Between the ethnic groups Of Nuevo León , State located to the northeast of Mexico, are the alazapas, huachichiles, coahuiltecos and erasers.
Collectively these groups were called the Chichimecas. They were the settlers of the lands of Nuevo Leon before they arrived the conquerors that, in this case, they were mainly Portuguese.
The first settlers classified these groups according to certain particular characteristics. Thus they were divided into: erased, scratched, pellets, swept, and other denominations.
A list of governor Martin de Zavala of pre-1960 accounts for 251 subgroups.
In general, these ethnic groups were nomadic or semi-nomadic and were engaged in hunting, fishing and gathering. Like other indigenous groups it was normal in their social organization that the man would catch the prey and that the woman would take care of everything else.
Ethnic groups in Nuevo León: customs
They habitually lived in the rocks of the rocks, but in times of war and in the winter they built reed and grass huts forming small villages.
The huts were bell-shaped, without windows and with a very low entrance. Between them they formed a crescent. They slept on the floor or on a leather and their habits of hygiene were far from that of the whites.
On the other hand, one does not know for sure what religion they professed, but they were very superstitious, being particularly fearful to the spells.
Alazapas even killed a minor relative to prevent death if they dreamed that they would die.
The healers sucked the diseased part and"crushed the evil"with stones. They were not frightened by lightning, lightning, or thunder. On the contrary, they went out and pretended to fight against these natural phenomena.
As for the dress, it was very varied depending on the groups. Some wore garments made of animal skin, others wore no clothes.
They used bone, sticks, feathers and others as an accessory. For the holidays, they smeared their heads with tallow or almagre, especially the men. They also liked to paint or tattoo their faces and bodies.
In terms of food, this was quite limited. They consumed the prickly pear cactus in barbecue, its juice as a soda and its flower.
They also ate other fruits, roots and meat of all kinds, including rodents and reptiles, but their favorite dish was deer meat. The human flesh was also included in the menu.
Ethnic groups in Nuevo León: extinction
The native groups of the state of Nuevo Leon were reduced after the conquest. Many died or fled from extermination and slavery, with the exception of the Tlaxcalan race.
It enjoyed privileges and exemptions that allowed it to prosper among whites. There were also very small groups of hualahuices and alazapas.
At present, in this region there are still people who speak indigenous languages. These represent 1% of the population.
The most talked about are the Nahuatl , The Huasteco, the Otomí and several Zapotec languages. In the last decades, the metropolitan area of Nuevo Leon has been an important receiving location of indigenous population. These have concentrated especially on the central bus and the mall.
References
- Alanís Flores, G. and Foroughbakhch, R. (2008). Ancient ethnic groups of Nuevo León and the use of native flora. Science UANL , Vol. XI, No. 2, April-June.
- State of Nuevo León (s / f). Encyclopedia of Municipalities and Delegations of Mexico. Recovered from siglo.inafed.gob.mx.
- Civil College University Cultural Center. (2015, January 29). Program Our History 2 (Etnias de Nuevo León). Retrieved from youtube.com.
- Brief history of Nuevo León (s / f). Brief history of the states. Recovered from bibliotecadigital.ilce.edu.mx.
- Genesis and evolution of the public administration of Nuevo León (2005). Nuevo León: Editorial Fund of NL.
- Cavazos Garza, I. (1994). The Northeast: Nuevo León. In D. Piñera Ramírez, Historical Vision of the Northern Border of Mexico, Volume 2 (Coord.), Pp. 24-32. UABC.
- Gonzalez, J.E. (1867). Collection of news and documents for the history of the state of N. Leon: corrected and ordered so that they form a relationship. Monterrey: Tip. Of A. Mier.
- INEGI (2010). Census of Population and Housing.
- Arroyo, M.A. (2010, November 29). Indigenous people in NL: population in increase, but invisible for society and government. The Journey, p. 39.