The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-02-20
CONF QUEER AMERICANS.
.,oTrRIsTIos OF THE oToMLs
cHhH oF Old MEXICO.
z..r. Are NOR. Than r..",,s s1U 600 Of ' Tho %rI pr. :.
Tha' N-.,.r.-The women Arc PiGmies

. a InnHuhbN
,rou the chicago Times. Herald.
arciont Aztec was particularly stu
- clumsy his fellows In derisioh ca,ieu mn,
o,omi. Otomis are TO-DAY near neishooi. u
an oVoln. Aztecs, and rank only second to
!. IN numbers. There are. aecorainV 10 re
them IN .t moro than 7O4, 900 OF thom living
~ ,hc states Of Quorctaro' san LUIS uuans'ua.o'
in'uo ,,icboocan. Pueblo. TlaXcala. and Vera
Mexico, t"J,ons of the Valley OF Mexico are
oFu" aar,r,votiyc, and throc.fourths OF the
,-a,,rs seen in native dress on inc stree'so IN
Inv ot Mexico bclorg TO this 'rloe'
cay VI ,rcir suspicious and conservative
hU.r wr were doubtful as to our reception.
eh"r"',e,, ,uoIvc tribes TO be visited, three
lnour "Vs a,io,cd would give us real trouble
onH ~ T,roscnns. and Mixes. Tho town &C.
olo",'', uni.lclncan, within sight Of Dos Rios
ee,I", IN ,be Mexican National. is situated
t"''o" o,,cIv. II lies upoa the crest and on tho
pN'"' a,o long narrow ridge. which is inclosed
han" .soraIy sweeping curve OF lofty mountains
""',,r, 81 the Valley Of Mexico. Tho TANKS
In,,osc1 ridge and the inner slopes OF the
"N.aji,c mountains are occupied by the
,'..,o aids of the Indians. long and narrow
~, sororn,cd by lines of maRuoy plants.
W." ,sra,,,,,i ia thc official centre of q munici-
in,. =, some 1000 persons. or these 5000
-, tho village, while the balance are clus'
NJ ,o,ctbcr in hamlets. like San Bartolito,
on r,oncsco. ard Aqua Bendita. or are scat
- In single house settlements over the
'a..o,r. or the II, 900 persons moro than
L. torr,bs claim 10 nc full Otomis. While
'Isos, o,l NJ them would seem to be very poor.
a..o,rc no truly poor in the whole town. Tho
n'.,,ton,c Municipal tells us that every family
-. house its fields, and its bit OF woodland.
.moi,bcm still speak the native tongue. and
- ssneriaily among the women-woar a
tie arsss. which, II II does not antedate the
CONQUEST, is ancient.
mr. p,omi lnngunge-of which there are SOW
- ai,,ccts-is so simple in form and construc-
,,on that It is often classed as monosyllabio and
4. ,-souently compared with the Chinese.
Th,,e ;s in IL also a curious intonation, a striking
,,,. and fall OF the voice from word to word.
.h,ch NAV or may not serve q purpose similar
"a the intonation OF the Chinese. There are gut
,r,a, sounds in the language. but they do not
,.,vs IN break words or to interrupt the steady
fow OF discourse.
Were we TO ~conflne our measurements to
,romen. our Otomis would DO true pigmles.
Tbey are wee creatures. not as large as we'll
,rovn girls of IL or IL; some old women, with
gray hnir and wrinkled faces. who piously kiss
or hand when they meet us, are among the
,u,,ls.t. They are not beautiful. Now and
then some girl or young woman may show an
attractive face, but usually they are sus-
melons. sad, and old before their time. Tho
,lin Is usually brown, sometimes a rich brown.
The eyebrows are heavily haired and often
meet above the nose. The hair grows low upon
the forehead, and in young women the forehead
Itself bears a fine downy black growth. The
nose is dat, broad and depressed at tho root,
while its tip is fat and wide. The eyes nrc dark
brown and the hair is black and coarse. Twenty.
siEh; ONE mSTin measured Sn fay Sir an W GYs6nSg F s5atafs
Limit for pigmy people is l,5Oo.
The men present two distinct types. There
ere many VINO are lti'e, as niue as the women;
given. but are a little lighter in color. The sec
ond lype Is different; II is tall, sometimes oyer
leo mlllimetres; 1t is much lighter In color.
shade. Some individuals OF this large type have
white skins blotchcd with disagreeable red or
purple. The eyes OF these larger men are usu-
ally wider spaced and the face appears rounder
than IN their smaller brethren. All the types.
men or women, have big heads. and many
Most Of the he otomi men wear the white cotton
trousers and shirts common to Mexican Indians
generally. Some ancicnts, however. wear an
older costume. Antonio Cal!istro. born in 1913.
next to the oldest man in town, SO hale and
hearty as 10 still work his own folds, still wears
bis hair In the old fashion. He Is tho only one
Il ccn,bed together aud braided into a little tail,
while that on the back of the head is gathered
mo a much longer braid. He wears a
4 e.rk blue Woolien cloth; this is
gathered about his waist by q closely
woven cotton belt; his trousers of buckskin are
iroun bis distant field simply that we might see
the old dress. and was as dacorous in manner rs
Do was conservative IN costume. