The meaning of Oaxaca is "the top of the guajes", and it comes from the Nahuatl "huaxyácac". Nahuatl is an indigenous language of the territory of Mexico that is still used today in some sectors. The Aztecs spoke a variant of modern Nahuatl.
Oaxaca is located in the southwest of Mexico and is the fifth state with the highest territorial occupation.
The word Oaxaca is pronounced "oajáka" in a formal way, or "guajáka" in a colloquial way.
You may also be interested in the traditions of Oaxaca or its archaeological sites.
Toponomy of the word Oaxaca
Toponomy is the discipline that studies the etymological analysis of names that are adapted to geographical places.
They generally describe or make mention of some relevant physical feature of the place. The landscapes, plants, animals, stones, colors and even personalities that have lived there can be the origin of a place-name. This is the case of Oaxaca.
The Nahuatl denomination "huaxyácac" was imposed by the Aztec conquerors who built a fortification in that area in 1486.
The word "huaxyácac" is made up of two others. The first is «huaxín», which means «guajes» and refers to some bushy plants called leucaena leucocephala, which grow abundantly and are native to the Oaxaca region.
The second is "yacatl" which means "top" or "the highest point of a place." Another interpretation of this word is "nose," but it also applies to all kinds of limbs.
This fortification was on a high point and was intended to keep an eye on the Zapotecs.
In order to develop the settlement, the Aztecs built their homes by demolishing a part of the gourd forest that surrounded the area.
In this way, the name "huaxyácac", that is, "the top of the guajes", refers to this geographical circumstance.
Oaxaca phonetics
In the word Oaxaca the "x" is used for the sound of the "j". The same is repeated in words like Mexico and Texas.
The Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) explains:
“In the Middle Ages, the x also represented the deaf palatal fricative phoneme of dixo, which from the 16th century would evolve into the deaf velar fricative phoneme of said (…) The pronunciation of this x, in these and other words, is fricative velar deaf, that is, it sounds like j; it is therefore an orthological error to articulate it as ks. "
Disuse and restitution
With the arrival of the Spanish in 1532, a new settlement was founded near the existing indigenous fort.
This site was called the Nueva Villa de Antequera, in commemoration of the Spanish city in the province of Malaga.
In 1821, the year in which Mexico proclaimed its independence, the government decided to return to the roots of the original name.
It is in this way that currently the name of the district is Oaxaca, from the Nahuatl "huaxyácac", a name originally given by the Aztecs.
References
- De La Fuente, J. (1947, December). Notes on places in Oaxaca, with special reference to Zapotec toponymy. In Annals of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (Vol. 6, No. 2, pp. 279-292).
- Siméon, R. (1977). Dictionary of the Nahuatl or Mexican language (Vol. 1). XXI century.
- Pan-Hispanic Dictionary of Doubts. (sf). Obtained from the Royal Spanish Academy: rae.es
- Oaxaca de Juárez. (sf). Obtained from Encyclopedia of Municipalities and Delegations of Mexico: inafed.gob.mx
- Rodriguez, JG (nd). Etymology of Oaxaca. Obtained from Chile: etimologias.dechile.net