Mixe people

The Mixe (Spanish mixe or rarely mije ˈmixe) are an Indigenous people of Mexico who live in the eastern highlands of the state of Oaxaca. They speak the Mixe languages, which are classified in the Mixe–Zoque family, and are more culturally conservative than other Indigenous groups of the region, maintaining their language to this day. SIL international estimated that 90,000 Mixe spoke Mixe language in 1993. The Mixe name for themselves is Ayuujkjä'äy meaning "people who speak the mountain language" The word "Mixe" itself is probably derives from the Nahuatl word for cloud: mīxtli. The Mixe live in the Sierra Mixe, which is northeast of the city of Oaxaca. The region borders the Valley of Oaxaca to the southwest, the lowlands of Tehuantepec to the east, and the highlands of Choapam and the state of Veracruz to the north. This rugged and remote area is part the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca. The western Mixe live in a mountainous temperate highland zone with the largest Mixe centers in San Pedro and Pablo Ayutla (in Mixe called Tu'ukyom), Tlahuitoltepec (Xemgɨxp) and Totontepec (Añkɨwam). At elevations above 2,400 meters, Mixe farmers cultivate maize, beans, potatoes, and squash. The midland Mixe are centered on Zacatepec (Mɨɨygɨxy) and Juquila (Kɨngɨ'ɨm). In this region, they grow coffee and chili peppers. The eastern Mixe live near the city Matías Romero in the tropical lowlands of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Here, at elevations from 35 to 1.000 meters, they grow tropical crops such as bananas, plantains, and sugar cane. The Mixe region borders on regions inhabited by Zapotecs and Chinantecs, with whom the Mixe have some contact. The Mixe region is watered by three large rivers the Papaloapan, the Coatzacoalcos and the Tehuantepec. Three peaks in the Sierra Mixe reach heights above 3300 meters: at Cempoaltepetl (in Mixe Ipxyukp "the Mountain of twenty heads"), Cerro Blanco and Cerro Malinche. Linguistic evidence suggests connection with the Olmecs, however there has been some theories that don't associate the Mixe with the Olmec, but with the native cultures of the South American Andes.