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{{short description|Indigenous ethnic group of Mexico}}
{{About||the language|Otomi language|other uses|}}
{{Infobox ethnic group|
|group=Otomi<br />'''''Hñähñu, Hñähño, Ñuhu, Ñhato, Ñuhmu'''''
|population= >300,000
|popplace=Mexico: [[Hidalgo (state)|Hidalgo]], [[Mexico (state)|Edomex]], [[Querétaro]], [[Puebla]], [[Veracruz]], [[San Luis Potosí]], [[Guanajuato]], [[Tlaxcala]], [[Michoacán]]
|rels=Predominantly [[Roman Catholic]] and [[animism]]; minority: [[Protestantism]] and [[Judaism]]
|langs=Primary: [[Otomi language|Otomi]]; second: Spanish
|related=[[Mazahua people|Mazahua]], [[Pame people|Pame]], [[Chichimeca Jonaz people|Chichimeca Jonaz]], [[Matlatzinca people|Matlatzinca]]
|image=[[File:Arrieros acazulco.JPG|center|220px]]
|caption=Otomi dancers from [[San Jerónimo Acazulco]], [[Mexico state]] performing the traditional ''{{lang|es|danza de los arrieros}}''}}
The '''Otomi''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|oʊ|t|ə|ˈ|m|iː}}; {{langx|es|Otomí}} {{IPA|es|otoˈmi|}}) are an [[Indigenous people of Mexico]] inhabiting the central [[Mexican Plateau]] (Altiplano) region.
The Otomi are an [[Indigenous people of the Americas]] who inhabit a discontinuous territory in central [[Mexico]]. They are linguistically related to the rest of the [[Oto-Manguean languages|Otomanguean]]-speaking peoples, whose ancestors have occupied the [[Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt]] for several thousand years.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Georgina.|first=Masferrer K., Elio. Mondragón, Jaime. Vences|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/664367109|title=Los pueblos indígenas de Puebla : atlas etnográfico|date=2010|publisher=Gobierno del Estado de Puebla|isbn=978-607-484-083-4|oclc=664367109}}</ref> Currently, the Otomi inhabit a fragmented territory ranging from northern [[Guanajuato]], to eastern [[Michoacán]] and southeastern [[Tlaxcala]]. However, most of them are concentrated in the states of [[Hidalgo (state)|Hidalgo]], Mexico and [[Querétaro City|Querétaro.]] According to the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples of Mexico, the Otomi ethnic group totaled 667,038 people in the Mexican Republic in 2015,<ref>«Otomíes – Estadísticas – Atlas de los Pueblos unidos de México. INPI». ''Gobierno de México''. Archivado desde el original el 24 de octubre de 2019. Consultado el 24 de octubre de 2019.</ref> making them the fifth largest indigenous people in the country.<ref>Por ''población étnica'' se entiende a los miembros de las minorías étnicas que habitan en un estado nacional que no se reconoce como pluriétnico. En ese sentido, la población étnica comprende no sólo a los hablantes de una lengua —en este caso, el otomí—, sino también a los que han dejado de hacer uso de la lengua pero se reconocen como miembros del grupo y son reconocidos como tales, sea convencional u oficialmente. De acuerdo con los criterios elegidos por las agencias gubernamentales mexicanas para calcular el número de indígenas, forman parte de la ''población indígena'' mexicana los miembros de las familias donde el jefe de familia o su cónyuge son hablantes de lengua indígena</ref> Of these, only a little more than half spoke Otomi. In this regard, the Otomi language presents a high degree of internal diversification, so that speakers of one variety often have difficulty understanding those who speak another language. Hence, the names by which the Otomi call themselves are numerous: ñätho ([[Toluca Valley]]), hñähñu ([[Mezquital Valley]]), ñäñho ([[Santiago Mexquititlán raid|Santiago Mexquititlán]] in southern [[Querétaro]]) and ñ'yühü (Northern highlands of Puebla, [[Pahuatlán]]) are some of the names the Otomi use to refer to themselves in their own languages, although it is common that, when speaking in Spanish, they use the native Otomi, originating from the [[Nahuatl]].<ref>Últimamente algunos hablantes del Valle de Mezquital han comenzado a considerar el etnónimo "otomí" como despectivo. Esto no ocurre en otras variantes y por lo tanto se debe seguir usando. También es el término de uso más extendido en el mundo de habla hispana en todos los ámbitos. Al respecto, haciendo eco de las palabras de David Charles {{harvtxt|Wright Carr|2005|p=19}}: "Si bien la palabra 'otomí' ha sido usada en textos que menosprecian a estos antiguos habitantes del Centro de México, creo conveniente usar la misma palabra en los trabajos que intentan recuperar su historia; en lugar de desecharla propongo reivindicarla".</ref>
== Etymology ==
The word ''Otomi,'' is used to describe the larger Otomi [[Ethnicity#Ethnicity and race|ethnic]] group and the [[dialect continuum]]. From Spanish, the word ''Otomi'' has become entrenched in linguistic and anthropological literature. Among linguists, the suggestion has been made to change the academic designation from ''Otomi'' to ''[[Otomi language|Hñähñú]]'', the [[endonym]] used by the Otomi of the [[Mezquital Valley]], but no common endonym exists for all dialects of the language.<ref name="lastra5658">Lastra, ''Los Otomies'', pp. 56–58.</ref>{{sfn|Wright Carr|2005}}<ref>Palancar, "Emergence of Active/Stative alignment in Otomi", p. 357.</ref> Like most of the native names used to refer to the indigenous peoples of Mexico, the term Otomi is not native to the people to which it refers. Otomi is a term of Nahuatl origin that derives from [[Otomitl|otómitl]],{{sfn|Gómez de Silva|2001}} a word that in the language of the ancient [[Mexica]] means "one who walks with arrows",{{sfn|Barrientos López|2004|p=6}} although authors such as Wigberto Jimenez Moreno have translated it as "bird arrowman". The Otomi language belonging to the Oto-Pamean branch of the [[Oto-Manguean languages|Oto-Manguean language family]] is spoken in many different varieties, some of which are not mutually intelligible.
