Chatino
Encyclopedia
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 Kitse Cha'tño and their language Cha'tña.
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 Zezontepec, San Juan Lachao
, Santa María Temaxcaltepec
, Santa Catarina Juquila
and Tataltepec de Valdés
.
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 runway
s for airports in many municipalities
. Federal bilingual schools, high schools, and telesecundaria
s (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.
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 Ethnologue
, there are six distinct dialects of Chatino, which exhibit varying degrees of mutual intelligibility
: Eastern Highland, Nopala, Tataltepec, Western Highland, Zacatepec and Zenzontepec.
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
name of an indigenous people
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
of southern central Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, and also of their language, the Chatino language
Chatino language
The Chatino language is an indigenous Mesoamerican language, which is classified under the Zapotecan branch of the Oto-Manguean language family...
. Chatino communities are located in the southeastern region of the state of Oaxaca
Oaxaca
Oaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
. Speakers of Chatino are numbered around 23,000 (Ethnologue surveys), but ethnic Chatinos may number many more. They call themselves Kitse Cha'tño and their language Cha'tña.
Chatino populations are found in the following Oaxacan municipalities
Municipalities of Oaxaca
The Mexican state of Oaxacais made up of 571 municipalities —more than any other state....
, mostly in the area around Juquila: Santos Reyes Nopala
Santos Reyes Nopala
Santos Reyes Nopala is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico.It is part of the Juquila District in the center of the Costa Region.The name Nopala is derived from the Nahuatl word for cactus.-Environment:...
, San Juan Quiahije
San Juan Quiahije
San Juan Quiahije is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico.It is part of the Juquila District in the center of the Costa Region.Quiahije means "Stone Forest" in the Zapotec language....
, San Miguel Panixtlahuaca
San Miguel Panixtlahuaca
San Miguel Panixtlahuaca is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico.It is part of the Juquila District in the center of the Costa Region.The name "Panixtlahuatl" in the Nahuatl language means "Plain of the Bridge".-Environment:...
, Santiago Yaitepec
Santiago Yaitepec
Santiago Yaitepec is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico, two kilometers southeast of Santa Catarina Juquila.It is part of the Juquila District in the center of the Costa Region.The name "Yaitepec" means means "Three hills"....
, Santa Cruz Zezontepec, San Juan Lachao
San Juan Lachao
San Juan Lachao is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico.It is part of the Juquila District in the center of the Costa Region.The municipality covers 190.1 km² of hilly land...
, Santa María Temaxcaltepec
Santa María Temaxcaltepec
Santa María Temaxcaltepec is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico.It is part of the Juquila District in the center of the Costa Region....
, Santa Catarina Juquila
Santa Catarina Juquila
Santa Catarina Juquila is a town in the State of Oaxaca, Mexico, and is the seat of the municipality also called Santa Catarina Juquila.It is part of the Juquila District in the center of the Costa Region....
and Tataltepec de Valdés
Tataltepec de Valdés
Tataltepec de Valdés is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico.It is part of the Juquila District in the center of the Costa Region.The town was established around 400-300 BC...
.
The region that the Chatinos inhabit is rich in natural resources. Traditionally many Chatino people have been involved in agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, 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 runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
s for airports in many municipalities
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
. Federal bilingual schools, high schools, and telesecundaria
Telesecundaria
Telesecundaria is a system of distance education programs for secondary and high school students created by the government of Mexico and available in rural areas of the country as well as Central America, South America, Canada and the United States via satellite .-Background:Telesecundaria was born...
s (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 ZapotecanZapotecan languages
The Zapotecan languages are a group of related Oto-Manguean languages which descend from the common proto-Zapotecan language spoken by the Zapotec people during the era of the dominance of Monte Albán....
branch of the Oto-Manguean
Oto-Manguean languages
Oto-Manguean languages are a large family comprising several families of Native American languages. All of the Oto-Manguean languages that are now spoken are indigenous to Mexico, but the Manguean branch of the family, which is now extinct, was spoken as far south as Nicaragua and Costa Rica.The...
language family
Language family
A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ancestor, called the proto-language of that family. The term 'family' comes from the tree model of language origination in historical linguistics, which makes use of a metaphor comparing languages to people in a...
. The Chatino have close cultural and linguistic ties with the Zapotec peoples, whose Zapotec language
Zapotec language
The Zapotec language are a group of closely related indigenous Mesoamerican languages spoken by the Zapotec people from the southwestern-central highlands of Mexico. Present-day native speakers are estimated to number over half a million, with the majority inhabiting the state of Oaxaca....
is the other member of the Zapotecan languages.
According to Ethnologue
Ethnologue
Ethnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International , a Christian linguistic service organization, which studies lesser-known languages, to provide the speakers with Bibles in their native language and support their efforts in language development.The Ethnologue...
, there are six distinct dialects of Chatino, which exhibit varying degrees of mutual intelligibility
Mutual intelligibility
In linguistics, mutual intelligibility is recognized as a relationship between languages or dialects in which speakers of different but related languages can readily understand each other without intentional study or extraordinary effort...
: Eastern Highland, Nopala, Tataltepec, Western Highland, Zacatepec and Zenzontepec.