The Language of the Nahuatl

The Nahuatl, in Mexico, are one of the biggest indigenous populations in that country. Its culture has survived throughout the decades in spite of the colonization of Mexico by Spain that began with the arrival of Hernan Cortez and the modernization that the country has been through in the past decades. The Nahuatl language was one of the largest speaking languages when the Spanish arrived because it was the language spoken by the Aztecs, which during those times was the largest and most powerful empire in this region which today is Mexico (Medina Lima). Missionaries who traveled to the new world had the purpose to convert many of the indigenous peoples to Catholicism, and because they could not communicate with the Aztecs or any other indigenous group by speaking Spanish they relied on the Nahuatl language to convey their religious message (Medina Lima). Instead of trying to eliminate the language they embraced it to accomplish their purpose which was the conversion of the indigenous to the Catholic religion. Another reason why they embraced to teaching their ways in the Nahua language was because they believed the "Indios", or Indians, were so inferior that they had the inability to learn the Spanish language because it was far to complicated for them (Medina Lima).

Language is one of the most important aspects in any culture because it provides a mean of communication and it is what makes us unique. The Nahuatl, apart from being the largest indigenous population in Mexico, also has the most widely spoken indigenous language as well. There are approximately about 1.4 million people living in Mexico that speak the Nahuatl language, that is the second largest spoken language in Mexico apart from Spanish (Mexican Languages). Among the states with the largest amount of the Nahua speaking population include, Puebla with a 28.9%, Veracruz with a 23.2%, Hidalgo 15.8%, Guerrero 9.8%, San Luis Potosi 9.6%, Mexico 3.3%, Distrito Federal 2.2%, Tlaxcala 1.5%, and Morelos with a 1.2% (El Universal, 2008).

The culture of the Nahua has had to endure a number of changes in their culture because of the Europeanization of the Spanish when they got there in the colonization periods, but their language has been conserved throughout the years. In Mexico there has been a strong emphasis on the conservation of indigenous cultures and that has been possible with a number of legislations that pushed for the protection of these indigenous cultures including the Nahuatl. For example, the constitution that was drafted in 1917, "...had a strong focus on the preserving the languages of Mexico and the country’s multicultural identity" (Mexican Languages). This protected the language of not only the Nahuatl but also of all the other indigenous languages in Mexico. Another most recent of the legislations called, The Law of Linguistic Rights which was passed in 2002, which was created to, "protect the native Mexican languages, and encourage bilingual and intercultural education"(Mexican Languages). This which is important not only because it protects the rights of a minority population but also emphasizes the importance of the education of these languages to people not in the indigenous population.

The teaching of the Nahuatl language has become very popular in Mexico especially at the college level, students are offered the opportunity to learn Nahuatl like any other foreign language. One of the most important and prestigious universities in Mexico is the National Autonomous University of Mexico or UNAM has in their curriculum of foreign languages, the Nahua language, which emphasizes the importance to learn one the largest languages in Mexico and includes the teaching of their literature, music, history, myths and their culture overall. The website of the UNAM also states that since 2009, which is when the university began to offer these studies the amount of people enrolling in the program has increased (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico). The further education of the Nahuatl language and its increased popularity ensures the survival of the language in Mexico.

Ciation: 

Medina Lima, Constantino. n.d. “La Persistencia Del Nahuatl En Mexico: Ejemplos De Cuauhtinchan y De La Region Poblana.” Diccionario Tematico CIESAS. Retrieved 2015 (http://www.ciesas.edu.mx/publicaciones/diccionario/diccionario ciesas/temas pdf/medina 74b.pdf).

“Mexican Lanugages .” Don Quijote Spanish Language Learning. Retrieved 2015 (http://www.donquijote.org/culture/mexico/languages/).

Anon. 2008. “Nahuatl, Lengua Indigena Con Mas Hablantes En Mexico: INEGI.” Retrieved 2015 (http://archivo.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/507940.html).

Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. n.d. “Cursos De Idiomas Nahuatl.” Centro de Ensenanza de Lenguas Extranjeras. Retrieved 2015 (http://cele.unam.mx/index.php?categoria=2&subcategoria=12#).

Information and Life of the Nahua

Nowadays, in a number of villages in Sierra Norte de Puebla and the State of Morelos, the women continue to dress in traditional clothing, consisting of embroidered blouses, woven belts, and black wrap skirts. Many of the indigenous groups still speak their own language - Nahuatl - and maintain a number of religious and social traditions. The Nahuas traditional system is family and village-based. Nahua Because of the challenges of poverty and the loss of land and territory, a number of Nahua groups have become heavy assimilated into mestizo culture, losing their native language which is still spoken by 23 percent of Mexico's indigenous population.In the early 1980s, exploration by Shell led to contact with the isolated Nahua tribe. Within a few years around 50% of the Nahua had died.

The modern Nahua are an agricultural people; their staple crops are corn (maize), beans, chili peppers, tomatoes, and squash. Also common are maguey (the Mexican century plant), sugarcane, rice, and coffee. The primary farming tools are the wooden plow, hoe, and digging stick. Groups of three or four men may cultivate corn, beans, and squash collectively, using slash-and-burn techniques to clear new land. Chickens and turkeys are also raised, and pigs, goats, and donkeys are often kept. Settlements consist of central villages divided into four sections (barrios) grouped around a central church; each barrio recruits compulsory labour to work village common lands in addition to private farming. Weaving of cotton and wool is the chief craft among the Nahua, whose skill is great in this respect. Both men and women weave, men usually on the European upright loom and women more often on the native belt loom. Fibres of the maguey plant are also woven to make carrying cloths and sacks. Pottery, rope making, palm-fibre weaving, and adobe brickmaking are other crafts practiced. Nahua houses are usually one-room structures of cane, wood, adobe, or stone, with thatch or tile roofs. Traditional clothing consists of a long wraparound skirt, blouse (huipil), sash (faja), short triangular cape (quechquemitl), and a shawl (rebozo) for women; short white cotton pants, cotton shirt, faja, woollen overshirt, sandals, and straw hat for men. Ready-made clothes are commonly worn by Nahua men, however, and women may wear dark skirts and white blouses made of commercial cloth. The social institution of godparenthood (compadrazgo) is widely practiced, and parents and godparents are felt to have strong ties. The Nahua are Roman Catholics, oriented toward the patron saints of their villages as well as the Virgin of Guadalupe and various “Cristos” involved in local legend. Witchcraft is commonly believed in, along with a variety of pagan or semipagan supernatural creatures. Pagan religious rituals, except as they relate to witchcraft, are no longer practiced.

Today, most Nahua children learn both their mother tongue and Spanish, although in some villages the Nahuatl language has disappeared altogether in recent generations.Today, the Nahuas are primarily farmers and tradesmen, and also do some fishing and hunting as a source of food. Largely because of population growth, environmental degradation and national policies, there are no longer enough resources to support these indigenous people. Therefore many Nahuas have left their homeland, seeking jobs in the cities and the U.S. However, daily life in the village persists with the ever present sense of the gods' effect in their lives.

Nahuas are primarily farmers and tradesmen, and also do some fishing and hunting as a source of food. Largely because of population growth, environmental degradation and national policies, there are no longer enough resources to support these indigenous people. Therefore many Nahuas have left their homeland, seeking jobs in the cities and the U.S. However, daily life in the village persists with the ever present sense of the gods' effect in their lives.

Citation :

Indigenous Peoples of the World: The Nahua. (n.d.). Retrieved October 28, 2015.

Nahua peoples. (n.d.). Retrieved October 28, 2015.