Otomi & Ñanhu Interview

As stated in an earlier post I had a chance to interview the hermana (sister) and suegra (mother in law) of my best friend from Hidalgo Mexico. In the area of MX that they live in  it was explained to me that most of the older people still speak a native language called Otomi. Fortunately for me I got a chance to witness this first hand. Both the mother and father and a few of their children spoke Otomi or (dialecto). My best friends dad speaks it as well as her grandmother. I also learned a few words like - Micxi (mishi) CAT and Deje (pronounced day-hay) for WATER.
 Now lets get into the interview- This interview is of my friends sister in law

Interview of Cheri, la hermana de el esposo de mi mejor amiga.
When did you first come to the United States? Why did you come here?
I first came here when I was 12, my parents wanted to give us all a better life. Even though he was a police officer in MX, he learned he could make more money here in the USA without working as hard.

What are some difficulties you had when you arrived to USA?
The food was completely different, in MX we ate everything freshly prepared and cooked and here in the USA everything was frozen and or microwaved. The language was definitely a hard thing for me to catch on to.

Where in Mexico are you from?
Ixmiquilpan Hidalgo Mexico

What religion do you practice?
Catholosism

What is the dialect or language that you speak?
Otomi

What tribe are the people that speak this language from and what are the people like?

Ñanhu Tribe, these people are usually the poor of the poor and the most uneducated. Most women dont know how to read or write in this culture.

How do you think it was possible after all of these centuries to preserve the language even after the Spanish conquered? How did the arrival of the Spanish affect this territory?
I think it was possible to conserve because the area was so far that the Spanish never got a chance to dominate in this area. I dont think the arrival of the spanish affected our area as much as other places closer to the city of Mexico. 

How is time measured in this culture?
Time is not really measured at all. We barely used clocks. Sundown and sun up were the basics.  Also rent is not paid monthly like you see in the city of Mexico or USA, people usually have their land and they work and eat off of it. 

What are the important celebrations of this culture?
 Dia de los muertos, Celebran a los Santos (they celebrate the saints).
They dont really celebrate any native celebrations. 

¿Que saben sus hijos de esa cultura o dialecto? What do your children know about this culture? 
Realmente no saben nada/ nothing

In your opinion what are the biggest issues today (financially, socially) in the area you are from ?

Delinquency, fraud, corruption, drug trafficking, lack of jobs

What do you think about the new generation compared to the old traditions and customs that you were brought up on?

I think its all bad these days. When I was younger you would kiss the hand of your elders, and if you didnt you were slapped. Before there was so much more respect for parents, grandparents and elders in general. We talk to our parents in the Usted form English for (mam or sir).

What do you miss most from your country?
The food, the environment, the tranquility, the social life. 
There if you want to you can do what you need to do today tommorrow or maybe even in a few days and there is no problem with that. I miss The social life, it seems like the time passes so fast here because of how we live. 

What are the typical foods from this area? 
Tortillas, frijoles, muchas frutas y vegetales.
 Quelites (herbs/ hierbas),

 Nopales (cactus looking prickly pear-pictured below) This picture was taken at their house/ my friend makes a great black bean soup with Nopales!!

Who are the Otomi?

Otomi (Hñähñu)

Otomi is an Oto-Manguean language spoken by about 240,000 people in Central Mexico, especially in the states of México, Puebla, Veracruz, Hidalgo, Guanajuato, Querétaro, Tlaxcala and Michoacán.

Otomi was first written by Spanish friars after the Spanish conquered Mexico during the 16th century. The friars taught Otomi speakers to write their own language using the Latin alphabet, and several books were composed using their spelling system. The language in which they were written is known as Classical Otomi. Since then many Otomi have abandoned their language and switched to Spanish, partly due to negative stereotypes about them perpetuated by Nahuatl and Spanish speakers. Attitudes began to change in 2003, however, when Otomi gained recognition as a national language of Mexico along with 61 other indigenous languages.

AREAS OTOMI IS SPOKEN

Origin of Otomi People

The Otomi people were one of the early complex cultures of Mesoamerica, and were the likely the original inhabitants of the central Mexico before the arrival of Nahuatl speakers around ca. 1000 AD, after which they were gradually replaced and marginalized by Nahua speaking peoples. The Nahua people included the Aztecs and three hundred years after their arrival they came to dominate the region, however they seemed to have held the earlier Otomi people in high regard as warriors.