- Mixtec customs and traditions
- 1- Agricultural economy and employment
- 2- Corn-based diet
- 3- Christianity and spiritualism
- 4- Mixtec celebrations and festivities
- 5- Mixtec migrations
- 6- Gold work
- 7- Work of polychrome ceramics
- 8- Mixtec ball game
- References
Some of the most outstanding customs and traditions of the Mixtecs are the diet based on corn, animism and their festivities. Being a people with such remote origins, the Mixtecs still preserve very old traditions and habits today.
Many of them are of Western customs, since during the Spanish colonization of the 15th and 16th centuries they had to adapt to maintain cordiality with the invading people.
In their origins, the Mixtecs were settled in the Mesoamerican region, specifically in the current states of Guerrero, Puebla and Oaxaca. Today, many Mixtecos live in the northern states and even in the United States. Emigration is very common due to the poverty of the areas they populate, with agriculture being the main sector they develop.
Mixtec customs and traditions
1- Agricultural economy and employment
Distribution and sale of radishes. AlejandroLinaresGarcia / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)
The main economic activity of the Mixtecs was and continues to be farming. Each family usually has its small plots of land that are transferred from father to son.
The same lands are worked for generations with the basic objective of self-sufficiency.
The soils are not very fertile and the climate does not help, so many Mixtecos have to emigrate in search of jobs as salaried workers in the cities or abroad.
2- Corn-based diet
Diversity of varieties of corn. Source:
One of the most widespread and abundant crops in the Mixtec regions is corn. As it is a subsistence economy, it is used as the main power source.
Beans, chili peppers and tomatoes are other important crops, and through gathering and hunting they obtain other foods: fish, insects, deer, hares, etc.
At present, a distinction is made between the traditional Mixtec diet and a more western one. This incorporates processed foods, less natural but necessary to complement the others.
3- Christianity and spiritualism
Monte Albán, ceremonial center of the Mixtecs. Wikimedia commons source
The Mixtec tradition believes in animism - which defends that all things, living or inanimate, have a soul.
This is not incompatible with the Catholic tradition of the town, inherited from the period of Spanish colonization and Christianization.
In Mixtec culture the importance, for example, of greetings is very great.
Interpersonal relationships are considered nuclear and the consideration of an individual within society is determined by their behavior and attitudes towards others.
4- Mixtec celebrations and festivities
Mixtec syrup. Oaxaca Profundo / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)
For Mixtecs, the patron saint festivities are the most important event of the year. They are dates in which identity as a people and ancestral culture are reaffirmed.
These celebrations help strengthen community ties between individuals and families and are in preparation for a year ahead.
One of the greatest privileges for a Mixtec is to be appointed a mayordomo -the main figure of the festivities-.
5- Mixtec migrations
Mixtec speakers in Mexico. Yavidaxiu / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)
As we have already said, due to the scarcity of resources in the original Mixtec areas, many have to emigrate.
The Mixtecos were always an emigrant people. From the most remote origins, they traveled in search of a better place to live and today there are more than 100,000 Mixtecos in the United States. They work mainly in agriculture and livestock.
6- Gold work
Mixtec jewelery piece made of gold with turquoise inlays. By God.extincion, from Wikimedia Commons Mixtecos have earned the fame of great artisans, being one of the best during pre-Hispanic times. They worked many materials, such as wood or bone, but also gold.
There are archaeological remains of objects and figures made of this material that are true works of art, most of them focused on offerings and the gods.
7- Work of polychrome ceramics
Red Ceramic on Bayo from the Mixteca Alta. Yavidaxiu / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)
This type of earthenware was one of the most outstanding during the pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican period, in fact, the noblest warriors and politicians of the time used it to eat.
They stand out for their enormous quality and colorful style, combining orange, lilac, red, white, gray or blue tones.
8- Mixtec ball game
This game is still practiced within the Mixtec population, being very popular in the state of Oaxaca or in cities that have received emigrants such as Mexico City or Los Angeles.
Two teams (normally five players) have to bounce a ball over the "dump", which is later returned by a player from the opposing team. Whoever fails to respond to the ball loses the point option.
References
- "Andua u '(Who are these people? / Who are these people?)" In mixtec.sdsu.edu.
- "Mixtec people" at britannica.com (Encyclopaedia Britannica).
- "The Roots of Conservatism in Mexico: Catholicism, Society and Politics in the Mixteca Baja, 1750-1962". Benjamin T. Smith.
- “Mayordomias and status quo in the Mixtec communities: Voices from the Mixtec Highlands”, at cowbird.com.
- “Migration from the Mexican Mixteca: A Transnational community in Oaxaca and California”, edited by Wayne A. Cornelius, David Fitzgerald, Jorge Hernández-Díaz, and Scott Borger, at americasquarterly.org.