Mixe people
Ayüükjä'äy | |
|---|---|
The Sierra Mixe within Oaxaca, Mexico | |
| Total population | |
| ~90,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Mexico (Oaxaca), El Salvador (Ahuachapan) | |
| Languages | |
| Mixe, Spanish | |
| Religion | |
| Roman Catholic, and Indigenous religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Zoques |
| People | Ayuujkjä'äy (Mixe) |
|---|---|
| Language | Ayöök (Mixe) |
The Mixe (Spanish mixe or rarely mije [ˈmixe]) are an Indigenous people of Mexico who live in the eastern highlands of the state of Oaxaca. They speak the Mixe languages, which are classified in the Mixe–Zoque family, and are more culturally conservative than other Indigenous groups of the region, maintaining their language to this day. SIL international estimated that the Mixe language was spoken by 90,000 people in 1993.
The Mixe name for themselves is Ayuujkjä'äy meaning "people who speak the mountain language". The word "Mixe" itself is probably derived from the Nahuatl word for cloud: mīxtli.