HispanicVista Columnists

Inheritors of a Legacy: The Indigenous People of Central Mexico

History

By John P. Schmal

As students of history, nearly all of us are acquainted with the story of the Aztec Empire and the Spanish conquest and occupation of the area we now call México.  The grandeur, the drama and the pain of the Aztecs and the Mexican conquest have been discussed in great detail in hundreds of books.  This author, in an earlier edition of hispanicvista.com wrote an article about the rise of the Aztec Empire, which can be accessed at:

http://hispanicvista.com/HVC/Opinion/Guest_Columns/110804schmal.htm

A second story, also written by this author and published in hispanicvista.com, discussed the intricacies of the Spanish conquest and downfall of the greatest Mesoamerican empire of all time.  This story can be accessed at the following link:

http://hispanicvista.com/HVC/Opinion/Guest_Columns/112204schmal.htm

However, the conquest and destruction of the political entity did not spell extinction to the Aztec culture or the Náhuatl language.  Although the indigenous peoples of Central México fell victim to the brutal encomendero system and to the ravages of disease and taxation, the culture, the language and the spirit endured in some parts of the states of México, Puebla, Hidalgo, Veracruz, Morelos and Tlaxcala.  The enduring nature of the Aztec Culture is discussed in a third article entitled, “The Aztecs Are Alive and Well: The Náhuatl Language in México.”  This story can be accessed at:

http://hispanicvista.com/HVC/Opinion/Guest_Columns/112904schmal.htm

Although the Náhuatl language of the Aztecs has its greatest concentrations in the states of Puebla, Veracruz, Hidalgo, San Luis Potosí, and Guerrero, the people of Central México who live in the Federal District (Distrito Federal) and the state of México are the inheritors of a special legacy.  These two political entities once represented the heart and soul of the Aztec Empire.  Even the passing of five centuries cannot diminish the feelings of pride and attachment that many Mexican citizens feel in these powerful cultural roots. Although México and Distrito Federal have experienced a large amount of mestizaje and cultural assimilation, some indigenous peoples still consider these regions to be their ancestral homeland.

The Federal District. The Distrito Federal is located in the south central portion of México. It shares borders with the states of México (on the west, east and north) and Morelos (on the south). The District occupies 1,547 square kilometers, which is equal to 0.1% of the national territory. In contrast, the population of Distrito Federal was 8,605,239 in 2000, equal to 8.83% of the national population. Politically, the District has no municipios, but is divided into sixteen political districts (delegaciones políticas).

Estado Libre y Soberano de México. The Free and Sovereign State of México is located in the center-south section of the Mexican Republic. This landlocked state has common boundaries with Querétaro de Arteaga and Hidalgo on the north, Puebla and Tlaxcala on the east, Distrito Federal, Guerrero and Morelos on the south and Michoacán de Ocampo on the west. The capital of México is Toluca, which had a population of 1,080,081 in 1995, making it the sixth largest city in the entire Republic of México.

The state of México – with a population of 13,096,686 in the 2000 census – contains 13.43% of the total population of the Mexican Republic. However, the state has an area of 21,196 square kilometers, which represents only 1.1% of the national territory. Politically, the state of México is divided into 121 municipios.

Today – as in the past – México City, the Federal District, and the State of México represent both the economic, cultural and political center of the Mexican Republic. México City itself is located on a large dry lakebed in a highland basin at an elevation of about 7,400 feet. The basin is surrounded by towering mountain ranges, including the Popocatépetl and Ixtaccíhuatl volcanoes.

The Colonial Period. For three full centuries (1521-1821), México City and the surrounding jurisdiction underwent a period of integration, assimilation, and Hispanization. This period – which is not the focus of this work – has been discussed in many books. One particularly informative source about the cultural and social development of central México is James Lockhart’s The Náhuas After the Conquest: A Social and Cultural History of the Indians of Central México, Sixteenth Through Eighteenth Centuries (published in 1992 by the Stanford University Press). Another useful source to consult on this topic would be Charles Gibson’s The Aztecs Under Spanish Rule: A History of the Indians of the Valley of México 1519-1810 (published by the Stanford University Press in 1964).

