The Tepehuas are an

Indigenous people of Mexico Indigenous peoples of Mexico (), Native Mexicans () or Mexican Native Americans (), are those who are part of communities that trace their roots back to populations and communities that existed in what is now Mexico before the arrival of Europe ...

who are based in

Hidalgo Hidalgo may refer to: People * Hidalgo (nobility), members of the Spanish nobility * Hidalgo (surname) Places Mexico :''Most, if not all, named for Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (1753–1811)'' * Hidalgo (state), in central Mexico * Hidalgo, Coah ...

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

, and

Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...

. They speak

Tepehua languages Tepehua is a language cluster of Mexico, spoken across a number of central Mexican states by the Tepehua people. Tepehua is a Mesoamerican language and shows many of the traits which define the Mesoamerican Linguistic Area. Along with some 67 ...

, which belong to the Totonacan language family.

Name

Their name in

Nahuatl Nahuatl ( ; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...

translated to "people of the mountain". They also use endoethnonyms that originate in Spanish-influenced Nahuatl: * ''masipijní'': the Tepehua people * ''hamasipiní'': who lives on a hill * ''hamasip'': owners of hills

Territory

They mainly live in the three east-central Mexican states of Hidalgo, Veracruz, and Puebla. The Tepehuas extend over a wide range of high settlements, between . The Tepehua territory covers a narrow area and other eastern slopes of Sierra Madre Oriental. There are essentially three Tepehua regions: * Huehuetla,

* Tlachichilco,

* Pisaflores, Veracruz

Divisions

The Tepehuas are made up of two distinct ethnolinguistic groups: # Tepehua del occidental (western), in

Tlachichilco Tlachichilco is a small town in the Mexican state of Veracruz. It is located in the northern part of Veracruz, in the region known as Huasteca Baja. It is one of the 212 municipalities of Veracruz Veracruz is a state in central eastern Mexic ...

, Zontecomatlán and, to a lesser extent, Texcatepec. # Tepehua suroriental (southeastern), dispersed in Hidalgo, Puebla and Veracruz. In turn, the southeastern Tepehua ethnic group is subdivided into three: ## Tepehua meridional (southern): in the municipality of Huehuetla. ## Tepehua oriental (eastern): for centuries in the municipality of

Ixhuatlán de Madero Ixhuatlán de Madero is a municipality in the Mexican state of Veracruz. It is located in the north zone of the state, about 376 km from the state capital Xalapa, in the region called Huasteca Baja. It is one of 212 municipalities in Veracruz ...

and later, during the second half of the 20th century, they moved to settle in Francisco Z. Mena (Puebla) and Pánuco (Veracruz) ## Tepehua poblano (Puebla): at the beginning of the 20th century this group came from Huehuetla (Hidalgo) to settle in Totonac communities of the Puebla municipalities of Francisco Z. Mena,

Venustiano Carranza José Venustiano Carranza de la Garza (; 29 December 1859 – 21 May 1920), known as Venustiano Carranza, was a Mexican land owner and politician who served as President of Mexico from 1917 until his assassination in 1920, during the Mexican Re ...

and mostly Pantepec.

Notes

{{authority control Indigenous peoples in Mexico Mesoamerican cultures