Huamelula is a town and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...

in south-western

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. It is in the west of the

Tehuantepec District Tehuantepec District is located in the west of the Istmo de Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, Istmo Region of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico. It includes the cities of Salina Cruz and Tehuantepec. Gallery File:Salina Cruz Bay.jpg, Salina Cruz Bay, the largest an ...

in the west of the Istmo Region, on the Pacific coast.

Geography

The municipality covers an area of 505.23 km² of hilly and partly wooded country. The Rosario lagoon is in the southwest of the municipality. The climate is warm, with rains in summer and autumn. Flora include

nopal ''Nopal'' (plural ''nopales'') is a common name in Spanish for ''Opuntia'' cacti (commonly referred to in English as prickly pear or tender cactus), as well as for its pads. The name ''nopal'' derives from the Nahuatl word for the pads of t ...

, huaje, palm, pine, Guanacaste, pochote, Tepehuaje, acacia, sapodilla and

pitaya Pitaya () or pitahaya () (common names strawberry pear or dragon fruit) is the fruit of several cactus species indigenous to the region of southern Mexico and along the Pacific coasts of Guatemala, Costa Rica, and El Salvador. Pitaya is cult ...

. Wild fauna include wild boar, coyote, rabbit, opossum, armadillo, dove,

chachalaca Chachalacas are galliform birds from the genus ''Ortalis''. These birds are found in wooded habitats in the far southern United States (Texas), Mexico, and Central and South America. They are social, can be very noisy and often remain fairly ...

and rook.

History

An ancient settlement was found near the current village dating back to around 300 AD, which appears to have been occupied until the colonial period. Several years ago, a monumental mound was bulldozed to give way for a baseball ground. Under direction, school children collected an array of artifacts from the site, which is now the main collection of the Museo Chontal at San Pedro Huamelula. It includes hacha-style stone sculptures and large vessel fragments. San Pedro Huamelula was founded in 1499. The original name ''Huamimilolli'' means "beside the mound of amaranth".

Population

The town is 80 meters above sea level. As of 2005, the municipality had 2,280 households with a total population of 8,834 of whom 546 spoke an indigenous language. The Huamelula language is spoken in the municipality. Some of the people speak the lowland version of Oaxacan Chontal, a language that is in danger of extinction.

Economy

The main economic activity is agriculture, with crops of mainly coffee and tropical fruits, and to a lesser extent corn and beans. Some of keep cattle or goats. Commercial fishing includes species such as shrimp and snapper. Cottage industries make clay pots and wooden products. There is some logging for fine woods from the forests.

Tradition

The town is known for a custom of marriage between the town's mayor and a female

caiman A caiman ( (also spelled cayman) from Taíno language, Taíno ''kaiman'') is an alligatorid belonging to the subfamily Caimaninae, one of two primary lineages within the Alligatoridae family (biology), family, the other being alligators. ...

that has been practiced for over 230 years. This commemorates the agreement on peace by two native communities, the Huave and the

Chontal Maya The Chontal Maya are a Maya people of the Mexican state of Tabasco. "Chontal", from the Nahuatl word for ''chontalli'', which means "foreigner", has been applied to various ethnic groups in Mexico. The Chontal refer to themselves as the Yokot'an ...

. The mayor represents the Chontal king and the caiman represents the Huave princess. In July 2023, the mayor Victor Hugo Sosa thus married the caiman Alicia Adriana, whom he called "the princess girl" and professed his love for her. The caiman was dressed in a green

skirt A skirt is the lower part of a dress or a separate outer garment that covers a person from the waist downwards. At its simplest, a skirt can be a draped garment made out of a single piece of fabric (such as pareos). However, most skirts are ...

, a colourful hand-embroidered

tunic A tunic is a garment for the torso, usually simple in style, reaching from the shoulders to a length somewhere between the hips and the ankles. It might have arm-sleeves, either short or full-length. Most forms have no fastenings. The name deri ...

and a headdress of ribbons and

sequin A sequin ( ) is a small, typically shiny, generally disk-shaped ornament. Sequins are also referred to as paillettes, spangles, or ''diamanté'' (also spelled ''diamante''). Although the words sequins, paillettes, lentejuelas, and spangles can ...

. The pair travelled from house to house, accompanied by musicians and dancers. After the caiman was put in white bride's clothing, the ceremony continued in the town hall where the pair was officially married. The local people hope this would bring them luck and good fishing.

References