Historiographical texts on the Mesoamerican peoples of the
pre-Hispanic era have paid very little attention to the history of the Otomi. Many centuries ago, great cities such as
Cuicuilco,
Teotihuacan and
Tula flourished in the territory occupied by the Otomi at the arrival of the
Spaniards. Even in the
Aztec Triple Alliance that dominated, the so-called "
Mexica Empire",
Tlacopan inherited the domains of
Azcapotzalco, with a majority Otomi population. However, the Otomi are almost never mentioned as protagonists of
pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican history, perhaps because the ethnic complexity of central Mexico at that time does not allow us to distinguish the contributions of the ancient Otomi from those produced by their neighbors. Only in recent years has interest begun to appear in the role played by these people in the development of the cultures living in the
Neovolcanic Axis, from the
pre-colonial to the
conquest. Otomi peoples in pre-Hispanic times By the fifth millennium B.C.E., the Otomi people formed a large group. The diversification of the languages and their geographic expansion from the valley of
Tehuacán (currently in the state of
Puebla) must have occurred after the domestication of the Mesoamerican agricultural, composed of
maize,
beans and
chili. This is established on the basis that there is a large number of cognates that exist in the Otomi languages in the repertoire of words alluding to agriculture. After the development of emerging agriculture, the
proto-Otomanguean legion gave rise to two distinct languages that constitute the antecedents of the present-day eastern and western groups of the Otomi family. Following the linguistic evidence, it seems likely that the
Oto-Pames—members of the western branch—arrived in the
Valley of Mexico around the fourth millennium B.C.E. and that, contrary to what some authors maintain, they did not migrate from the north but from the south. Some historians believe that the Otomi were the first inhabitants of the Valley of Mexico, nevertheless, they were later expelled from the valley by the
Tepanec in 1418. The Otomi were one of various ethnic groups present within the city of
Teotihuacán; one of the largest and most important cities of ancient Mexico. The fall of
Teotihuacan is a milestone that signals the end of the
Classic Period in Mesoamerica. Changes in political networks at the Mesoamerican level, disputes between small rival states and population movements resulting from prolonged droughts in northern Mesoamerica facilitated the arrival of new settlers in central Mexico. Around this time, large
Nahuatl-speaking groups arrived and began to displace the Otomi to the east. They then arrived in the
Eastern Highlands and some areas of the
Puebla-
Tlaxcala valley. In the following centuries, large states developed in the Otomi territory, led by the
Nahua peoples. Around the 9th century, the
Toltecs turned
Tula (Mähñem'ì in Otomi) into one of the main cities of Mesoamerica. This city constructed a large part of the population of the
Mezquital Valley, although many of them continued to live to the south and east, in the state of Mexico and the
Eastern Highlands. Around the year 1100 AD, Otomi-speaking peoples formed their capital city-state,
Xaltocan. Xaltocan soon acquired power—enough power to demand tribute from nearby communities up until its subjugation. Thereafter, the Otomi kingdom was conquered during the 14th century by the
Mexica and its alliances. The Otomi people then were subject to pay a tribute to the
Aztec Triple Alliance as their empire grew; subsequently, Otomi people resettled in lands to the east and south of their former territory. While some Otomi resettled elsewhere, other Otomi still resided near current-day
Mexico City, but most settled in areas near the
Mezquital Valley in
Hidalgo, the highlands of
Puebla, areas between
Tetzcoco and
Tulancingo, and as far as
Colima and
Jalisco.
Conquest , Ixmiquilpan, Hidalgo A sizable portion of the Otomi resided in the state of
Tlaxcala. Although there are reports that
Spanish Conquistador Hernán Cortés originally attacked and "annihilated the Otomis at
Tecoac, who were destroyed completely", they eventually joined forces with him when he fought the
Aztec Triple-Alliance, eventually defeating it. This allowed the
Ixtenco Otomi or (
Yųhmų) to once again expand. They founded the City of
Querétaro and settled in many towns in the state now known as
Guanajuato. The Otomi of
Mezquital or (
Hñähñu) maintained a state of war upon the Spanish and their
Ixtenco otomi allies with records indicating that the
hñähñu (Otomi of
Mezquital) resisted assimilation and maintained nomadic raiding parties that attacked any Spanish settlement within
Hidalgo maintaining a state of war that lasted until the first silver mines were opened. The
Ixtenco Otomi allegiance with the Spanish led to many converting to
Roman Catholicism, but they also held onto their ancient customs. While being colonized, the
Ixtenco Otomi language was dispersed to various other states such as
Guanajuato,
Querétaro, that included the states of
Puebla,
Veracruz, with
Michoacán and
Tlaxcala, where most remained farmers. In the
Mezquital Valley a traditional homeland to the Otomi, the terrain was not well suited for farming as the land was dry and many Otomi people hired each other as laborers and relied heavily on the
maguey-based drink,
pulque. Originally, the Spanish banned the drink but soon attempted to manage a business through its production which led to the Otomi people solely using the drink for their own consumption.
