Corn Is Our Blood: Culture and Ethnic Identity in a Contemporary Aztec Indian Village (The Civilization of American Indian Series, Vol 206)

"Drawing upon two decades of research among Nahua-speaking peoples of Mexico's northern Veracruz, Sandstrom provides one of the most detailed and compelling portraits available of modern Mexican Indians". -- Choice. b 1 c_Page_007 2 c_Page_008 3 c_Page_009 4 c_Page_009a 5 c_Page_010 6 c_Page_011 7 c_Page_013 8 c_Page_015 9 c_Page_016 10 c_Page_017 11 c_Page_018 12 c_Page_019 13 c_Page_020 14 c_Page_021 15 c_Page_022 16 c_Page_023 17 c_Page_024 18 c_Page_025 19 c_Page_026 20 c_Page_027 21 c_Page_028 22 c_Page_029 23 c_Page_031 24 c_Page_033 25 c_Page_034 26 c_Page_035 27 c_Page_036 28 c_Page_037 29 c_Page_038 30 c_Page_039 31 c_Page_040 32 c_Page_041 33 c_Page_042 34 c_Page_043 35 c_Page_044 36 c_Page_045 37 c_Page_046 38 c_Page_047 39 c_Page_048 40 c_Page_049 41 c_Page_050 42 c_Page_051 43 c_Page_052 44 c_Page_053 45 c_Page_054 46 c_Page_055 47 c_Page_056 48 c_Page_057 49 c_Page_058 50 c_Page_059 51 c_Page_060 52 c_Page_061 53 c_Page_062 54 c_Page_063 55 c_Page_064 56 c_Page_065 57 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c_Page_401 393 c_Page_402 394 c_Page_403 395 c_Page_404 396 c_Page_405 397 c_Page_406 398 c_Page_407 399 c_Page_408 400 c_Page_409 401 c_Page_410 402 c_Page_411 403 c_Page_412 404 c_Page_413 405 c_Page_414 406 c_Page_415 407 c_Page_416 408 c_Page_417 409 c_Page_418 410 c_Page_419 411 c_Page_420 412 c_Page_421 413 c_Page_422 414 c_Page_423 415 c_Page_424 416 c_Page_425 417 c_Page_426 418 c_Page_427 419 c_Page_428 420 c_Page_429 421 c_Page_431 422 c_Page_432 423 c_Page_433 424 c_Page_434 425 c_Page_435 426 c_Page_436 427 c_Page_437 428 c_Page_438 429 c_Page_439 430 c_Page_440 431 c_Page_441 432 c_Page_442 433 c_Page_443 434 c_Page_444 435 c_Page_445 436 c_Page_446 437 c_Page_447 438 c_Page_449 439 c_Page_450 440 c_Page_451 441 c_Page_452 442 c_Page_453 443 c_Page_454 444 c_Page_455 445 c_Page_456 446 c_Page_457 447 c_Page_458 448 c_Page_459 449 c_Page_460 450 c_Page_461 451 c_Page_462 452 c_Page_463 453 c_Page_464 454 c_Page_465 455 c_Page_466 456 Almost a million Nahua Indians, many of them descendants of Mexico's ancient Aztecs, continue to speak their native language, grow corn, and practice religious traditions that trace back to pre-Hispanic days. This ethnographic sketch, written with a minimum of anthropological jargon and illustrated with color photographs, explores the effects of Hispanic domination on the people of Amatlan, a pseudonymous remote village of about six hundred conservative Nahuas in the tropical forests of northern Veracruz. Several key questions inspired anthropologist Alan R. Sandstrom to live among the Nahuas in the early 1970s and again in the 1980s. How have the Nahuas managed to survive as a group after nearly five hundred years of conquest and domination by Europeans? How are villages like Amatlan organized to resist intrusion, and what distortions in village life are caused by the marginal status of Mexican Indian communities? What concrete advantages does being a Nahua confer on citizens of such a community? Sandstrom describes how Nahua culture is a coherent system of meanings and at the same time a subtle and dynamic strategy for survival. In the 1980s, however, the villagers presented themselves as less Indian because increased urban wage imigration(sic) and profound changes in local economic conditions diminished the value of the Indian identity. Long-term participant-observation research has yielded new information about village-level Nahua society, culture change, magico-religious beliefs and practices, Protestantism among Mesoamerican Indians, and the role of ethnicity in maintaining and transforming traditional culture. Where possible, the villagers' own words are used in telling their history and culture. This ethnographic sketch explores the effects of Hispanic domination on the people of Amatlan, a remote village of about 600 Nahua Indians in the tropical forests of northern Veracruz. The Nahua continue to speak their native language, grow corn and practise their pre-Hispanic religion. ON the evening of December 24, 1972, I was seated in the corner of a small thatch-roofed shrine deep in the tropical forests of northern Veracruz, Mexico.