TOTONACAS: location and language

The Mesoamerican zone It is one of the most important in the entire history of mankind, being a region inhabited by dozens of important cultures that still surprise us today for their peculiarities and for how advanced they were in many senses. To talk about some of the main elements of one of the most important cultures in the region, in this lesson from a Teacher we are going to talk about the location of the Totonacs and the language they used.

The Totonacs they were a Mesoamerican people Y pre-columbian, Mesoamerican for being in the cultural zone known as Mesoamerica and pre-Columbian for being in the American zone before the arrival of the European colonizers.

Regarding his time of further expansion we can say that it was in the around 800 AD. C., and therefore were situated in the so-called late classical period, characterized by being the last years of Mayan influence before the military expansion of the Aztecs.

Characteristics of the Totonacas

To better understand the relevance of the Totonac people in this section we must list some of their main characteristics, in order to understand the main peculiarities of a people so special. The

characteristics of the totonacas are as follows:

• Its economy was based on the agriculture and commerce, having great relations with the surrounding towns and causing this its great influence.
• They were polytheists, so they believed in numerous gods, possessing a great pantheon.
• Like many Mesoamerican peoples in their culture, the human sacrifices, serving to honor the gods and ask for things in return.
• The cities were full of pyramids and palaces highly decorated that demonstrated the importance and economic power that the Totonacs had come to have.
• His knowledge of astronomy He had them create large buildings that served to display items such as astronomical calendars.
• It is said that the Totonacs were the first to use the flower of the vanilla.

To understand the zone of influence of the totonacas We must talk about its location, in order to understand the evolution of this town and how they changed location for various reasons. To know its location, we are going to talk about its three major urban centers, varying depending on the weather and other reasons.

The Tajin

The first location of the Totonacs was located in the current city ​​of Papantla in Veracruz, being a location occupied by the Totonacs between the years 300 and 1200. It is thought that of all the locations this was the main one in the period of greatest power of the Totonacs, when they were a great territory in their heyday. Its great importance is demonstrated by the enormous number of buildings and palaces of great importance in the region, being common to find huge temples and many areas of the ball game Mesoamerican.

Papantla

Located in Papantla in Veracruz like El Tajín, this city is located chronologically between 900 and 1519, this being the year in which the Europeans defeated the Totonac peoples. The importance of this urban center for the Totonacs is that in it we can find vanilla, being a key resource for the Totonac peoples. Regarding its architecture, it is thought that it was the first location in which the Totonacs built pyramids.

Cempoala

The last of the great urban centers of the Totonacs was Cempoala, being located in the municipality of Úrsulo Galván in the Veracruz area and occupying its area of ​​influence between the years 900 and 1519. Being the largest city in the Gulf of Mexico, it is thought that it was the capital of the Totonacs during some of their last years of influence.

To end this lesson, we are going to talk about the Totonac language and learn about the many languages ​​that make up the Totonac-Tepehua group. This series of languages ​​are spoken by the Totonacs and that today they are spoken by almost 300,000 people.

The Totonac languages ​​are spoken mainly in the areas of Veracruz, Puebla and Hidalgo in the Mexican country by the indigenous people from the Totonac peoples, although it is increasingly It is common for Totonac settlers not to learn the languages ​​of their ancestors and only study Spanish.

As for the languages ​​that make up this group of languages, we must list all of them, understanding that some have almost no members of the language family and that they have few language learners language. The Totonac languages ​​are the following:

• Highland: About 120,000 speakers.
• Papantla: About 80,000 speakers.
• Coyutla: About 48,000 speakers.
• Filomena Mata-Coahuitlán: About 15,000 speakers.
• Upper Necaxa: About 3,000 speakers.
• Xicotepec de Juárez: About 3,000 speakers.
• Totonaco from Xinolatépetl hill: About 1,500 speakers.
• Tecpatlan: About 500 speakers.
• Yecuatla: About 500 speakers, being the language that is considered most likely to disappear in a short time.