Guachichil
Map of Chichimeca Nations
Guachichile territory in purple. |
|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (Unknown) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Central Mexico (e.g. Zacatecas, Guanajuato, San Luis Potosí) |
|
| Languages | |
| Guachichil, Spanish | |
| Religion | |
| Roman Catholic | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Other Chichimecas |
The Guachichil, Cuauchichil, or Quauhchichitl, were an Indigenous peoples that occupied the most extensive territory of all the indigenous Chichimeca Nations tribes in pre-Columbian Central Mexico.
The Guachichiles roamed through a large region of Zacatecas; as well as portions of San Luis Potosí, Guanajuato, and northeastern Jalisco; south to the northern corners of Michoacán; and north to Saltillo in Coahuila.
Contents
History
Considered both warlike and brave, the Guachichiles played a major role in provoking the other Chichimeca tribes to resist the Spanish settlement. The historian Philip Wayne Powell wrote:[1][2]
-
-
- " Their strategic position in relation to Spanish mines and highways, made them especially effective in raiding and in escape from Spanish reprisal."
-
These warriors were known to fight fiercely even if mortally wounded and were a key component in the Spanish defeat during the Chichimeca Wars. Eventually Miguel Caldera, a half-Guachichil mestizo, played a role in effectively ending the war by diplomatic and pacification policies instead of attempting to subdue the Chichimecs by brute force.
- Origin of name
The Guachichiles were known to paint their bodies, hair, and faces in red dye. For this reason they were called "guachichile" by the Mexica; from the nahuatl kua-itl (head) and chichil-tic (red), meaning "heads painted red".
Language
| Cuachichil | |
|---|---|
| Region | Zacatecas |
| Extinct | (date missing) |
|
unclassified (Corachol?)
|
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
|
Linguist list
|
0w6 |
| Glottolog | None |
The Guachichil language is now extinct and very little is known about it. It may have been an Uto-Aztecan language closely related to the Huichol language.[3]
See also
References
- ↑ Houstonculture.org: Guanajuato
- ↑ Latinola.com: Guachichiles
- ↑ Miller, Wick. (1983). Uto-Aztecan languages. In W. C. Sturtevant (Ed.), Handbook of North American Indians (Vol. 10, pp. 113–124). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution.
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- Indigenous peoples of Aridoamerica
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- History of Coahuila
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