== Overview ==
[[File:OtomiEmbroideryTequis.jpg|thumb|left|Otomi woman selling traditional Otomi embroidered cloths in [[Tequisquiapan]]]]
The Otomi traditionally worshipped the moon as their highest deity. Even in modern times, many Otomi populations practice [[shamanism]] and hold pre-Hispanic beliefs such as [[Nagualism]].{{sfn|Cajero|2009}} Like most sedentary Mesoamerican peoples, the Otomi traditionally subsisted on maize, beans and squash, but the [[Agave americana|maguey]] (century plant) was also an important [[cultigen]] used for production of alcohol ([[pulque]]) and fiber ([[henequen]]). Although the Otomi people rarely eat what [[Western world|Westerners]] would consider a balanced diet, they maintain reasonably good health by eating [[tortilla]]s, drinking [[pulque]], and eating most fruits available around them.<ref name="ajph.aphapublications.org">{{Cite journal|last1=Anderson|first1=Richmond K.|last2=Calvo|first2=Jose|last3=Serrano|first3=Gloria|last4=Payne|first4=George C.|title=A Study of the Nutritional Status and Food Habits of Otomi Indians in the Mezquital Valley of Mexico|journal=American Journal of Public Health and the Nation's Health|volume=36|issue=8|pages=883–903|doi=10.2105/ajph.36.8.883|pmc=1625980|pmid=18016399|year=1946}}</ref> In 1943 to 1944, a report about a nutritional study about the Otomi villages located in the [[Mezquital Valley]] of Mexico, recorded that despite the arid climate and land unfit for agriculture without irrigation, the Otomi people chiefly depended on the production of [[maguey]]. [[Maguey]] (century plant) is used to produce weaving fibers and “[[pulque]]”, a fermented unfiltered juice that played an important part in the Otomi's economy and nutrition. However, this practice has begun to decline due to its new large-scale production. The [[maguey]] plant was so heavily depended on that [[hut]]s were constructed out of the plant's leaves. During this time, most of the region was vastly underdeveloped and most agriculture was low-yielding. Often densely settled areas would be confused as locations devoid of habitation, as dispersed dwellings are built low and concealed.<ref name="ajph.aphapublications.org" />
The Otomi were [[blacksmith]]s and traded valuable metal items with other indigenous confederations, including the [[Aztec Triple Alliance]]. Their metal crafts included ornaments and weaponry, although metal weaponry was not as useful as [[obsidian]] weaponry (obsidian being sharper than a modern-day razor, abundant, and light in weight).
== Native territory ==
The ethnic territory of the Otomi has historically been central Mexico. Since pre-Hispanic times, the Otomi people have inhabited that region and are considered native peoples of the Mexican highlands. The Otomi may have been found in [[Mesoamerica]] at least since the beginning of the [[sedentism]], or the settling of the [[nomad]]ic population, which took place in the eighth millennium B.C.E.{{sfn|Duverger|2007|p=40}} Occupation of the Otomi in central Mexico then refers to the fact that the linguistic chains between the Otomanguean languages are more or less intact, so that the linguistically closest members of the family are also close in the spatial sense. The first separation of the Otomi group occurred when the eastern languages separated from the [[Western world|western]] languages. The western branch is composed of two major branches: the [[Tlapanec language|Tlapaneco]]-[[Manguean languages|Manguean]]-speaking peoples and the [[Oto-Pamean languages|Oto-Pame]]-speaking peoples. Among the latter are the Otomi, settled in the Mexican [[Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt|Neovolcanic Axis]] along with the rest of the peoples that form part of the same Otomanguean branch: [[Mazahua people|Mazahuas]], [[Matlatzinca language|Matlatzincas]], [[Tlahuicas]], [[Chichimeca]]s.{{sfn|Wright Carr|2005|p=26}}
The Otomi currently occupy a fragmented territory that extends through the states of [[Mexico (state)|Mexico]], [[Hidalgo (state)|Hidalgo]], [[Querétaro]], [[Guanajuato]], [[Michoacán]], [[Tlaxcala]], [[Puebla]] and [[Veracruz]]. All these states are located in the heart of the [[Mexican Republic]] and concentrate most of the country's population. The areas with the highest concentrations of Otomi population are the [[Mezquital Valley]], the [[Eastern Highland Otomi|Eastern Highlands]], the [[Semi desert|Semi-desert]] at [[Peña de Bernal]], [[Querétaro]] and the north of the state of Mexico. Isolated from these large groups that concentrate around 80% of the total number of members of this indigenous people are the Otomi of [[Zitácuaro]] ([[Michoacán]]), those of [[Tierra Blanca, Guanajuato|Tierra Blanca]] ([[Guanajuato]]) and those that still remain in [[Ixtenco]] ([[Tlaxcala]]). Due to the territory in which they are located, the Otomi live in an intense relationship with large metropolitan areas such as the [[Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral|Metropolitan Zone of Mexico City]], the city of [[Puebla]], [[Toluca]] and [[Santiago de Querétaro]], places where many of them have had to emigrate in search of better job opportunities.
== History ==
Historiographical texts on the Mesoamerican peoples of the [[Pre-Columbian era|pre-Hispanic]] era have paid very little attention to the history of the Otomi. Many centuries ago, great cities such as [[Cuicuilco]], [[Teotihuacan]] and [[Tula (Mesoamerican site)|Tula]] flourished in the territory occupied by the Otomi at the arrival of the [[Spaniards]]. Even in the [[Aztec Empire|Aztec Triple Alliance]] that dominated, the so-called "[[Mexica Empire]]", [[Tlacopan]] inherited the domains of [[Azcapotzalco]], with a majority Otomi population. However, the Otomi are almost never mentioned as protagonists of [[Pre-Columbian Mexico|pre-Hispanic]] Mesoamerican history, perhaps because the ethnic complexity of central Mexico at that time does not allow us to distinguish the contributions of the ancient Otomi from those produced by their neighbors.{{sfn|Wright Carr|2005|p=28}} Only in recent years has interest begun to appear in the role played by these people in the development of the cultures living in the [[Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt|Neovolcanic Axis]], from the [[Pre-Colonial America|pre-colonial]] to the [[Conquest of Mexico|conquest.]]
=== Otomi peoples in pre-Hispanic times ===
By the fifth millennium B.C.E., the Otomi people formed a large group. The diversification of the languages and their geographic expansion from the valley of [[Tehuacán]] (currently in the state of [[Puebla]]){{sfn|Campbell|1997}} must have occurred after the domestication of the Mesoamerican agricultural, composed of [[maize]], [[bean]]s and [[Chili pepper|chili]]. This is established on the basis that there is a large number of cognates that exist in the Otomi languages in the repertoire of words alluding to agriculture. After the development of emerging agriculture, the [[Oto-Manguean languages|proto-Otomanguean]] legion gave rise to two distinct languages that constitute the antecedents of the present-day eastern and western groups of the Otomi family. Following the linguistic evidence, it seems likely that the [[Oto-Pamean languages|Oto-Pames]]—members of the western branch—arrived in the [[Valley of Mexico]] around the fourth millennium B.C.E. and that, contrary to what some authors maintain, they did not migrate from the north but from the south.
Some historians believe that the Otomi were the first inhabitants of the Valley of Mexico, nevertheless, they were later expelled from the valley by the [[Tepanec]] in 1418.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Zillges|first=Haleigh|date=2013|title=The Genetic History Of The Otomi In The Central Mexican Valley|url=https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1044&context=anthro_seniortheses|journal=University of Pennsylvania Scholarly Commons|pages=7–8}}</ref> The Otomi were one of various ethnic groups present within the city of [[Teotihuacan|Teotihuacán]]; one of the largest and most important cities of ancient Mexico. The fall of [[Teotihuacan]] is a milestone that signals the end of the [[Mesoamerican chronology|Classic Period]] in Mesoamerica. Changes in political networks at the Mesoamerican level, disputes between small rival states and population movements resulting from prolonged droughts in northern Mesoamerica facilitated the arrival of new settlers in central Mexico. Around this time, large [[Nahuan languages|Nahuatl]]-speaking groups arrived and began to displace the Otomi to the east. They then arrived in the [[Eastern Highland Otomi|Eastern Highlands]] and some areas of the [[Puebla]]-[[Tlaxcala]] valley. In the following centuries, large states developed in the Otomi territory, led by the [[Nahuas|Nahua]] peoples. Around the 9th century, the [[Toltec]]s turned [[Tula (Mesoamerican site)|Tula]] (Mähñem'ì in Otomi) into one of the main cities of Mesoamerica. This city constructed a large part of the population of the [[Mezquital Valley]], although many of them continued to live to the south and east, in the state of Mexico and the [[Eastern Highland Otomi|Eastern Highlands]].<ref name=":1">{{harvnb|Moreno Alcántara|others|2002|p=7}}</ref>
Around the year 1100 AD, Otomi-speaking peoples formed their capital city-state, [[Xaltocan]]. Xaltocan soon acquired power—enough power to demand tribute from nearby communities up until its subjugation. Thereafter, the Otomi kingdom was conquered during the 14th century by the [[Mexica]] and its alliances. The Otomi people then were subject to pay a tribute to the [[Triple Alliance (1596)|Triple-Alliance]] as their empire grew; subsequently, Otomi people resettled in lands to the east and south of their former territory. While some Otomi resettled elsewhere, other Otomi still resided near current-day [[Mexico City]], but most settled in areas near the [[Mezquital Valley]] in [[Hidalgo (state)|Hidalgo]], the highlands of [[Puebla]], areas between [[Texcoco, State of Mexico|Tetzcoco]] and [[Tulancingo]], and as far as [[Colima]] and [[Jalisco]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Fishman|first=Joshua A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oScUXmAkRXIC&q=otomi%20people&pg=PA143|title=Can Threatened Languages be Saved?: Reversing Language Shift, Revisited : a 21st Century Perspective|date=2001-01-01|publisher=Multilingual Matters|isbn=978-1-85359-492-2|language=en}}</ref>
