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Guachichil Indian Language (Huachichil)

The Guachichil Indians were a tribe of Central Mexico. Though they were most closely culturally affiliated wtih the Chichimec tribes, their language appears to have been a Uto-Aztecan language like Huichol instead. The Guachichil people were converted by missionaries and assimilated into Spanish culture in the 17th century, losing their language and most of their traditional culture. Only a few old stories and customs still remain among Guachichil descendants today, but there are some young people who are working together with their Chichimec neighbors to reclaim their Native identity again.

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Names: The name Guachichil originally was given to them by the Aztecs, and means "red head" in the Nahuatl language (either referring to a kind of red-headed bird, or to a Guachichil tribal fashion of dyeing their hair red.) It is spelled many other ways including Huachichil, Quauhchichitl, Cuauchichil, Cuachichil, Cuachichitl, Guachichile, Guachichitl, Guachachil, and Huachichile. The people's own name for themselves was never recorded, although one of their band names was Guaname.

Guachichil Language Links

Guachichiles y Franciscanos:
    Online book of convent records about the Guachichil tribe, including a list of Guachichil names. In Spanish.
Guachichil Language Tree:
    Theories about Guachichil language relationships compiled by Linguist List.

Guachichil Culture and History Links

Guachichil Tribal Maps:
    Map showing the locations in Central Mexico where the Guachichils and their neighboring tribes lived.
Indigenous Peoples of Mexico: The Guachichil Tribe:
    History and culture of the Guachichil Indians.
The Visions of a Guachichil Witch:
    Fascinating story of a Guachichil medicine woman's resistance against Spanish occupation in the year 1599.
The Chichimeca War: * Chichimeca Wars:
    Sites about the Guachichil tribe's role in the 16th-century Chichimec uprising against the Spanish.
Guachichil and Guamare Warriors:
    Pictures showing what traditional Guachichil clothing and body paint looked like.
Reconsideration of the nomadic condition of the southernmost Guachichiles:
    Anthropology papers on the Guachichil tribe.
Indigenous San Luis Potosi:
    History of San Luis Potosi tribes including the Guachichiles, Guamares, and Zacatecos.
Guachichiles:
    Wikipedia article on the Guachichil Indians.

Links, References, and Additional Information

Historia de los Guachichiles * Los Chichimeca y los Guachichile * Identidad guachichil en el Tunal Grande:
    Imagenes de vestimenta Chichimeca * Indios Huachichiles:
    Information about Guachichil language and culture in Spanish.



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