THE OTOMI INDIANS: HISTORY OF THE GROUP AND OF THE CULTURE AND THEIR PRESENT SITUATION

• Published in: Revista mexicana de sociología 1961-01, Vol.23 (1), p.55-90
• Main Author: Cornejo Cabrera, Ezequiel
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Subjects: India/Indian/Indians; Mexico/Mexican/Mexicans; Society, The, of
• ISSN: 0188-2503

The Otomi Indians migrated from eastern Mexico to the Mexican Plateau, & from 1220 to 1390 figured prominently in the history of their region. They' possessed a high degree of culture as measured by pol'al, religious, & soc org. They had a calendar, cultivated the soil, wore rather elaborate clothing, were healthy, clean, hard-working, & abstemious. Their decline began with warfare in 1299 against the Mexicans of Chapultepec. They were later subjugated by the Tepanecas & finally fell under the yoke of the Triple Alliance. The Spanish Conquest dealt Otomi culture a fatal blow, subjecting them to extreme oppression. Their socio-pol'al org disintegrated; their religion fell into confusion with the imposition of the adoration of Catholic saints. They wore less clothing, became dirty, idle, & given to drunkenness. Today there are some 300,000 Otomis in the Republic of Mexico, many living in direst poverty & ignorance, but continuing to dream of an opportunity to regain their former stature in the life of their homeland. Modified AA tr by M. M. Ito.