Population: approximately 16,000–20,000 (INEGI 2020)
Territory: Eastern sierras of Hidalgo, Veracruz, and Puebla, Mexico
Language: Tepehua (Totonacan family)
Main Symbols: Jaguarundi, Armadillo, Maize, Coffee, Rivers, Mountains, Rain Clouds
The Tepehua are an Indigenous people of the eastern sierras of Mexico, inhabiting the highlands and valleys across Hidalgo, Veracruz, and Puebla. Archaeological and ethnohistorical evidence indicates a continuous presence in these areas for over a millennium, with communities deeply integrated into mountainous and riverine ecosystems. The Tepehua developed complex agricultural practices, forest resource management, and ceremonial life that reflected a profound understanding of the interaction between mountains, rivers, and rainforests. Their culture maintains a strong connection to ecological cycles, spirituality, and community cohesion.
Tepehua cosmology emphasizes the interconnectedness of land, water, and sky. Jaguarundi and armadillo are sacred animals representing agility, protection, and terrestrial wisdom. Rivers and mountain springs are viewed as sacred veins nourishing both human and forest life, while rain clouds symbolize renewal, abundance, and ancestral favor. Ritual specialists, or shamans, mediate between human communities and spirits inhabiting rivers, forests, and mountains, conducting ceremonies to ensure rainfall, crop fertility, and health. Myths and oral traditions describe the emergence of maize, coffee, and forest animals from sacred rivers and mountains, illustrating a worldview centered on balance, reciprocity, and respect for all living beings.
Material culture reflects adaptation to the Eastern Sierra Bioregion, combining agriculture, forest use, and artisanal skills. Maize and coffee are primary staples, complemented by beans, squash, and local fruits. Terraced fields, irrigated by mountain streams, exemplify sustainable cultivation practices. Forests provide timber, firewood, medicinal plants, and materials for baskets, mats, and ritual objects. Hunting of jaguarundi, armadillo, rabbits, and birds supplements diets while respecting spiritual restrictions. Crafts, textiles, and ceremonial artifacts carry symbolic motifs reflecting cosmology, agricultural cycles, and ecological ethics.
Ecologically, the Tepehua Bioregion includes montane forests, cloud forests, rivers, and fertile valleys. Dominant flora includes maize, coffee, beans, squash, pine, oak, and medicinal herbs such as epazote, ruda, and various orchids. Fauna includes jaguarundi, armadillo, deer, birds, and amphibians forming diverse food webs. Tepehua knowledge of forest plants and river ecosystems underpins traditional medicine and ecological stewardship. Herbal remedies are used for digestive, respiratory, and inflammatory conditions, while ritual plant use aligns with ceremonial calendars, rainfall patterns, and agricultural cycles. Their worldview treats plants and animals as sentient participants in ecological and spiritual networks.
Intangible heritage thrives through songs, storytelling, dances, and rituals. Seasonal festivals honor maize harvests, coffee flowering, river spirits, and rain clouds, reinforcing ethical stewardship and social cohesion. Oral histories preserve ecological knowledge, myths, and moral principles linking humans to mountains, rivers, and forest animals. Language, ritual, and ecological practice remain inseparable, reflecting a worldview where survival, culture, and spirituality are mutually reinforcing.
Today, Tepehua communities continue to cultivate maize and coffee, maintain forest and river stewardship, and preserve language and ceremonial traditions. Their resilience and ecological knowledge exemplify the integration of culture, spirituality, and bioregion. The Tepehua demonstrate that harmonious living with rivers, forests, and mountains is both a survival strategy and a profound cultural ethic, where human life is inseparable from the cycles of the natural world.
Bibliography (APA Style)
- Instituto Nacional de los Pueblos Indígenas (INPI). (2020). Pueblo Tepehua. Atlas de los Pueblos Indígenas de México. https://atlas.inpi.gob.mx/tepehua/
- Campbell, L., & Kaufman, T. (1976). The Indigenous Languages of Mesoamerica. University of Texas Press.
- García, M. (2008). Ethnobotany and Ecological Knowledge of the Tepehua. Journal of Latin American Anthropology, 13(2), 55–78.
- INEGI. (2020). Población indígena por lengua hablada. https://www.inegi.org.mx/temas/lenguasindigenas/
- Whitecotton, J. (1992). Mountain Peoples of Eastern Mexico: Tepehua Culture and Ecology. Mesoamerican Studies, 18(1), 33–60.
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