=== Conquest ===
[[File:MuralIglesiaIxmiqui1.jpg|thumb|Mural Iglesia [[Church of San Miguel Arcángel]], Ixmiquilpan, Hidalgo]]
A sizable portion of the Otomi resided in the state of [[Tlaxcala]]. Although there are reports that [[Spanish conquistador|Spanish Conquistador]] [[Hernán Cortés]] originally attacked and "annihilated the Otomis at [[Tecoaque|Tecoac]], who were destroyed completely",<ref>{{cite book|last=Naimark|first=Norman M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-Ro1DQAAQBAJ&q=tecoac+genocide&pg=PA41|title=Genocide: A World History|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2017|isbn=978-0-19-976526-3|page=42}}</ref> they eventually joined forces with him when he fought the [[Aztec Empire|Aztec Triple-Alliance]], eventually defeating it. This allowed the [[Ixtenco]] Otomi or (''Yųhmų'') to once again expand. They founded the City of [[Querétaro City|Querétaro]] and settled in many towns in the state now known as [[Guanajuato]].  The Otomi of [[Mezquital Municipality|Mezquital]] or (''Hñähñu'') maintained a state of war upon the Spanish and their [[Ixtenco]] otomi allies with records indicating that the [[Hña Hñu|hñähñu]] (Otomi of [[Mezquital Municipality|Mezquital]]) resisted assimilation and maintained nomadic raiding parties that attacked any Spanish settlement within [[Hidalgo (state)|Hidalgo]] maintaining a state of war that lasted until the first silver mines were opened. The [[Ixtenco]] Otomi allegiance with the Spanish led to many converting to [[Roman Catholic]]ism, but they also held onto their ancient customs. While being colonized, the [[Ixtenco]] Otomi language was dispersed to various other states such as [[Guanajuato]], [[Querétaro]], that included the states of [[Puebla]], [[Veracruz]], with [[Michoacán]] and [[Tlaxcala]], where most remained farmers. In the [[Mezquital Valley]] a traditional homeland to the Otomi, the terrain was not well suited for farming as the land was dry and many Otomi people hired each other as laborers and relied heavily on the [[Agave americana|maguey]]-based drink, [[pulque]]. Originally, the Spanish banned the drink but soon attempted to manage a business through its production which led to the Otomi people solely using the drink for their own consumption.
=== Colonial period ===
The arrival of the [[Spanish Empire|Spanish]] in Mesoamerica meant the subjugation of the indigenous peoples to the dominion of the newcomers. By the 1530s, all the Otomi communities of the [[Mezquital Valley]] and the [[Barranca de Metztitlán|Barranca de Meztitlán]] had been divided into [[encomienda]]s. Subsequently, when Spanish legislation was modified, the so-called Indian republics appeared, systems of political organization that allowed a certain autonomy of the Otomi communities with respect to the [[Hispanic]]-[[mestizo]] populations. The creation of these republics, the strengthening of the indigenous [[Cabildo (council)|cabildos]] (council) and the recognition of the possession of communal lands by the Spanish state were elements that allowed the Otomi to preserve their language and, to a certain extent, their indigenous culture. However, especially with regard to land possession, the indigenous communities suffered dispossession throughout the three centuries of [[Spanish colonization of the Americas|Spanish colonization.]]{{sfn|Moreno Alcántara|others|2002|pp=7-10}}
At the same time that the [[Spaniards]] were occupying the ancient Otomi settlements, as is the case of the present-day city of [[Salamanca]] ([[Guanajuato]]), founded in the Otomi settlement of [[Salamanca, Guanajuato|Xidóo ("Place of tepetates)]]") in 1603 by decree of [[Gaspar de Zúñiga y Avellaneda|Gaspar de Zúñiga]] y Acevedo, viceroy of [[New Spain]].<ref>Eugenia {{harvnb|Acosta Sol|n.d.|p=62}}{{full citation needed|date=July 2024}}</ref> Some Otomi families were forced to accompany the [[Spaniards]] in the conquest of the northern territories of [[Mesoamerica]], occupied by the warlike [[Aridoamerica|Arido-American]] peoples. The Otomi were colonizers who settled in cities such as [[San Miguel El Grande|San Miguel el Grande]], [[Oaxaca]] and other cities of [[Bajío|El Bajio]]. In fact, the colonization process of this territory was essentially the work of the Otomi, with the lordship of [[Xicotepec Totonac|Xilotepec]] as the spearhead. In [[Bajío|El Bajío]], the Otomí served as a bridge for the sedentism, or the settling of the nomadic population and [[Christianization]] of the nomadic peoples, who ended up being assimilated or exterminated by force. The importance of [[Bajío|El Bajío]] in the economy of [[New Spain]] turned it into a scenario where different ethnic groups later converged, including the [[Tlaxcala]]n migrants, the [[Purépecha|Purepecha]] and the Spanish, who would finally end up overcoming all the indigenous groups that supported them in the conquest of this territory that had been the habitat of numerous peoples classified as [[Chichimeca]]. However, until the nineteenth century, the Otomi population in [[Bajío|El Bajío]] was still a major component, and some of their descendants remain in municipalities such as [[Tierra Blanca, Guanajuato|Tierra Blanca]], [[San José Iturbide]] and [[San Miguel de Allende]].