The Amuzgo people of Mexico, also known as Tzjon non (“people of the textiles”) or Ñomndaa for their language, have been recorded in Spanish colonial and indigenous sources since at least the year a.d. 1000, when Mixtec codices describe neighboring Amuzgo settlements. By the mid‑15th century their region fell under Aztec dominion; colonial records from 1580 (Relación de Xalapa, Cintla, Acatlán) also list Amuzgo‑speaking towns such as Xochistlahuaca, Ometepec, Ayocinapa, Suchistlahuaca and Ihualapa, confirming continuous recognition of this ethnic group .
The Amuzgo inhabit the lower Sierra Madre del Sur foothills and coastal plain of Costa Chica between southwestern Guerrero and southeastern Oaxaca, roughly between 16°–17° N and 98°–99° W at ~500 m elevation in a semi‑humid climate. Key Guerrero municipalities: Xochistlahuaca, Tlacoachistlahuaca, Ometepec; in Oaxaca: San Pedro Amuzgos, Santa María Ipalapa .
According to the 2020 Mexican census, approximately 60,000 people speak Amuzgo, with about 86% of speakers living in Guerrero (~46,000) and the remainder in Oaxaca (~5,400). INALI recognizes four dialect variants: Northern (Guerrero), Southern, Upper Eastern (San Pedro Amuzgos), Lower Eastern (Ipalapa). Monolingual Amuzgo speakers range from ~50% in Guerrero to ~20% in Oaxaca . Estimates from peoplegroups.org and Joshua Project cite populations ranging from 51,000 to 80,500, reflecting different counting criteria .
The Amuzgo cosmogony and oral tradition emphasize connections to land, water, cotton and weaving. Folklore states their ancestors emerged from islands in the sea before settling in the coast and mountains; their name “Amuzgo” derives from Nahuatl amox‑co meaning “place of books,” suggesting colonial administrative importance, while their self‑name Ñomndaa means “word of water” in their tonal Oto‑Manguean language .
Amuzgo culture centers around subsistence agriculture (corn, beans, chiles, sesame, tropical fruits) and especially textile production. Women learn weaving by age six or seven on backstrap looms using locally grown cotton (coyuche) into huipils (cheyno) that serve as both clothing and symbolic narratives; motifs comprise a graphic weaving language tied to identity. Community of Xochistlahuaca is a hub of textile tradition, hosting regional gatherings since 1996 and supporting the Museo Comunitario Amuzgo founded in 1990 in partnership with Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana .
Family and social structure is traditionally patriarchal; men marry around age 17, women around 15, often arranged by families who exchange gifts like corn, beans, chiles, chocolate and money for the bride’s huipil. Festivals and collective work (tequios) are coordinated through councils of elders, traditional authorities (“topils”), and Catholic syncretic ritual leadership. Religious life blends Catholic patron‑saint fiestas (e.g. Saint Mark, April 25 petitioning for rain; Archangel Michael, September 29 marking rainy‑season close and harvest) with animistic beliefs in spirits of mountains, earth, corn and water. Water is central to healing narratives, and traditional medicine is practiced by tzan tí (wise men) or tzan kalwa (shamans), particularly for spiritual illness; herbal remedies treat minor ailments while serious cases go to clinics in Putla or Pinotepa Nacional .
Amuzgo cuisine emphasizes corn and cacao: tamales flavored with meat, shrimp or sweet corn; cabeza de viejo (steamed meat with herbs); barbacoa of beef or goat; ticasos (piloncillo‑sweetened tortillas); yams and squash candies . Traditional dances derive from Costa Chica origins and are performed during fiesta cycles and cultural events, with Afro‑Mexican and regional influences visible in attire and choreography .
Important dates: April 25 feast of Saint Mark to request rains; September 29 feast of Archangel Michael marking harvest and communal thanksgiving. Since 1996, annual regional gathering of Amuzgos in Xochistlahuaca promotes cultural solidarity and economic development. In 2019, language‑immersion education in Amuzgo began in San Pedro Amuzgos municipal schools to preserve dialects .
For researchers and visitors your site can reference major external links and bibliographic sources including: PeopleGroups.org profile on Guerrero Amuzgo; Ethnologue/ElAlliances page on Amuzgo language; Encyclopedia.com and EveryCulture history and context; Wikipedia pages on Amuzgos and Amuzgo language; MexConnect article on indigenous Oaxaca; DataMéxico demographic profile for San Pedro Amuzgos; research such as Elizabeth Cartwright’s “Memory, Place, and Understanding Latino Folk Illnesses among the Amuzgos Indians of Oaxaca, Mexico” .
Featured Bibliography
Wikipedia “Amuzgo textiles” entry: cooperatives, denominations of origin, UNESCO‑style awards and partnerships (UAM)
Rodríguez Romero, Miguel A., et al. Amuzgos de Guerrero (UNAM, 2013) repository and image archive
Encyclopædia Britannica entry “Amuzgo” (Guerrero/Oaxaca indigenous ethnolinguistic group)
INPI Atlas “Amuzgos – Lengua Patrimonio de México” with geostatistics by community and dialect
Wikipedia pages: “Amuzgos” and “Amuzgo language” (overview of distribution, dialects, demography)
Consultanos.mx “Arte Amuzgo” article describing textile techniques, symbolism, natural dyes, and gendered transmission of craft knowledge