Chatino people

Chatino is the Spanish name of an indigenous people of southern central Mexico, and also of their language, the Chatino language. Chatino communities are located in the southeastern region of the state of Oaxaca. Speakers of Chatino are numbered around 23,000 (Ethnologue surveys), but ethnic Chatinos may number many more. They call themselves qne-a tnya-e and their language Chaq-f tnya-b. Chatino is also a language in Mexico.

Chatino populations are found in the following Oaxacan municipalities, mostly in the area around Juquila: Santos Reyes Nopala, San Juan Quiahije, San Miguel Panixtlahuaca, Santiago Yaitepec, Santa Cruz Zenzontepec, San Juan Lachao, Santa María Temaxcaltepec, Santa Catarina Juquila and Tataltepec de Valdés.^[1]

The region that the Chatinos inhabit is rich in natural resources. Traditionally many Chatino people have been involved in agriculture, which depends very much on the climate, so some Chatinos have had to emigrate to the corners of the district of Juquila to work on coffee plantations. Most Chatino communities have public services, and there are runways for airports in many municipalities. Federal bilingual schools, high schools, and telesecundarias (distance education programs for secondary and high school students) have been established.

The traditional authorities of this people are organized in a system based on civil and religious roles, in which advice from elders is treated as the greatest authority. They believe in the Holy Grandmother, the Holy Father Sun, the Holy Mother Earth, and the Holy Mother Moon. In addition, they worship the deities of water, wind, rain, the mountain, and fire.

Chatino language

Chatino language is an indigenous Mesoamerican language, which is classified under the Zapotecan branch of the Oto-Manguean language family. The Chatino have close cultural and linguistic ties with the Zapotec peoples, whose Zapotec language is the other member of the Zapotecan languages. According to Campbell,^[2] there are three main Chatino languages, which exhibit varying degrees of mutual intelligibility: Zenzontepec Chatino, Tataltepec Chatino, and Eastern Chatino.^[3]

External links

• (Spanish) Chatinos, Instituto Nacional Indigenista – Ethnographic description of the Chatino people
• "Chatino – History and Cultural Relations". Countries and Their Cultures. Advameg, Inc. Retrieved 2010-07-23. 

References

Indigenous peoples of Mexico
More than 100,000 people	Nahua Maya Zapotec Mixtec Otomi Totonac Tzotzil Tzeltal Mazahua Mazatec Huastec Ch'ol Chinantec Purépecha Mixe Tlapanec Tarahumara
20,000–100,000 people	Mayo Zoque Chontal Maya Popoluca Chatino Amuzgo Tojolabal Huichol Tepehuán Triqui Cora Mam Yaqui Cuicatec Huave
1,000–20,000 people	Tepehua Kanjobal Pame Chichimeca Jonaz Guarijio Chuj Chocho Tacuate Mexicanero Ocuiltec Pima Bajo Jacaltec
Less than 1,000 people	Kekchí Lacandon Ixcatecos Seri K'iche' Motocintlec Kaqchikel Paipai Tohono O'odham Cocopah Kumiai Kikapú Cochimí Ixil Kiliwa Aguacatec Opata

Indigenous peoples of Oaxaca
Amuzgo Chatino Chinanteco Chochotec Cuicateco Huave Ixcatec Mazateco Mixe Mixtec Oaxacan Chontal Popoluca Tacuate Trique Zapotec Zoque