{{sfn|Wright Carr|1999}} Otomí population movements continued throughout the colonial era. For example, in [[San Luis Potosí City|San Luis Potosí]], a total of 35 Otomi families were forcibly taken to occupy the periphery of the city and defend it from attacks by the nomadic people of the region in 1711.<ref>Eugenia {{harvnb|Acosta Sol|n.d.|p=63}}: "Hay que señalar que los otomíes no fueron los únicos indígenas migrantes en la época colonial. Los tlaxcaltecas, aliados de los españoles, accedieron acompañar a éstos en su campaña hacia el norte. Los descendientes de la migración tlaxcalteca se encuentran en varios poblados de los estados fronterizos de México, como Bustamante (Nuevo León). [It should be noted that the Otomí were not the only indigenous migrants in the colonial era. The Tlaxcalans, allies of the Spanish, agreed to accompany them in their campaign to the north. The descendants of the Tlaxcalan migration are found in several towns in the border states of Mexico, such as Bustamante (Nuevo León).]"{{verification needed|date=July 2024|reason=This may be an editorial footnote or a summary from Spanish Wikipedia instead of a direct quote.}}</ref> In several places, the Otomi population was decimated not only by forced or consensual migrations, but also by the constant epidemics suffered by the Mesoamerican tribes after the [[Conquest]]. Numerous communities were wiped out between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries due to disease.{{sfn|Moreno Alcántara|2002|p=10}}
=== Nineteenth and twentieth centuries ===
[[File:Tlachiqueros otomíes de Tequixquiac.jpg|thumb|Tlachiqueros otomíes de Tequixquiac]]
During [[Mexican War of Independence|Mexico's War of Independence]], the Otomi sided with the rebellion as they wanted their land back that was taken from them under the [[encomienda]] system.<ref name=":1" />
Around 1940–1950, government agencies had promised to assist the indigenous people by helping them gain access to better education and economic advancements but failed to do so. In turn, the people continued to farm and work as laborers within their minor subsistence economy within a larger capitalistic economy where the indigenous people was able to be exploited by those who are in control of the economy.<ref name=":0" /> Since gaining independence, the [[Mexicans|Mexican]] government has adopted an adoring attitude towards the pre-Hispanic history and works of the [[Aztecs]] and [[Mayans]]; meanwhile, it has disregarded the living indigenous people, such as the Otomi who are depicted without the same prestige.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Dow|first=James W.|title=The Sierra Ñähñu (Otomí)|url=https://www.academia.edu/1987786|journal=Native Peoples of the Gulf Coast of Mexico|date=January 2005 |language=en}}</ref> Until recently, the Otomi culture and people were not given much attention or focus until recent anthropologist began investigating their ancient way of life. As a result, the [[Federal government of Mexico|Mexican government]] has gone as far declaring themselves a [[Pluriculturalism|pluricultural]] nation that serves to help many of its indigenous populations, like the Otomi. However, this has not been the case with scarce evidence proving that anything is done to truly help them.<ref name=":0" /> Although many of the current descendants of the Otomi have begun to immigrate to other region, there is still a hint of their ancient culture present today. In certain parts of Mexico, such as [[Guanajuato]] and [[Hidalgo (state)|Hidalgo]], prayer songs in Otomi are heard and elders share tales the youth who understand their native language. Despite this, very little attention has been placed on the Otomi culture, especially through education means where very little is discussed about any indigenous groups. Because of this, many Otomi descendants know very little about their own culture's history.<ref name=":0" />
== Language ==
{{Main|Otomi language}}
[[File:WIKITONGUES- Evan speaking Hñähñu.webm|thumb|An Otomi speaker, recorded in [[Peru]]]]
[[File:Otomi.PNG|thumb|Otomi-speaking areas in Mexico]]
The [[Otomi language]] is in the [[Oto-Pamean languages]] family (which also includes [[Chichimeca Jonaz language|Chichimeca Jonaz]], [[Mazahua language|Mazahua]], Pame, [[Ocuiltec language|Ocuilteco]], and [[Matlatzinca language|Matlatzinca]]). The family in turn belongs to the [[Oto-Manguean languages]] (with [[Amuzgo language|Amuzgoan]], [[Chinantecan languages|Chinantecan]], [[Mixtecan languages|Mixtecan]], [[Oto-Pamean languages|Otopamean]], [[Popolocan languages|Popolocan]], [[Tlapanec language|Tlapanecan]], and [[Zapotec language]] families).
