Otomi Indians

Querétaro, like the states of Hidalgo, Guanajuato, San Luis Potosí, northern Veracruz, north-western Puebla, Tlaxcala and Estado de México, was an area settled by the Otomí. These relatively widely distributed Indian people, whose numbers are estimated at 300,000, speak a language of their own. Little is known of their origins; they probably lived in the Mexican highlands and were forced into the surrounding regions during the 8th and 9th c. In the 14th and 15th c. they were subjugated or driven into inaccessible areas by the Mexica (Aztecs).

During the Conquista most of the Otomí sided with the Spanish in the fight against their Aztec oppressors. The Otomí practise a mixture of the Catholic and the old-Indian religion. They make sacrifices mainly to the earth goddess and believe in the return of the souls of their dead, whom they fear and therefore try to appease.

Costume and Handicrafts

When the Otomí are not seen in the normal clothing worn by country folk, the women usually wear colourful embroidered costumes. The artistic and valuable craft products of these people include wickerwork articles, ceramics, woollen materials and wooden furniture.