Indigenous people leave mark even though traditions fade in Mexico City …Click Here For Original Article

On eve of the United Nations International Indigenous Populations Day, which falls on Aug. 9, community workers in Mexico City warned that the Indian culture is facing extinction.

    The vast majority of Mexicans have indigenous roots and Mexico City, known then as Tenochtitlan, was the capital of a centuries-old Aztec empire before the Spanish arrived in 1519.

    However, the Nahuatl language spoken by the Aztecs is dying out and ethnic indigenous residents are only distinguishable due to parish festivals, said Alfredo Villegas Ramirez, who works for the city council.

    "We can say that 145 pre-Columbian villages still survive, spreading across the whole city," Villegas said. "In the center of Mexico City, many have been absorbed but it does not mean that they have lost their identity."

    He said that ethnic identity can still be seen in the famous majordomo tradition.

    "This started when indigenous people sought ways of celebrating their own existing festivals," said Villegas. "They sought the figure of a majordomo to preserve the parts that had previously existed. It remains the center of tradition in many places, although in many places the syncretism is complete."

    Majordomos agree to feed and entertain anyone who comes to the annual traditional festivals at church parishes, which coincide with the city districts in many places. Most parishes take their name from a catholic saint followed by Nahuatl place name like San Andrews Tetlaman in the borough of Alvaro Obregon or San Gregorio Atlapulco in the borough of Xochimilco.

    Being a majordomo "is an honor and recognition but also a major expense for many people. It means paying for food, music and culture and they often have to ask patrons to help with the celebration," said Villegas. In the past, the majordomo would use the occasion to teach younger generations about the parish's pre-Hispanic culture but this has been eroded over the years, he said.

    "The music was with the (oboe-like traditional instrument) chirimaya but now it is the (regional pop music) banda," said Villegas.

    The city designates regions as being representative of what it calls "original peoples"

    based on what survives of these traditions, rather than language, which is the deciding factor in other parts of the nation.

    "In Mexico City, urbanization is becoming stronger every day, but people try to hold on to their traditions," Villegas said. The use of pre-Columbian tongues "does not make sense for the city."

    He estimated that only about 10 percent of those the city designates as "indigenous" continue to speak Nahuatl.

    "In the next generation it will die because most speakers are over 60 years old. There will hardly be anyone in 15 years," he said.

    Earlier government policies, knowingly or carelessly, accelerated this decline, he added, giving the example of Santiago Tlalnepantla, which had been the city's largest street market for centuries long before the Spanish arrived. In the 1950s, the market was dismantled under a government plan and a housing estate was built on the site.

    The parish festivals are also losing their character, perhaps becoming a victim of their own success, he added.

    Festival "dancing is attracting people who are not from the town, and what was a religious festival has become an excuse for fireworks and a children's party," he said. "The majordomos are things that people don't see and people don't realize it is there."

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