Although Spanish became the primary language of this region, many aspects of indigenous culture and language remained. When the population of the jurisdiction of México was tallied in 1790, 742,186 persons were registered as "indios," representing 71.1% of the total population of 1,043,223. In contrast, people of Spanish origin were tallied at 134,965.

The Federal District in the Twentieth Century

In the following chart, the reader will see the population of the Federal District from the time of the 1930 census to the 2000 census. I have provided comparable statistics for the Mexican Republic for the same years.

It will be noted that during this period, the indigenous-speaking population of the District never reached 2%. However, it is important to understand that these statistics relate only to people who spoke indigenous languages over the age of five. Many more people classified themselves as Indians by culture or blood, but did not speak an indigenous language because they had been at least partially assimilated into Hispanic society.

In the unique 1921 Mexican census, residents of each state were asked to classify themselves in several categories, including "indígena pura" (pure indigenous), "indígena mezclada con blanca" (indigenous mixed with white) and "blanca" (white). Out of a total district population of 906,063 people, 169,820 individuals (or 18.7%) claimed to be of pure indigenous background. A much larger number – 496,359, or 54.8% – classified themselves as being mixed, while 206,514 individuals (22.8%) classified themselves as white. The significance of this census data indicates that while many of the descendants of the Mexica and other indigenous groups in the Federal District may have not spoken their ancestral tongue, they did indeed profess to be of indigenous background and culture.

According to the 2000 census, the population of persons five years and more who spoke indigenous languages in the Federal District amounted to 141,710 individuals. These individuals spoke a wide range of languages, many of which are transplants from other parts of the Mexican Republic. The largest indigenous groups represented in the District were: Náhuatl (37,450), Otomí (17,083), Mixteco (15,968), Zapoteco (14,117), Mazahua (9,631), Mazateco (8,591), and Totonaca (4,782).

The Zapotecs and Mixtecs appear to be evenly distributed through the various delegaciones. Their significant presence in the Federal District is an obvious testament to the migrant nature of the Distrito Federal’s population, where 1,827,644 persons – or 21.24% – stated that they were born in another political entity. Of this total, however, natives of Oaxaca – numbering 183,285 – represented 10.03% of the total migrant population. Only the states of México and Puebla have contributed larger numbers of migrants to the District.

Estado de México in the Twentieth Century

The state of México has retained a great number of indigenous speaking peoples. In spite of the effects of assimilation and migration, a significant portion of the state population identify with their Indian cultural and linguistic roots.

In the 1921 Mexican census, the state of México boasted a population of 884,617, of which 372,703 persons claimed to be of pure indigenous background, representing 42.1% of the total. An even larger number – 422,001, or 47.7% – classified themselves as being mixed, while only 88,660 (10%) considered themselves to be white.  Below is a chart, which I have constructed to illustrate the comparative population statistics for the state of México and Mexican Republic for four selected census years:

According to the 2000 census, the population of persons five years and more who spoke indigenous languages in the state of México totaled 361,972 individuals. A large range of languages is spoken in the state of México, many of them imported from southern or eastern Mexican states. The most common indigenous languages spoken is the Mazahua tongue, with a total of 113,424 indigenous speakers, representing 31.3% of all the indigenous speakers five years of age and over in the state.

The second most common language is the Otomí, spoken by 104,357 indigenous speakers, and representing 28.8% of the total indigenous speaking population. The most common languages of the state are presented in the chart below:

In 1990, a total of 450,000 indigenous language speakers lived in a place other than their place of birth, representing 8.7 percent of the national total. Within this global migratory stream, the most outstanding is the State of Oaxaca with migrants totaling nearly one third of the total (142,000), and Yucatan with slightly over one sixth of the total (82,000). Seen from the perspective of the poles of attraction, the Federal District was the primary destination of migrants (93,000), followed by the State of México (9,000) and Quintana Roo (78,000).

