La Mixteca
La Mixteca or Sierra La Mixteca is a predominantly from Mixtec -Indianern inhabited and an area of 38,000 square kilometers comprehensive Bergland in the western Mexican state of Oaxaca ; it is also one of the eight regions in the state.
geography
The Sierra La Mixteca is a mountainous area of non-volcanic origin that is heavily fissured, thinly forested and heavily affected by soil erosion at altitudes between 1500 and a maximum of about 3000 m . Despite the altitude, the climate is temperate to warm; Rain (approx. 500–700 mm / year) falls mainly in the summer months. There are no natural surface waters (rivers and lakes) and even streams only arise after heavy or prolonged rainfall. There are three landscape subdivisions:
- Mixteca Alta (main town Asunción Nochixtlán )
- Mixteca Baja (main town Huajuapan de León )
- Mixteca de la Costa (main town Putla Villa de Guerrero )
Population and economy
In the Mixteca about 500,000 people live; The largest cities in the region are Huajuapan de León with around 60,000 inhabitants, Asunción Nochixtlán with around 13,000 inhabitants and Santiago Juxtlahuaca with around 10,000 inhabitants; the remaining places mostly have between 500 and 2,000 inhabitants. While the infrastructure in the Mixteca Baja and in the Mixteca de la Costa are relatively developed, in the Mixteca Alta mainly maize , beans and chillies are grown on small plots ; cattle breeding ( turkeys and domestic fowls ) is of minor importance. The region's wickerwork products ( hats , basketry, etc.) made from small wild Jipijapa palms are sold throughout Mexico.
history
Written records hardly exist. It is believed that many Mixtecs moved from the Oaxaca valley, which is only about 1500 m high, to the mountainous regions before the Aztecs and their allies in the 15th century, i.e. in pre-Hispanic times . After the conquest of Tenochtitlán in the 1520s, the Spanish conquistadors also invaded the valley of Oaxaca; they were followed by monks of the Dominican order and founded numerous mission stations .
Attractions
- There are hardly any ancient Indian places of worship made of stone in the Mixteca Alta and Mixteca de la Costa ; small places of worship made of branches, twigs and corn stalks etc. may have existed, but they have disappeared without a trace. A few hundred meters north of Huajuapan in the Mixteca Baja , a site was discovered in the 1960s on the Cerro de las Minas that, according to archaeologists , dates from around 350 BC. Was settled until around 800 AD. Numerous finds are presented in the Huajuapan Regional Museum.
- The missions of the Dominican Order in the Oaxaca Valley are among the greatest buildings of their time - not only in Mexico. In the Mixteca Alta the convents of Santo Domingo Yanhuitlán , San Juan Bautista Coixtlahuaca , San Pedro y San Pablo Teposcolula or San Juan Teposcolula were built .
Culture
Numerous festivals are celebrated in the villages of the region, accompanied by music and dances. The Mixtec language - people call themselves “rain people” ( na savi or na'ivi davi ) - has been promoted for a few years by its own radio station (XETLA). There is a Technical University in Huajuapan.
literature
- Ronald Spores, Andrew K. Balkansky: The Mixtecs of Oaxaca: Ancient Times to the Present. University of Oklahoma Press 2013, ISBN 978-0806143811 .