Ixcatecos
The Ixcatec people are a native ethnic minority in Mexico. The Ixcatec community is centered in Santa María Ixcatlán (Njani Male Xula), Oaxaca, which is within the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Biosphere Reserve.[1][2]
The desertification of the zone and two pandemics, one in colonial times, have been devastating to Ixcateco populations.[3]
The Ixcatecos' main economic activities include subsistence farming, which includes corn, beans, and wheat on rainfed land, goat farming, mezcal production during the dry season, marketing of palm and palm-woven hats and other articles, and seasonal employment outside the municipality.[4][1]
The Ixcatecans are renowned for their excellent weaving of white palm leaves (tjen). This is an important commercial activity and tradition within Ixcatecan culture. They make hats, mats, tents, tortilla makers, and also roofs for homes. In the patio of every Ixcatecan house, there is a space they call cueva a vault-like cavity dug out of the earth, resembling a cave, where the palm leaves are placed for a full day or a day and a half to allow them to soften and acquire moisture. Once the palm is finished, it is used for weaving. Without this process, the palm tree breaks easily, making it difficult to weave.[1]
An activity that the Ixcatecans have carried out for hundreds of years is the preparation and production of mezcal.[5][1]
Name
[edit]Ixcatec is an exonym. In Xwja, they call themselves Xuani or Xula.[5]
The Ixcatecos are named after their hometown of Santa María Ixcatlán. The etymology of Ixcatlán derives from the Nahuatl words ixcatl "cotton" and tlan "place of," and means "Place of Cotton." It is believed that cotton was grown in ancient times and was offered to the Mexica.[6][7]
Language
[edit]Their traditional language is the Ixcatec language (Xwja), a language of the Oto-Manguean linguistic family of the Popolocan branch that is directly related to the Mazatec language. This language is in danger of extinction.[8][9][10]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Nava Reyes, Clara; Romero Luna, Monzerrat (2007). Ixcatecos. Pueblos indígenas del México contemporáneo (in Spanish). México, D.F.: Comisión Nacional para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas. p. 55. ISBN 978-970-753-086-7.
- ^ Guanche, Jesús; Corral, Carmen (2017). Diccionario etnográfico. Tomo I. Los pueblos del Caribe insular y de México-Centroamérica (in Spanish). Nuevo Milenio. ISBN 9789590618154. Retrieved July 12, 2025.
- ^ Barriga Villanueva, Rebeca; Butragueño, Pedro Martín (2014). yes (ed.). Historia sociolingüística de México. Volumen 3: Espacio, contacto y discurso político. Estudios de Lingüística Aplicada; Historia Sociolingüística de México, vol. 3 (in Spanish). México, D.F.: El Colegio de México. p. 657. ISBN 978-607-462-523-3.
- ^ "Ixcatecos – Etnografía". Atlas de los Pueblos Indígenas de México (in Spanish). Instituto Nacional de los Pueblos Indígenas. Retrieved July 12, 2025.
- ^ a b "In the middle of a natural reserve, We Make Ixcateco". Ixcateco Agave Spirits. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ "Santa María Ixcatlán y la lengua xjuani". Universidad Autónoma "Benito Juárez" de Oaxaca. 2020-05-08. Retrieved 2025-07-15.
- ^ "ichcatl". Nahuatl Dictionary. Retrieved 2025-07-15.
- ^ ""Agonizan" la lengua xuani y sus últimos 5 hablantes". Grupo Milenio (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ Herrera Zendejas, Esther (2015). Tono, acento y estructuras métricas en lenguas mexicanas. Estudios de Lingüística, No. XXIV (in Spanish). México, D.F.: El Colegio de México. p. 314. ISBN 978-607-462-688-9.
- ^ Fernández de Miranda, María Teresa (1959). Fonémica del ixcateco. Dirección de Investigaciones Antropológicas, Publicación 3 (in Spanish). México, D.F.: Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia. p. 21.
| More than 100,000 people | ||
|---|---|---|
| 20,000 – 100,000 people | ||
| 1,000 – 20,000 people | ||
| Less than 1,000 people | ||
