2020 their culture and traditions will be gone forever.

The Otomí language is another Mesoamerican language, this is the seventh most widely spoken language in Mexico and historical sources say that it began to be used in some states in the sixteenth century although it cannot be known if it was the same as we now know it today. Being one of the popular ones, the Otomí can be found in the state of Guanajuato, especially in its small towns such as Cieneguilla and the neighboring community of Tierra Blanca. But also it is common to find these roots in its capital.

In the Estado de Mexico you can find Temoaya, the homeland of the Otomí people. This small rural town is unique for its great Otomi roots as it has the largest number of speakers of this magnificent language, which is considered as “the first light of dawn in our history.” Apart from its admirable culture, here is an open religious enclosure that shows the presence of this ethnic group. The Otomí Ceremonial Center, although it is centuries old, is still used for beautiful rituals. Being one of the popular ones, the Otomí can be found in the state of Guanajuato, especially in its small towns such as Cieneguilla and the neighboring community of Tierra Blanca. But also it is common to find these roots in its capital.

An Otomi Song

The Otomi are an indigenous people of Mexico inhabiting the central Mexican Plateau (Altiplano) region.

A poem glorifying life.

1. I, the singer, polished my noble new song like a shining emerald, I arranged it like the voice of the tzinitzcan bird, I called to mind the essence of poetry, I set it in order like the chant of the zacuan bird, I mingled it with the beauty of the emerald, that I might make it appear like a rose bursting its bud, so that I might rejoice the Cause of All.

2. I skillfully arranged my song like the lovely feathers of the zacuan bird, the tzinitzcan and the quechol; I shall speak forth my song like the tinkling of golden bells; my song is that which the miaua bird pours forth around him; I lifted my voice and rained down flowers of speech before the face of the Cause of All.

3. In the true spirit of song I lifted my voice through a trumpet of gold, I let fall from my lips a celestial song, I shall speak notes precious and brilliant as those of the miaua bird, I shall cause to blossom out a noble new song, I lifted my voice like the burning incense of flowers, so that I the singer might cause joy before the face of the Cause of All.

4. The divine quechol bird answers me as I, the singer, sing, like the coyol bird, a noble new song, polished like a jewel, a turquoise, a shining emerald, darting green rays, a flower song of spring, spreading celestial fragrance, fresh with the dews of roses, thus have I the poet sung.

5. I colored with skill, I mingled choice roses in a noble new song, polished like a jewel, a turquoise, a shining emerald, darting green rays, a flower song of spring, spreading celestial fragrance, fresh with the dews of roses, thus have I the poet sung.

6. I was glorified, I was enriched, by the flower-sweet song as by the smoke of the poyomatl, my soul was contented, I trembled in spirit, I inhaled the sweetness, my soul was intoxicated, I inhaled the fragrance of delicious flowers in the place of riches, my soul was drunken with the flowers.

The Sound of the Mezquital Otomi language (Numbers, Greetings & The Parable)

Otomí Videos

The OTOMI people are Artisans and blacksmiths, the Otomi long subsisted on trade with other indigenous confederations, as well on the cultivation of Maguey and century fiber, that can be used for weaving. Their hard-working ethics, their humble community, and the amazing colorful embroidering style amazed us and we need it to be shared with our community. And just as our name is cultural, colorful, and authentic. The same way our coffee blend that comes from VERACRUZ AND CHIAPAS MEXICO is also something we are very proud of. Even though we are not related to them the OTOMI people. It is beautiful and very cultural and traditional from MEXICO and we want people to know about them.

The Otomí are one of Mexico’s larger indigenous communities, but because of their history, they are scattered in communities in eight states and Mexico City. There are cultural differences among Otomí groups, with Tenango embroidery done only in eastern Mexico. Tenango is a modified embroidery style, simplified from what had been done here for centuries. According to most histories, drought decimated the subsistence agriculture of the area in the 1960s, and locals needed a new form of income to survive.

Living in the semi-desert zone of the state of Querétaro in central Mexico, the Otomí-Chichimeca people have developed a range of traditions that express a unique relationship with their local topography and ecology. Their cultural environment is dominated by a symbolic triangle formed by the Zamorano and Frontón hills and the Bernal rock. It is to these sacred hills that people make annual pilgrimages bearing miraculous crosses to pray for water and divine protection, venerate their ancestors and celebrate their communal identity and continuity.

SAN FRANCISCO XOCHICUAUTLA: OTOMÍ PEOPLE WHO REFUSE TO SUBMIT

San Francisco Xochicuautla, Lerma, State of Mexico – July 8, 2015 – From June 18 to July 7, 2015 the indigenous community of San Francisco Xochicuatla, Lerma was besieged by workers of the company “Autovan S. A de C. V”, who are permanently guarded by state police—staff of the state government and ministerial police. For the umpteenth time the Otomí Indians of Xochicuautla resisted the onslaught of government forces and a company that is committed to imposing a highway megaproject which, if carried out, will split in half their ancestral lands and sacred places.

A sacred Otomí indigenous forest is threatened by the construction of a highway

Today it is common to hear about the dispossession of material, cultural and common goods in Indigenous communities. Most of us feel outraged by such events because, “it has cost us much to preserve them”. When this dispossession threatens nature, it is not only about the usurpation of natural resources, but also an attack against our worldview and love for our mother earth. Ecological projects in Mexico create a frequent discussion between the population and the state over the difference in people’s perceptions. An example of this is the Mexico – Toluca highway project, affecting the forest found in indigenous communities such as Santa Cruz Ayotuxco, San Lorenzo Huitzizilapan, San Francisco Atotuxco, Magdalena Chichicaspa and San Francisco Xochicuautla in the municipality of Lerma, State of Mexico. The ancestors of this community have sheltered the Otomí forest for generations, but throughout Lerma, the destruction of approximately 3 million 900 thousand square meters of the Sacred Forest condemns the inhabitants of the Hñahñus (Otomí) communities.