Globalization Among the Nahua

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

How globalization has affected the Nahua population:

Globalization has a major impact on language, especially indigenous languages. Today, the Spanish language is overtaking the Nahuatl language, and it is a large part of why the Nahuatl language is disappearing. For example, Spanish is rendering the native language and culture of the Nahua people because most education that is being taught in Mexico is taught in Spanish. Language not only provides a medium of expressing meaning, but also ones culture and identity. Therefore, it is important to the Nahua that their language stay alive because if not it’s not only their language that will die, but also their heritage and traditions.

The Nahua Population Primarily Within Mexico

The Nahua tribe are primarily, but not limited to, located within Mexico. They are the largest Indian group and form almost twenty-three percent of the native population within Mexico. The Nahua are descendants of the Aztecs and have therefore expanded their regions substantially. In effect, the numbers of Nahua people have gradually increased over the years and have spread into various geographical locations. Regarding their dominant region, Mexico, they reside in four key areas which comprise of the Huasteca, the northern Sierra de Puebla, the southern Sierra de Puebla, and Morelos and Guerrero.

According to the census of 1990, a survey was taken in order to acquire a precise quantity of Nahua people residing within these regions. The Nahuas that were taken into account were required to be native speakers and be over the age of five. The Nahua of the Huasteca have a native speaking population of around 385,032. The Nahuas located within the northern Sierra de Puebla reached a census of 194,739 and in the southern Sierra de Puebla they reached 203,785. Lastly, the Nahuas are far more dispersed in Morelos and Guerrero, reaching a census of 98,254 and border the regions of the Tlapanec and Mixtec.

References:

Advameg INC. N.d. Nahua Peoples. Electronic document, http://www.everyculture.com/Middle-America-Caribbean/Nahua-Peoples.html, Accessed March 26, 2014.

Religion and Expressive Culture of the Nahua People:

The Nahua religion and beliefs are mainly a mix of Spanish Catholicism and Native American traditions. However, even where Catholicism seems to triumph, their traditional practices seem to remain strong. The Nahua people participate in the Catholic Church ceremonies, but they also practice many traditional ceremonies and rituals. Sometimes, their traditional rituals involve complex preparations and follow the agricultural cycles of harvest and planting. They strongly believe the natural world is alive and sacred, especially corn because it is thought that it originated in this area. They have ceremonies and offerings to maintain the balance of the natural order and to ask for support and blessings from many gods. Also, they believe that sickness is a result of a disruption in the natural order. They use shamans, medicinal plants and Temazcallis (ritual sweat baths) to help treat many different illnesses.

The sun is considered to be mixed with Jesus Christ and is known as a creator deity. The pantheon includes many different spirits representing manifestations of a unified, sacred universe. For example, they believe Earth spirits are associated with death and fertility, water spirits are said to disperse rain and provide fish, and celestial spirits also supply rain and watch over people. Also, the Nahua’s sacred geography is connected with mountains, lakes, springs, caves and the Gulf of Mexico.

In Nahua communities that are more traditional based, the main religious person is the shaman, which is called tlamatiquetl, meaning “person of knowledge.” These religious specialists undergo an apprenticeship under an established master before practicing on their own, and they may either be male or female. In the Nahua tradition, there are some other religious specialists, which include midwives, catechists and prayer leaders, but very few Nahua communities have priests.

Furthermore, the Nahua’s beliefs regarding death and the afterlife are influenced by both their Hispanic culture and Protestant efforts. The destiny of one’s soul is connected to the circumstances of death rather than being associated with reward and punishment for behavior. The yolotl soul, representing a person’s life force, travels to an underworld place of death, which is called mictian, where it eventually vanishes. However, the tonali soul, which is linked to personality, disappears at death. Also, people who die prematurely are believed to become disease-causing wind spirits, while people who die from water-related causes go to a watery paradise.

References:

Wiley, David. 2006. The Nahuas. Electronic document, http://www.keepsthefire.org/nahua.html, Accessed March 25, 2014.

Alan R. Sandstrom. N.d. Nahua of the Huasteca. Electronic document, http://faculty.smu.edu/rkemper/anth_3311/EWC_Nahua_182-193.pdf, Accessed March 25, 2014.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

The Nahua are people who have immersed themselves into the culture of central and southern America. Although they are still believed to be an indigenous group they, and their culture, have been affected by globalization as well as many other tribes. These people focused mainly on the spiritual realms of art and creation and depended mainly on agriculture. They are descendants of the Aztecs and have, therefore, inherited many names. They have also settled into various geographical locations, however, they are most heavily located in Central Mexico. Due to globalization, the culture and traditions of the Nahua are significantly diminishing within the surrounding cultures.