Mixe people

The mixes or Mije (in both cases [' mihe ] pronounced) are an indigenous people in Mexico.

The mixes colonize the eastern highlands of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. Compared to other indigenous peoples of Mexico, they have a high degree of cultural autonomy is preserved. The Mixe language is still spoken by about 90,000 people. The self-designation of the mixes is ayüükj'ä'äy and means " people who speak the mountain language". The word " Mixe " probably comes from the word Mixtli, which means in Nahuatl "cloud".

History

The ancestors of the mixes were probably the Olmecs, the first advanced civilization of Central America. The mixes themselves, however, believe that their ancestors had migrated from the Andes in South America across the sea to Mexico. Under the leadership of the legendary King Condoy they had built a thriving empire at the foot of the holy mountain Cempoaltepetl. About the history of the mixes during pre-Columbian times, little is known. The only certainty is that the mixes were not completely subjugated either by the Zapotec kingdom of Zaachila by the Aztecs.

After the conquest of central Mexico by the Spaniards, Diego Sandoval was commissioned to capture the mixes. However, Sandoval was not successful and the mixes put to this day worth it, not to have been defeated the only autochthonous people of Mexico formally. Since 1555, however, succeeded in Dominicans, a large part of the mixes, especially in the villages Juquila, Totontepec and Quetzaltepec to proselytize.

Culture

Economy

The mixes live mainly by subsistence agriculture, especially the cultivation of corn, beans, squash and potatoes, as well as hunting and fishing. In recent decades, the mixes started to cultivate coffee commercially. In the larger cities and traditional cloth and ceramic products are manufactured.

Language

The Mixe language is part of the family of languages ​​of the Mixe- Zoque languages ​​and closely related to the languages ​​Sayula Popoluca and Oluta Popoluca spoken in Veracruz. The Mixe language is a polysynthetic Ergativsprache. It is divided into three dialects: The Highlands Mixe ( in the northern highlands to Totontepec and southern highlands around Tlahuitoltepec, Ayutla and Tamazulapan ), which means highland Mixe ( in the area around Juquila and Zacatepec ) and the lowland Mixe ( in space to Guichicovi ). The Mixe language is poorly documented, and many variants are not listed. The best documented are the dialects to Totontepec, Ayutla and Coatlán. For these dictionaries and grammars short of SIL International were created.

Social structure

In addition to the family is the social support of the mixes is the " cargo system ". Among the men of the different villages are civil and religious honorary offices, awarded the cargos (Spanish offices). These are limited to one year. There is offices rotation. The few men who held all the various cargos, become part of the Council of Elders. The conversion of many mixes to Protestantism has, however, this traditional management system weakened in recent years and led to increased social tensions.

Religion

The view of the religion of most mixes is syncretic, so that Roman Catholic and traditional rites exist or merge parallel. Another component of the Mixe- religion is Nagualism. In addition to the Catholic faith, most mixes worship continues the traditional deities of the pantheon. They include, among others:

  • Poj ' Enee ( " Thunder wind "), a fertility and rain god and protector of the Mixe- cities
  • Naaxwiiñ ( " the earth "), an earth and fertility goddess
  • Yuuk ( "the Lord of the Animals" ), the deity of wild animals and hunting

The mixes are among the few indigenous peoples who continue to use the pre-Columbian times in widespread Mesoamerican calendar of the K'iche ' of Guatemala. The mixes use this calendar to determine the dates of religious events and to determine the names of their children. The mixes usually have two names: a calendrical name assigned at birth in the Mixe- language and Spanish- Catholic name, which will be awarded at the baptism.

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