CHICHEMECAS: HISTORY, LOCATION, RELIGION AND ECONOMY - HISTORY - 2024

The Chichemecas or Chichimeca culture were several peoples or warrior tribes that inhabited the desert areas of the central-northern region of present-day Mexico, called by the Mexica Chichimecatlalli, which means "land of the Chichimecas."

The Chichimeca culture was originally made up of nomadic peoples who invaded the city of Tollan Xicocotitlan from the north in the 13th century, led by the legendary Chichimeca chief Xólotl. From there they were distributed and established throughout the valley of Mexico, where some of them became sedentary peoples.

Chichimec couple, Codex Quinatzin. Source: places.inah.gob.mx

In the so-called Mesoamerica Chichimeca, agricultural groups lived that later became hunter-gatherers. During the time of the Spanish Conquest, the four most important Chichimec nations were the Guamares, the Pames, the Zacatecos, and the Guachichiles.

The condition of nomadic peoples of the Chichimecas is explained by the aridity and lack of water in the territories that these indigenous tribes inhabited. However, some of its peoples that settled in the Valley of Mexico, later became sedentary.

The Chichimeca culture is considered the most representative of Aridoamérica, an area characterized by its dryness and little ecological diversity, in contrast to the rich neighboring territories of Mesoamerica and Oasisamérica, which occupied fertile lands and greater water resources.

By coming into contact with Mesoamerican cultures, they absorbed agricultural knowledge and the practice of exchange and trade. They lived in huts made of palm or grass leaves and in caves.

Despite not being great builders or having an architectural and artistic development like Mesoamerican cultures, due to their nomadic nature, those sedentary tribes that were able to settle in certain territories built some ceremonial centers.

Origin and history

There is little literature available about the ethnic origin of the Chichimeca culture, because in some way it has been relegated to other native peoples. It is only known that they came from the northernmost territories of present-day Mexico, from where they migrated to the southern lands.

Chichimeca is a word that in the Nahuatl language means "dog people" or "lineage of dogs", since chichi is translated as dog and mecatl means rope. Other research on the origin of the name suggests that chīchī (pronounced softer than chichi) translates as suck, so chichimeca would be (those who suck).

Other authors relate the name to eagles. It is also believed that the term Chichimeca was adopted by the Spanish conquerors in a pejorative way to refer to these peoples as barbarians and devoid of culture, in contrast to the Toltecs, the Mexica or the Mayans who had a higher degree of cultural development.

Even today the term in Mexico can be used disparagingly as a synonym for "wild" or "primitive."

Warrior culture

Statue of a Chichimeca Indian dancing in Querétaro, Qro., Mexico. Source: es.wikipedia.org.

During the process of conquest and colonization of Mexico, the Chichimeca tribes precisely because of their nomadic or semi-nomadic nature, they resisted the Spanish. For two centuries they fought the Spanish armies in the northern territories of New Spain, without being able to be subdued.

However, some groups belonging to the Chichimeca tribes allied with the Europeans to colonize northern Mexico in what has been called the "Chichimec Wars."

Historically, the Chichimecas have been recognized as peoples of great warriors with a great capacity for adaptation. The Chichimeca peoples managed to adapt and subsist in very difficult habitats, with very dry climates and arid and wild lands.

This forced them to be nomads, moving from one place to another and often changing their way of subsistence, adapting to the climatic and historical situations they had to experience.

Chichimeca tribes and descendants

In addition to the tribes of the Guamares, the Pames, the Zacatecos and the Guachichiles, there were others such as the Caxcanes, Tecuexes, Piteros and Chalchihuites.

The groups made up of the Tarahumara tribes of Chihuahua, Sonora and Durango later descended from the ancient Chichimec peoples.

In the same way as the Tepehuanes (Durango) and Guarijío, Pimas, Seris and Mayos of Chihuahua and Sonora, along with the Pames of Querétaro. All these native groups are part of the anthropological and cultural legacy of the Chichimecas.

However, the only group that currently assumes the Chichimecas as their ancestors are the Chichimeca Jonaz ethnic group, who live in the state of Guanajuato and in San Luis de Potosí. This group has its own language along with its cultural identity and traditions.

Location

The Chichimec peoples inhabited the northern part of Mexico, which begins in the Tropic of Cancer and extends to the southern United States today. Archaeologist Beatriz Braniff Cornejo, a researcher who has studied this culture in depth, proposed calling this vast territorial portion Gran Chichimeca.

In the Great Chichimeca farmers, gatherers, hunters and fishermen came together to live. Braniff divides this region into two large areas:

-One located to the northeast in which mainly farmers' villages and some nomadic groups were established.

-The other zone is the so-called Mesoamerica Chichimeca, inhabited by sedentary groups of farmers basically, in which later collecting groups - hunters were established.

The Chichimecas settled in the current territories of the states of Durango, Coahuila, Aguas Calientes, Zacatecas, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas and San Luis Potosí. That is, they extended from Querétaro to Saltillo in the north and from Guanajuato to San Luis de Potosí.

The fact of living in communities that occupied territories without a fixed delimitation led them to constantly enter into disputes with other tribes, motivated by the shortage of water and food.

Religion

According to the missionary Fray Juan de Torquemada, the Chichimecas did not have a “concerted religion” either. In effect, the Chichimecas did not have gods linked to land, water, or fertility like the Mesoamerican peoples. They used to worship the sun, the moon and certain animals.

They practiced their polytheistic religion in their civic-religious centers through sorcerers called madai cojoo (great sorcerer) or priests. The chroniclers point out that they did not worship their gods like other Mexican cultures, since they could change their religious referent or incorporate new mystical figures into their beliefs.

It was traditional among the Chichimecas to cremate their dead and keep the ashes, although they also buried them in certain places such as hills where they placed food and figurines related to the deceased.

His dances had a religious concept when they were performed around his enemies. Their religious rituals were associated with harvests. One of those rituals was that after dancing, the cacique extracted drops of blood from his calf with a thorn and sprinkled it on the land (milpa) where it was cultivated.

Religious rituals were accompanied by alcoholic beverages made with maguey or prickly pear and hallucinogens such as peyote, which helped them to reach trance states.

Social organization

Although the Chichimecas were mostly nomadic peoples, this did not prevent them from also having a social organization with hierarchies. They had a patriarchal social organization.

Each tribe was ruled by a chief named Tlatoani (great orator), who used to be the bravest warrior, who lived in the caligüe or big house. While the supreme priest was a spiritual leader in charge of guiding the people, giving advice to the ruler and dictating laws of a spiritual nature.

The succession of the ruling leader was made by challenge, election, or assassination. According to Fray Juan de Torquemada, the Chichimecas did not have the figure of a king or lord they served but that of a military chief.

The Chichimecas married each other. The tribes that lived in the northernmost territories practiced polygamy, while the peoples of the south were characterized by monogamy, as adultery was punishable by death.

Sometimes to make peace marriages were performed between the children of the chiefs of rival tribes. For example, the marriage alliances celebrated between the Chichimec lords and the Toltec women served to consolidate the power of this culture in the Valley of Mexico.

Family and social roles were very well defined. Hunting, fishing, warfare, agriculture and handicraft were carried out by man. The woman, on the other hand, had to take care of all the housework and the collection of fruits and seeds.

The Chichimecas liked parties, which served to celebrate victories, reconcile with enemies, and celebrate special occasions. In them abundant food and drinks were served.

Economy

The economy of the Chichimecas revolved around hunting, fishing, gathering and agriculture in some sedentary tribes. In the case of the Zacatecos and the Guachichiles, who were nomadic or semi-nomadic peoples, they lived by hunting and gathering.

On the other hand, the Caxcanes, Pames, Tecuexes and Guamares, who had a higher degree of development, learned agricultural techniques, perhaps from their Otomi or Tarascan neighbors. The Chichimeca groups that were able to develop agriculture inhabited territories near rivers and other sources of water.

For their livelihood they grew beans, corn, chili and squash, to which they added the food they obtained from rivers and lakes.

Some of these peoples practiced trade and exchange of food and animals with the Mesoamerican tribes of the south. By coming into contact with other peoples, the Chichimecas incorporated aspects of a social and economic nature into their culture.

Ceremonial centers

Archaeological zone of Teocaltitán de Guadalupe. Source: es.wikipedia.org.

Some Chichimec peoples built fortress temples, which served as ceremonial or worship centers for their gods, and at the same time as fortifications for their defense and protection. These temples were raised on high places or on mountain slopes.

The temples built by the Caxcanes and Tecuexes had this dual purpose. They served as sanctuaries in times of peace and as fortresses during periods of war.

There are some ruins of this type of temple in Teocaltitán, the main ceremonial center of these cultures, on Cerro Corona (Santa Cecilia Acatitlán), in El Tamara and in Bolón.

The ruins of the Teocaltitán hill are located in the municipality of Jalostotitlán in Jalisco. The ceremonial center of this important archaeological site stands out for its monumental architecture, which is estimated to be between 450 and 900 AD.

The complex, which consists of 23 structures identified so far, has rectangular platforms and levadas, sunken courtyards, open spaces and an area for the ball game.

In the state of Zacatecas there are also some important ruins of ceremonial temples of the Chalchihuites - Chichimeca culture, from the Mesoamerican classical period, such as those of Altavista.

The Chichimeca temples were built with tepetate, rocks (especially basalt) and adobes made with mud.

Other constructions

Casas Grandes archaeological zone, Paquimé. Source: es.wikipedia.org

Researchers have vindicated the Chichimeca culture with regard to its degree of intellectual and technical development. In this sense, the sedentary Chichimeca groups of northern Mexico and the southern United States are cited.

The Chichimeca peoples, such as the Mogollón and the Anasazi of New Mexico along with the Hohokam of Arizona, built amazing irrigation systems.

Other important constructions of the Chichimeca groups can be observed in Casas Grandes, Chihuahua by the Paquimé culture. Likewise, in the towns of San Marcos, in the Chaco Canyon and even in the city of Paquimé.

In the archaeological zone of the city of Tenayuca, which is located at the foot of the Cerro del Tenayo (Sierra de Guadalupe), there are architectural vestiges of the Chichimeca culture, as well as the Teotihuacan, Mexica and Acolhua cultures.

This city was founded in the Mesoamerican post-classic period by Xólotl, the leader of the Chichimeca people, and served as the capital of his kingdom. From there he extended his dominions and conquests of territories in the Valley of Mexico.

Handicrafts

Although the Chichimecas had little artistic development, some of these peoples developed painting, petroglyphs, music and ceramics, in addition to handicrafts.

Samples of Chichimeca pottery have been found in excavations carried out in San Luis de Potosí, such as figurines of women with marks on the body and clay pots. As for handicrafts, they stood out in carpentry, weaving, basketry and lapidary art, since they used to carve flints and polish the tips of their arrows.

His handicrafts were basically textiles and wooden articles. However, archaeological evidence found suggests that they were skilled carvers of human and animal bones. Likewise, they wove baskets of agave, reeds and palms, which were used in their domestic activities.

Currently the descendants of the Chichimecas make various fabrics for textiles, they also work with glass, brass and wood. The most common handicrafts are hand-woven woolen blankets containing artistic figures, ruanas, jorongos, and other clothing items.

They are also skilled craftsmen in the manufacture of articles with brass and glass and various musical instruments made of cane and wood. Among them, requintos, flutes, vihuelas and a variety of carpentry jobs.

References

1. The History of the Native Peoples of the Americas / Mesoamerican Cultures / Chichimeca. Retrieved July 16, 2018 from en.wikibooks.org
2. Teocaltitán Archaeological Site. Consulted of sc.jalisco.gob.mx
3. The Chichimecas, the great warriors of the north. Consulted of milenio.com
4. Chichimeca culture. Consulted of ecured.cu
5. Chichimeca. Consulted of es.wikipedia.org
6. The Chichimecas. Consulted of sabinashidalgo.net