The Mazahua Indians – representing the most populous indigenous-speaking group in México – primarily occupy thirteen municipios in the northwestern portion of the state of México. Mazahuas also inhabit some municipios in the center of the state, as well as parts of eastern Michoacán. They are a division of the Oto-Manguean linguistic group and are related by both culture and language to the Otomí, from whom they are descended.

The Mazahua are believed to have been among the original tribes who migrated to central México during the Thirteenth Century. In 1521, Hernán Cortés – after subduing the Mexica – consolidated his power by sending Gonzalo de Sandoval to subdue all resistance among the Aztec neighbors: the Mazahuas, Matlazincas and Otomies. Very quickly, Gonzalo de Sandoval brought the Mazahua Indians under Spanish control, and the Franciscan missionaries played a prominent role in bringing Christianity to their people.

Today, most of the Mazahua are engaged in agricultural pursuits, specifically the growing of maize, pumpkin, maguey and frijol. In the years since the Conquest, the Mazahua population has evolved and its cultural elements, social organization, and religion have developed into a hybrid culture drawing from several cultural elements. No one is certain about the origin of the word Mazahua, but some have suggested that it is derived from the Náhuatl term, mázatl, meaning "deer."

The Otomí are the second largest linguistic group in México state. They call themselves "Hñahñu," the word Otomí having been given to them by the Spanish. Otomí are a very diverse indigenous group, living in many communities throughout Central México and speaking a great variety of dialects, some of which are not mutually intelligible. Like the Mazahuas, they belong to the Oto-Manguean linguistic group. Significant numbers of Otomies occupy 14 of the 121 municipios in the state of México, most of these municipios being located in the northwest (Atlacomulco-Timilpan) and in the center (Toluca-Lerma).

Although the Náhuatl-speaking population is the most populous group in the entire Mexican Republic, they are ranked third place in the state of México, with more than 15% of the total indigenous-speaking population.

The influence of migrant labor is particularly significant to the state of México. Out a total population of 13,096,686 in the 2000 census, 5,059,089 individuals – or 38.6% – were born in another political entity than the state of México. The primary states contributing to México’s migrant population were – in numerical order – the Federal District (more than 3 million people), Puebla (295,889 migrants), Oaxaca (256,786), Hidalgo (256,718), and Michoacán (231,811). Oaxaca’s significant contribution amounted to 5.1% of the migrant pool, which explains why the Mixteco and Zapoteco languages from Oaxaca are the fourth and fifth most common indigenous groups in the state.

The Mazateco speakers represented the sixth largest group in 2000. Speakers of this language are mainly migrants from the states of Oaxaca and Guerrero. They are also classified as a division of the Oto-Manguean linguistic group. The Totonaca speakers – numbering more than 8,000 individuals in 2000 – are descendants of Cortés’ coastal allies in Veracruz and it is likely that many of these people are from the eastern seaboard area. The Mixe, Chinanteco, and Tlapaneco peoples are primarily found in Guerrero and Oaxaca.

Nearly five hundred years after the conquest and destruction of the Aztec Empire, the culture, language and spirit of the Náhuatl, Otomí, Mazahua and other indigenous peoples remains intact within the central Hispanic culture to which most of them also belong. It is worth noting that, although the Mexica capital Tenochtitlán was occupied after an 79-day siege, many of the indigenous peoples of Central México quietly submitted to Spanish tutelage. In this way, they were given an opportunity to retain some elements of their original culture, while becoming an integral and important part of a new society.

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© 2004, John P. Schmal. All Rights under applicable law are hereby reserved. Material from this article may be reproduced for educational purposes and personal, non-commercial home use only.

Bibliography

Campillo Cuautli, Héctor. Distrito Federal: Monografía Histórica y Geográfica. México: D.F.: Fernández Editores, 1992.

Departamento de la Estadística Nacional, Annuario de 1930. Tacubaya, D.F., México, 1932.

Instituto Nacional de Estadística Geografía e Informática (INEGI). Estados Unidos Mexicanos. XII Censo General de Población y Vivienda, 2000. Tabulados Básicos y por Entidad Federativa. Bases de Datos y Tabulados de la Muestra Censal.

Secretaria de la Economia Nacional, Compendio Estadistico. México, D.F., 1947.