Otomi languages are part of the [[Oto-Manguean languages|Otomanguean]] language family, one of the oldest and most diverse in the Mesoamerican area. One of the more than one hundred Otomanguean languages that survive today, the Otomi languages relate closely to the [[Mazahua language]], also spoken in the northwest and west of the state of Mexico. Some glottochronological analyses applied to Otomi languages indicate that Otomi split from [[Mazahua people|Mazahua]] around the 8th century CE. Since then, Otomi has fragmented into the languages known today.{{sfn|Wright Carr|2005|p=27}}
The native language of the Otomi is called the Otomi language. In reality, it is a complex of languages, whose number varies according to the sources consulted. According to the [[SIL International|Ethnologue of the Summer Institute of Linguistics]] and the [[Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas|Catalog of Indigenous Languages of the National Institute of Indigenous Languages (Inali) of Mexico]], there are nine varieties of Otomi.{{sfn|SIL|2005}}{{sfn|Inali|2008|pp=41-54}} David Charles Wright Carr<ref>{{cite web | url=https://ugto.academia.edu/DavidWright | title=David Charles Wright Carr &#124; Universidad de Guanajuato - Academia.edu }}</ref> proposes that there are four Otomi languages. According to the [[National Commission for the Development of Indigenous People]]s of Mexico (CDI), only 50.6% of the Otomi population speaks the native language of this group. In 1995, this proportion corresponded to a total of 327,319 speakers of Otomi languages in the entire Mexican Republic.{{sfn|CDI|2000}} The above calculation corresponds to a CDI estimate that is intended to include Otomi-speaking children under the age of five, who are not included in [[Mexicans|Mexican]] population counts. According to the 1995 First Population Count, Otomi speakers over the age of five totaled 283,263 individuals, which represents a loss of 22,927 speakers compared to the 1980 Population and Housing Census, when 306,190 speakers of Otomi languages were recorded.{{sfn|Garza Cuarón|Lastra|2000|p=165}}<ref>[https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1980/1980censusofpop802unse_bw.pdf 1980 Population and Housing Census]</ref><ref>[https://www.census.gov/prod/1/pop/profile/95/p23-189.pdf 1995 First Population Count]</ref>
The population of speakers of Otomi languages has declined in recent years.{{when|date=July 2024}} To some extent, this reduction of Otomi speakers is due to migration from their communities of origin and the [[urbanization]] of their ethnic territory, which imposes on them the need to coexist with an exclusively [[Spanish language|Spanish]]-speaking population for the most part. The contraction of the Otomi linguistic community is also the result of the [[Hispanicization|Castilianization]] processes to which all the indigenous peoples of Mexico have been subjected. The Castilianization of indigenous people in Mexico has long been understood as a subtractive process, that is, one that implies the renunciation of the use of the [[First language|mother tongue]] in order to obtain [[linguistic competence]] in the Spanish language.{{sfn|Hamel|Brumm|Carrillo Avelar|Loncon|2004|p=87}} The Castilianization of indigenous people was presented as an alternative to integrate indigenous people into the [[Mexican culture|Mexican national culture]] and to improve their living conditions. However, indigenous education programs in the Spanish language have been discredited by critics because they imply, on the one hand, the loss of the native language and, on the other hand, have not served to improve the quality of life of indigenous communities.{{sfn|Hamel|Brumm|Carrillo Avelar|Loncon|2004|p=86}}{{Wide image|Otomi cultural center 006 by mexikids.jpg|800px|Main stage of the {{interlanguage link|Otomi Ceremonial Center|es|Centro Ceremonial Otomí}} (Otomi Cultural Center) in [[Temoaya]], Mexico state}}
== Notable people ==
*[[Xiye Bastida]], environmentalist
*[[:es:Martina García Cruz|Martina García Cruz]], artisan
*[[Macedonia Blas Flores]], human rights activist
*[[Macuilxochitzin]], Aztec poet
*[[José Luis Romo Martín]], painter
*[[Fortunato Moreno Reinoso]], artisan
*[[Adela Calva Reyes]], writer
* [[Kevin Álvarez (footballer, born 1999)]]{{cn|reason=not mentioned in the article about him|date=December 2022}}
*[[Juventino Rosas]], composer Sobre las Olas, violinist
== See also ==
* [[Otomi (military)]], an [[Aztec warfare|Aztec military order]] named after, if not composed of, Otomis
* [[Licence to Kill]], 1989 James Bond movie shows the Centro Cultural Otomi.
