article

Corn is our blood: culture and ethnic identity in a contemporary Aztec Indian village

University of Oklahoma Press206Published In 1991 • Pages: xxvii, 420 , [16] of plates

By: Sandstrom, Alan R..

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This book discusses dynamics of culture and ethnic identity among Nahua Indians who claim a direct ethnic descent from the ancient Aztecs of Mexico. It shows that the Nahua exhibit linguistic and cultural features that distinguish them from many other ethnic groups of modern Mexico, despite many years of Spanish conquest and a series of government attempts to incorporate them into the dominant Mestizo culture. Based on extensive ethnographic fieldwork, the author identifies two broad local and national processes that accounted for this continuity. One of these concerns participation in traditional religious ceremonies which produced ancient Aztec ideas about nature and people. The other relates to the benefits villagers hoped to obtain in ethnicity (i.e., in being Indian) in the context of their desire to win land claims and access government provided social services.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Cultural identity and pride
Ethos
Cereal agriculture
Community structure
Ethnic stratification
Inter-ethnic relations
Research and development
Missions
Religious intolerance and martyrs
General character of religion
Cosmology
Political movements
Real property
Education system
Sociocultural trends
Acculturation and culture contact
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Nahua
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2010
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Middle America and the Caribbean
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Central Mexico
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
article
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Anthropologist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Teferi Abate Adem; 2008
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1970-1990
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1970-1990
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Mexico
NotesAdditional notes
by Alan R. Sandstrom
Includes bibliographical references (p. 389-401) and index
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
91050307
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Nahuas--Ethnic identity/Nahua mythology/Nahuas--Social life and customs/Villages--Mexico--Veracruz-Llave (State)--Case studies/Veracruz-Llave (Mexico : State)--Social life and customs