![]() | The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent an indigenous view of the subject.(August 2020) |
![]() Xixime territory circa 1500 | |
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Xixime language |
The Xixime[ pronunciation? ] were an indigenous people who inhabited a portion of the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains in the present day states of Durango and Sinaloa, Mexico. [1] [2] The Xixime are noted for their reported practice of cannibalism and resistance to Spanish colonization in the form of the Xixime Rebellion of 1610. [3]
The Xixime spoke Xixime, a poorly documented, now-extinct Uto-Aztecan language. [4] Dialects of Xixime included Hine and Hume (to the north and south of the Xixime territory, respectively). [5] The exact classification of the language is unknown although it may belong to the Taracahitic branch. [6]
A considerable amount of the scholarship and media attention devoted to the Xixime has focused on the group's reported practice of cannibalism. While a variety of colonial Spanish accounts of the Xixime report the culture engaged in frequent, ritual consumption of enemy peoples, the historical accuracy of the allegations is disputed. [7] [8]
A number of historians including Susan M. Deeds apply theories developed by Gananath Obeyesekere on Aztec sacrifice to suggest that the practice of cannibalism was "exaggerated or contrived" by the Xixime to intimidate their Spanish enemies. [3] [9]
In 2011 José Luis Punzo argued that newly discovered bones from Cueva del Mague, Durango constituted proof of the practice, citing evidence of "boiling and defleshing." [1]
Conquistador Nuño de Guzmán first documented the existence of the Xixime via reports collected by scouts during a 1530 expedition. [2] In comparison with their neighbors, the Xiximes were regarded as relatively civilized by the Spanish given their urban settlements and stone buildings. [3]
Despite initially tolerating the presence of Spanish missions in neighboring territories, the Xiximes, in 1610, began organizing violent resistance to colonial incursions. The Xiximes solicited help from the Acaxees (their northern neighbors and historical enemies) and Tepehuán arguing that Jesuit churches were "temples of disease" and that destroying them would bring immortality. [10] In response to Acaxee unwillingness to cooperate in anti-Spanish rebellion, the Xiximes began organizing attacks on Acaxee villages. [3]
To fend off the attacks, the Acaxee requested protection from the Spanish. In response, Francisco de Urdiñola attempted to secure peace through diplomatic means, though such efforts were spurned by the Xiximes. Aided by 200 Spanish soldiers and 1,100 indigenous allies, Urdiñola attempted to quell the Acaxee-led. By October, the surrender of key rebel leaders had effectively ended the uprising. [3]
The Tepehuán Revolt of 1616, which proved significantly harder to contain than the Xixime Rebellion, enjoyed widespread Xixime support. [11]
Durango, officially named Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest of the country. With a population of 1,832,650, the 8th lowest of Mexico's states, Durango has Mexico's second-lowest population density, after Baja California Sur. The capital city, Victoria de Durango, is named after the first President of Mexico, Guadalupe Victoria.
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Sinaloa, officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales.
Acaxee was a tribe or group of tribes in the Sierra Madre Occidental in eastern Sinaloa and NW Durango. They spoke a Taracahitic language in the Southern Uto-Aztecan language family. Their culture was based on horticulture and the exploitation of wild animal and plant life. They are now extinct as an identifiable ethnic group.
The Tepehuán are an indigenous people of Mexico. They live in Northwestern, Western, and some parts of North-Central Mexico. The indigenous Tepehuán language has three branches: Northern Tepehuan, Southeastern Tepehuan, Southwestern Tepehuan. The heart of the Tepehuan territory is in the Valley of Guadiana in Durango, but they eventually expanded into southern Chihuahua, eastern Sinaloa, and northern Jalisco, Nayarit, and Zacatecas. By the time of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, Tepehuan lands spanned a large territory along the Sierra Madre Occidental. Tepehuán groups are divided into the Ódami, Audam, and O'dam, each with their own language, culture, and beliefs.
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The Tepehuán Revolt broke out in New Spain in 1616 when the indigenous Tepehuán attempted to break free from Spanish rule. The revolt was crushed by 1620 after a large loss of life on both sides.
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Francisco Tenamaztle, also Tenamaxtlan, Tenamaxtli or Tenamaxtle, was a leader of the Caxcan indigenous peoples in Mexico during the Mixtón War of 1540–1542. He was later put on trial in Spain. With the support of Bartolomé de las Casas he defended the justice of his cause by appealing to King Carlos I.
The Conquest of America: The Question of the Other is a book by Tzvetan Todorov first published in 1982, detailing Spanish colonials' contact with natives upon the discovery of the Americas.
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The Acaxee Rebellion was an insurrection against Spanish rule in Mexico by Acaxee Indians, in 1601. The Acaxee attempted to expel the Spanish from their lands, regain their independence, and retain their traditional culture which was threatened by forced labor and Jesuit missionaries imposed upon them by the Spanish. They killed about 50 Spaniards and shut down silver mining operations in their territory for two years. In 1603, a Spanish army with Indian allies defeated the Acaxee and captured and executed most of their leaders. Subsequent smallpox epidemics killed most of the surviving Acaxee.
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