*[[Macedonia Blas Flores]], candidata al Premio Nobel de la Paz en 2005.
*[http://cultura.hidalgo.gob.mx/infraestructura/museo-de-la-cultura-hnahnu/ Museo de la Cultura Hñähñu y Centro Cultural del Valle del Mezquital]
== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}
== References ==
* {{cite journal | last=Wright Carr | first=David Charles | date=May 2005 | title=Hñahñu, Nuhu, Nhato, Nuhmu: Precisiones sobre el término 'otomí{{'-}} | journal=[[Arqueología Mexicana]] | volume=13 | issue=73 | page=19 | language=es | url=https://arqueologiamexicana.mx/mexico-antiguo/hnahnu-nuhu-nhato-nuhmu-precisiones-sobre-el-termino-otomi}} Also available in [https://web.archive.org/web/20051108014507/http://www.arqueomex.com/S8N5PALABRAotomi.pdf PDF format].
* {{cite web | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080908074630/http://www.prodigyweb.net.mx/dcwright/mss.htm | title=Manuscritos Otomies del Virreinato | language=es | first=David Charles | last=Wright Carr | url=http://www.prodigyweb.net.mx/dcwright/mss.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=2008-09-08}}
* {{cite web | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110130060745/http://arqueomex.com/S2N3nPALABRA73.html | title=Otomies en las fuentes | language=es | first=David Charles | last=Wright Carr | url=http://arqueomex.com/S2N3nPALABRA73.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=2011-01-30}}
* {{cite web | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110226215022/http://www.arqueomex.com/S2N3nLosOtomies73.html | title=Lengua cultura e historia de los Otomíes Paper | language=es | first=David Charles | last=Wright Carr | url=http://www.arqueomex.com/S2N3nLosOtomies73.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=2011-02-26}}
* {{cite book | last=Cajero | first=Mateo Velázquez | date=January 2009 | orig-year=2002 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130412082256/http://uncomp.uwe.ac.uk/genaro/Cultura_Otomi_en_Ixtenco/Historia_files/MateoCajero.pdf | title=Historia de los Otomíes en Ixtenco | language=es | publication-place=San Juan Ixtenco, Tlaxcala, México | publisher=Government of Tlaxcala, México | edition=2nd | url=http://uncomp.uwe.ac.uk/genaro/Cultura_Otomi_en_Ixtenco/Historia_files/MateoCajero.pdf | url-status=dead | archive-date=2013-04-12}}
* {{cite book | last=Bello Maldonado | first=Álvaro | date=2004 | title=Etnicidad y ciudadanía en América Latina: La acción colectiva de los pueblos indígenas | publisher=United Nations Publications}}
* {{cite book | last=Barrientos López | first=Guadalupe | date=2004 | title=Otomíes del estado de México | language=es | publisher=Comisión Nacional para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas de México (CDI)-Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD), México}}
* {{cite book | last=Campbell | first=Lyle | date=1997 | title=American Indian Languages: The Historical Linguistics of Native America | language=en | series=Oxford Studies in Anthropological Linguistics | volume=4 | publisher=Oxford University Press | publication-place=New York}}
* {{cite web | author=Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social (CIESAS) | date=n.d. | title=Otomíes de Michoacán | website=CIESAS-Istmo | url=http://pacificosur.ciesas.edu.mx/fichas/conte37.html | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090201025645/http://pacificosur.ciesas.edu.mx/fichas/conte37.html | archive-date=2009-02-01 | access-date=11 November 2021}}
* {{cite web | author=Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social (CIESAS) | date=n.d. | title=Otomíes de Querétaro | website=CIESAS-Istmo | url=http://pacificosur.ciesas.edu.mx/perfilindigena/otomiesqueretaro/conte03.html | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090224211621/http://pacificosur.ciesas.edu.mx/perfilindigena/otomiesqueretaro/conte03.html | archive-date=2009-02-24 | access-date=11 November 2021}}
* {{cite web | last=Collin Harguindeguy | first=Laura | date=n.d. | title=Reflexiones sobre la identidad de los otomíes | website=El Colegio de Tlaxcala | url=http://www.coltlax.edu.mx/pdf_dra_laura/reflexiones.pdf | access-date=11 November 2021}} (enlace roto disponible en Internet Archive; véase el historial, la primera versión y la última)
* {{cite book | last=Duverger | first=Christian | date=2007 | title=El primer mestizaje. La clave para entender el pasado mesoamericano | publisher=Conaculta-INAH-Taurus-UNAM, México}}
* {{cite book | last1=Garza Cuarón | first1=Beatriz | first2=Yolanda | last2=Lastra | date=2000 | chapter=Lenguas en peligro de extinción en México | pages=139–196 | editor-last=Robins | editor-first=Robert Henry | editor-last2=Uhlenbeck | editor-first2=Eugenius Marius | editor-last3=Garza Cuarón | editor-first3=Beatriz | title=Lenguas en peligro | trans-title=Endangered Languages | language=es | publication-place=Mexico | publisher=[[Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia]] | series=Colección Obra diversa | isbn=978-970-18-2494-8 | oclc=45367879}} Translated from {{cite book | editor-last=Robins | editor-first=Robert Henry | editor-last2=Uhlenbeck | editor-first2=Eugenius Marius | editor-last3=Garza Cuarón | editor-first3=Beatriz | date=1991 | title=Endangered Languages | language=en | publisher=[[Berg Publishers]] | publication-place=Oxford, UK | isbn=978-0-85496-313-3 | oclc=24628327}}