Colonial period The arrival of the
Spanish in Mesoamerica meant the subjugation of the Indigenous peoples to the dominion of the newcomers. By the 1530s, all the Otomi communities of the
Mezquital Valley and the
Barranca de Meztitlán had been divided into
encomiendas. Subsequently, when Spanish legislation was modified, the so-called Indian republics appeared, systems of political organization that allowed a certain autonomy of the Otomi communities with respect to the
Hispanic-
mestizo populations. The creation of these republics, the strengthening of the Indigenous
cabildos (council) and the recognition of the possession of communal lands by the Spanish state were elements that allowed the Otomi to preserve their language and, to a certain extent, their Indigenous culture. However, especially with regard to land possession, the Indigenous communities suffered dispossession throughout the three centuries of
Spanish colonization. At the same time that the
Spaniards were occupying the ancient Otomi settlements, as is the case of the present-day city of
Salamanca (
Guanajuato), founded in the Otomi settlement of
Xidóo ("Place of tepetates)") in 1603 by decree of
Gaspar de Zúñiga y Acevedo, viceroy of
New Spain. Some Otomi families were forced to accompany the
Spaniards in the conquest of the northern territories of
Mesoamerica, occupied by the warlike
Arido-American peoples. The Otomi were colonizers who settled in cities such as
San Miguel el Grande,
Oaxaca and other cities of
El Bajio. In fact, the colonization process of this territory was essentially the work of the Otomi, with the lordship of
Xilotepec as the spearhead. In
El Bajío, the Otomí served as a bridge for the sedentism, or the settling of the nomadic population and
Christianization of the nomadic peoples, who ended up being assimilated or exterminated by force. The importance of
El Bajío in the economy of
New Spain turned it into a scenario where different ethnic groups later converged, including the
Tlaxcalan migrants, the
Purepecha and the Spanish, who would finally end up overcoming all the Indigenous groups that supported them in the conquest of this territory that had been the habitat of numerous peoples classified as
Chichimeca. However, until the nineteenth century, the Otomi population in
El Bajío was still a major component, and some of their descendants remain in municipalities such as
Tierra Blanca,
San José Iturbide and
San Miguel de Allende. Otomí population movements continued throughout the colonial era. For example, in
San Luis Potosí, a total of 35 Otomi families were forcibly taken to occupy the periphery of the city and defend it from attacks by the nomadic people of the region in 1711. In several places, the Otomi population was decimated not only by forced or consensual migrations, but also by the constant epidemics suffered by the Mesoamerican tribes after the
Conquest. Numerous communities were wiped out between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries due to disease.
Nineteenth and twentieth centuries During
Mexico's War of Independence, the Otomi sided with the rebellion as they wanted their land back that was taken from them under the
encomienda system. Until recently, the Otomi culture and people were not given much attention or focus until recent anthropologist began investigating their ancient way of life. As a result, the
Mexican government has gone as far declaring themselves a
pluricultural nation that serves to help many of its Indigenous populations, like the Otomi. However, this has not been the case with scarce evidence proving that anything is done to truly help them. Although many of the current descendants of the Otomi have begun to immigrate to other region, there is still a hint of their ancient culture present today. In certain parts of Mexico, such as
Guanajuato and
Hidalgo, prayer songs in Otomi are heard and elders share tales the youth who understand their native language. Despite this, very little attention has been placed on the Otomi culture, especially through education means where very little is discussed about any Indigenous groups. Because of this, many Otomi descendants know very little about their own culture's history. == Language ==