The Tlapanec , or Meꞌphaa, 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 ...

native to the state of

Guerrero Guerrero, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guerrero, is one of the 32 states that compose the administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guerrero, 85 municipalities. The stat ...

. The

Tlapanec language Tlapanec , or Mephaa, is an indigenous Mexican language spoken by more than 98,000 Tlapanec people in the state of Guerrero. Like other Oto-Manguean languages, it is tonal and has complex inflectional morphology. The ethnic group themselves ref ...

is a part of the Oto-Manguean language family. The now extinct

Subtiaba Subtiaba is an extinct Oto-Manguean language which was spoken on the Pacific slope of Nicaragua, especially in the Subtiaba district of León. Edward Sapir established a connection between Subtiaba and Tlapanec. When Lehmann wrote about it in 1 ...

language of

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

was a closely related language. Today, Tlapanecs live primarily in the state of

and number more than 98,000. In

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

times they lived in the isolated mountain area along the Costa Chica region of Guerrero, just southeast of present-day

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and Port of Acapulco, major seaport in the Political divisions of Mexico, state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicirc ...

. Their territory was called '' Yopitzinco'' by the

Aztec The Aztecs ( ) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the Post-Classic stage, post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central ...

s who also referred to the Tlapanecs as ''Yopi''. Yopitzinco was never conquered by the Aztecs and remained an independent enclave within the Aztec empire. The main Tlapanec city was Tlapan and the name ''Tlapanec'' is the

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 ...

for "Inhabitant of Tlapan".

Religion

The Tlapanecs explain natural phenomena through

myth Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

, like the myth of the creation of the sun (''Akha), the moon (''Gon''') and the fire god (''Akuun mbatsuun'''), who all were born on the bank of the river and who were raised by ''Akuun ñee'', goddess of the

temazcal A temazcal is a type of sweat lodge, which originated with indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica. The term ''temazcal'' comes from the Nahuatl language, either from the words (to bathe) and (house), or from the word (house of heat). Overview ...

sweatbath and patron of the hot/cold duality. Another important element in their culture is

nagualism In Mesoamerican and Toltec spiritual traditions, a Nagual (from the Nahuatl word nāhualli) refers to a human being who can access spiritual power through transformation or deep connection with their tonal counterpart. This ability is not merely ...

. When a baby is born it is said that at the same time an animal is born and that that animal is the

nahual In Mesoamerican and Toltec spiritual traditions, a Nagual (from the Nahuatl word nāhualli) refers to a human being who can access spiritual power through transformation or deep connection with their Tonal (mythology), tonal counterpart. This abil ...

of the child. No one except the child knows which animal is its nahual because the nahual will only show itself to the child in its dreams.

References

Tlapanecos
- Ethnographic description of the Tlapanec people (

Instituto Nacional Indigenista The National Institute of Indigenous Peoples (, INPI, Tzotzil language, Tzotzil: ''Instituto Ta Sjunul Jlumaltik Sventa Batsi Jnaklometik,'' Qʼeqchiʼ language, Q'eqchi': ''Molam Tk’anjelaq Chi Rixeb’ Laj Ralch’och’'', Ixil language, Ixil ...

)
SIL international on Tlapanec language and culture
Ethnic groups in Mexico Indigenous peoples in Mexico Mesoamerican cultures {{Mexico-culture-stub