Mixtec
The Mixtec people are an Indigenous group from the regions of Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Puebla in Mexico, known for their distinct Mesoamerican culture and language, which belongs to the Oto-Manguean linguistic family. Unlike many other Mesoamerican civilizations, the Mixtec did not form a centralized empire but were organized into numerous small, politically independent kingdoms, each led by its own royal dynasty. These kingdoms featured impressive public structures, including temples and ball courts, and engaged in trade, alliances, and conflicts with one another.
Socially, the Mixtec society was highly hierarchical, with clear class distinctions between nobility and commoners. The Mixtec were skilled artisans, creating luxurious goods for their elite, often using precious materials such as gold, silver, and jade. They developed a unique script and produced codices that documented their genealogy, history, and religious beliefs, although the script remains only partially deciphered.
The Mixtec experienced significant upheaval with the conquests of the Aztec Empire in the late 1400s and later the Spanish colonization. Today, around 500,000 people continue to speak Mixtecan languages, and the Mixtec are recognized as Mexico's third-largest Indigenous group, often identifying themselves as Ñuu Savi, or "People of the Rain." Many Mixtec individuals maintain ties to their traditional lands while also engaging in migratory practices for economic opportunities.
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Mixtec
- CATEGORY: Tribe
- CULTURE AREA: Mesoamerica
- LANGUAGE GROUP: Oto-Manguean
- PRIMARY LOCATION: Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Puebla, Mexico
The Mixtec people shared a common language and a distinctive Mesoamerican culture. Unlike many Mesoamerican civilizations, there was never a Mixtec empire with a capital city. Instead, numerous, small, politically independent kingdoms characterized the Mixtec political landscape. Each kingdom was headed by its own prestigious royal dynasty, centered in its own town, boasting public buildings, temples, ball courts, hieroglyphic writing, luxurious royal residences, and elaborate tombs. These independent kingdoms interacted through trade, alliances, and occasional conflict. The mountaintop sites of Monte Negro, Yucuñudahui, and Huamelulpan are examples of such royal centers in the Mixteca Alta, or Upper Mixtec region.
The social system was one of the most rigidly hierarchical in Mesoamerica, with clear class divisions between nobility and commoners and ranked divisions within each of these broad classes. Mixtec royalty were among those in Mesoamerica who claimed (possibly fictional) descent from the Toltec of Central Mexico. A small but professional military helped maintain social order and was sometimes used for territorial expansion at the expense of neighboring Mixtec kingdoms. Agricultural produce (maize, beans, and squash) and crafts were extracted from the commoners as tribute.
The Mixtec were divided into three principal groups. The most northerly group inhabited the Mixteca Baja, a series of hot, humid valleys descending toward the Gulf Lowlands. Kingdoms within the Mixteca Baja flourished from 600 to 900 Before the Common Era (BCE), after the decline of Teotihuacán and Monte Albán, and before the rise of Tula. A second Mixtec group, the Mixteca de la Costa, occupied the Pacific coastal lowlands of Oaxaca state, where cacao (chocolate bean), a valuable trade item, was grown. The third group lived in the Mixteca Alta, the cold, high mountains and upland valleys west of Oaxaca. The Mixteca Alta lies near the Zapotec Valley of Oaxaca, and this group had the closest relationship with the Zapotec kingdoms, especially in the Late Postclassic period (after 1200 Common Era), when the Mixtec expanded, and royal intermarriage was common.
The Mixtec were highly skilled craftworkers. Elaborate luxury goods were produced for the Mixtec nobility and trade with the elite of other regions. Gold and silver were worked with amber, turquoise, jade, pearl, jet, coral, and shell to produce exquisite necklaces, bracelets, and ear and nose ornaments. Craftworkers producing such luxury goods and working with such valuable materials may themselves have been part of the nobility.
The Mixtec developed their own unique script. In addition to stone slabs, the Mixtec wrote codices—books with accordion-shaped paper pages with elaborately painted pictures in vivid colors. The codices contain genealogical and historical records, as well as religious information related to Mixtec deities and divination. Although the Mixtec script resembles Mesoamerican script symbols in general, it remains only partially deciphered.
In the late 1400s, the powerful and expanding Aztec empire conquered most Mixtec kingdoms. Less than twenty-five years later, the Mixtec kingdoms again fell prey to the Spanish. In the twenty-first century, as many as 500,000 people spoke Mixtecan languages, and the Mixtec were Mexico's third-largest group of Indigenous people, identifying as Ñuu Savi or "People of the Rain." Many Mixtec people remained close to their traditional homelands in Oaxaca, Puebla, and Guerrero. Some retained a migratory lifestyle, often traveling from Mexico to places like California in the United States, mainly for economic reasons.
Bibliography
"La Mixteca." British Museum, www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/x67536. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.
"Mixtec." Endangered Language Alliance, www.elalliance.org/languages/mixtec. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.
"About." Mixtec.org, mixtec.sdsu.edu/about.html. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.
Schmal, John. "The Mixtecs and Zapotecs: Two Enduring Cultures of Oaxaca." Indigenous Mexico, 2019, www.indigenousmexico.org/articles/the-mixtecs-and-zapotecs-two-enduring-cultures-of-oaxaca. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.