* {{cite book | last=Gómez de Silva | first=Guido | date=2001 | title=Diccionario breve de mexicanismos | trans-title=Brief dictionary of Mexican jargon | language=es | publisher=Fondo de Cultura Económica, México}}
* {{cite journal | last1=Hamel | first1=Rainier Enrique | first2=María | last2=Brumm | first3=Antonio | last3=Carrillo Avelar | first4=Elisa | last4=Loncon | first5=Rafael | last5=Nieto | first6=Elías | last6=Silva Castellón | title=Qué hacemos con la castilla? La enseñanza del español como segunda lengua en el currículo intercultural bilingüe de educación indígena | trans-title=What do we do with Castile? Teaching Spanish as a second language in the intercultural bilingual indigenous education curriculum | language=es | journal=Revista Mexicana de Investigación Educativa | date=January 2004 | volume=9 | number=20 | pages=83–107 | issn=1405-6666 | url=https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/140/14002006.pdf <!-- https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=14002006 -->}}
*Jiménez Moreno, Wigberto (1939): "Origen y significación del nombre otomí", en ''Revista Mexicana de Estudios Antropológicos'', III, México.
*Mendoza Rico, Mirza; Luis Enrique Ferro Vidal y Eduardo Solorio Santiago (2006): ''Otomíes del Semidesierto queretano'', Comisión Nacional para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas de México (CDI)-Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD), México.
*Moreno Alcántara, Beatriz ; María Gabriela Garrett Ríos y Ulises Julio Fierro Alonso (2006): ''Otomíes del Valle del Mezquital'', Comisión Nacional para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas de México (CDI)-Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD), México.
* {{cite book | last=Wright Carr | first=David Charles | date=1999 | title=La conquista del Bajío y los orígenes de San Miguel de Allende | language=es | publisher=Universidad del Valle de México-Fondo de Cultura Económica, México}}
== External links ==
{{Commons category|Otomi people}}
* [http://www.mexicantextiles.com/grouppages/groups/otomitemoaya/spedroabajo2/index.htm Pictures of Otomi weaving styles]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110513075951/http://uncomp.uwe.ac.uk/genaro/Cultura_Otomi_en_Ixtenco/ Cultura Otomí en Ixtenco, Tlaxcala, México].
* {{Cite episode |title=No Place Like Home Act One: Flight Simulation |first1=James |last1=Spring |url=http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/520/no-place-like-home |access-date=March 8, 2014 |series=This American Life |series-link=This American Life |station=[[WBEZ]] |location=Chicago |date=March 14, 2014 |number=520}} About the "Caminata Nocturna" (a simulated illegal border crossing), in the Hñähñú village of El Alberto, Hidalgo.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110513084039/http://www.nacionmulticultural.unam.mx/Portal/Derecho/MULTIMEDIA/ppm/04Sagrada_serpiente.html "Sagrada Serpiente Negra"]; video producido por la Coordinación General de Educación Intercultural Bilingüe de la Secretaría de Educación Pública (México) sobre los otomíes del Valle del Mezquital. los otomíes son un pueblo indígena mexicano que,debido a la convivencia en las mismas regiones a lo largo de los siglos,comparte rasgos de cultura material con los nahuas.
* [http://www.otomi.es.tl/ "Aprende otomí con gramática de un otomí".]
* [http://www.redindigena.net/ Red de Información Indígena.]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130418022202/http://otomimoderno.es.tl/ "Todo sobre los otomies".]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6hPu-OmOcI "Himno Nacional Mexicano en Otomí - Ixtenco".] Video producido en la comunidad otomí de Ixtenco, Tlaxcala. Traducido cuidadosamente por el historiador otomí Mateo Cajero, y ejecutado por sus nietas el domingo 3 de mayo de 2010.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110513075951/http://uncomp.uwe.ac.uk/genaro/Cultura_Otomi_en_Ixtenco/ Cultura otomí en Ixtenco.]
* [https://pueblosindigenas.es/de-mexico/otomi/ Cultura Otomi]
* {{cite web | url=https://eib.sep.gob.mx/isbn/9789685927017.pdf | title=Cómo obtener mejores cosechas | trans-title=How to obtain better harvests | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026234422/https://eib.sep.gob.mx/isbn/9789685927017.pdf | publisher=Otomí de la Sierra, Coordinación General de Educación Intercultural Bilingüe | archive-date=2020-10-26}}
{{Indigenous peoples of Mexico}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Otomi| ]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Mexico]]
[[Category:Indigenous peoples in Mexico]]
[[Category:Indigenous peoples of Aridoamerica]]
[[Category:Mexican Plateau]]