Introducing
Your new presentation assistant.
Refine, enhance, and tailor your content, source relevant images, and edit visuals quicker than ever before.
Trending searches
Mesoamerica was part of many indigenous tribes. One of them was the Aztecs who built Mexico as we know it to be. But there is another group that I would like to talk about more. This group was the “underdog” of Mesoamerica which did best by not being colonized by other strong foreign powers. However, something that is forgotten that the Otomi people did best was embroidery clothing. It is not certain if it originated from there but what was certain is that they were pretty good at making these complicated designs on clothing and increased their production once the whole of Mesoamerica was united to make modern-day Mexico. During the Otomi days, they were settled in a dry, rocky environment but in order to survive, they have this plant in the area called “Maguey” which sustained them for water, weaving clothing, and making houses. Without this plant, Otomi wouldn’t exist. Other than their survival they were amazing at their sculptures. They made complicated wavy sculptures for the time which filled modern-day Mexico with their marks as a remembrance of them. Another way to stand out, they had designs on their clothing about their environment and especially what they loved which were animals and flowers with many colors which helped bring more liveliness to the dry, rocky land.
- Some important sites of the Otomi consists of Los Alzati, Temoaya/Toulca, Amealco, Acazulico, Tilapia, Ixtenco, Sta. Ana Hueytlapan, Ixmiquilpan Texcatepec.
Artifact#1:
Title: Nopal God
Remember that the Otomi people lived in a harsh environment. This environment was in a hot, rocky, and dry climate right in the center of Mesoamerica. But the only way these people survived and had shelter was due to the Maguey plant, a cactus that provided them with water, materials to build houses and to weave clothing. Like any old indigenous tribes, they believed that anything that was good was due to god(s) work so they embraced and thanked the Nopal God for its work upon their land. They loved this god so much, that they made sculptures about it and one of them made it to the auction table to this day.
Title: Otomi Embroidery Designs
They made many different color designs on many mugs; they also put the design on Pillows and all different types of clothing and on different objects. These Otomi designs are symbols based on the native flora and fauna of Otomi. It also represents their love for many different types of animals. This Otomi embroidery became popular in the 1960s. They got the inspiration to make these designs from cave drawings.
The Otomi clothing is no different than any other regular clothing but since Otomi put their intricate designs on it, is what makes it so special. They put their embroidery on it which symbolizes their interests and what the people loved. The clothing is heavy but meant to keep you cool from the heat.
The plant “Maguey” is another way of saying agave. Maguey is just the Spanish way of saying it. This plant exclusively originated among the Otomis who used it as a form of hydration and material to make houses and weave clothing with their designs. This plant is literally the survival of their people.
- 900 AD, the Otomi people groups united to form one Otomi on the land which is modern-day Mexico.
- About 250 years later is when Otomi expanded their territories and decided to make different dialects to communicate with even though they were distantly apart from each other. To this day only ten dialects remain.
- During the 10th century through the 14 century they always resisted conquest from foreign powers or neighboring tribes.
- It is believed that during this time period the Otomi people were practicing on mastering their embroidery skills.
- However during the early 14th century is when a part of the Otomi tribe moved NorthWest near a lake where the neighboring Aztecs were. But since the Aztecs felt discomfort from the Otomi presence the Aztecs moved in and took the Otomi people as slaves while those that didn’t get conquered by them either were one-man soldiers or joined into other groups other than the Aztecs.
The Spanish came in 1531 where they settled in the NorthWest of Mexico where the Otomi were. When the Spaniards arrived on Otomi land, the Otomi leader convinced the Spaniards to drop their guns and fight with their bare hands like a brutal boxing match. This match ended at sunset when both sides were exhausted, but seeing that there was potential to be family with one other, the Otomi decided to treat the Spaniards like brothers and they were to do the same. However, the Otomi people might have felt betrayed since what the Spaniards did shortly is backstabbing the Otomi people where they took them into slaves to find gold for them and farmed the land to make it more fertile than it was before. The Otomi were shocked that this happened but they couldn’t do anything about it since they had no guns but their fists so they decided to let their culture be disappeared along with their Otomi identity. The Otomi identity during this day is not really recognized among foreigners like myself. But that doesn’t mean they tried on to make their identity remarkable again. Even though they did many cultural dances out in public in the streets of Mexico to be recognized, no one seem to care but their cultural traditions escaped to some modern-day Mexicans where they carry on the same traditions their ancestors did. Their problem now is getting the recognition they should be getting since where their people originated is where Mexico city is. The Otomis hope that one day they would deserve the credit they get for their influence on clothing but for now, that doesn’t seem the case for the Otomi tribe and many other indigenous tribes across the globe.
- https://study.com/academy/lesson/otomi-people-of-mexico-culture-language-art.html
- https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XeboSml6ID6E23bC2G_5_ToJgBcx4vPuIin5Y1pMRJA/edit
-