CUICATEC

Meso-American Indian people of northeastern Oaxaca in southern Mexico. They live in a hilly area, partly arid and partly rainy; their neighbours are the Mazatec (q.v.) to the north, the Chinantec (q.v.) to the east, and the Mixtec (q.v.) to the south. The language of the Cuicatec, which also is called Cuicatec, is a member of the Mixtecan language family. The Cuicatec are agricultural; staples are corn (maize), beans, squash, and chilies. Chickens and turkeys are raised and provide a major meat source. The people live in semicongregated villages in houses with thatched roofs and walls of sticks or reed grass. Pottery, baskets, ropes, and nets are made. Weaving is no longer widely practiced, although serapes and huipiles (long cotton overblouses or tunics) are still woven in some areas. Clothing varies from village to village, although most is now made of machine-made fabric. The Cuicatec worship native idols and a deity known as the Lord of the Hill. Elves and goblins are believed to live in caves and on hills. Ritual kinship rites are practiced, associated with a washing-of-hands ritual; many gifts are exchanged. A small number of Cuicatec have embraced Roman Catholicism.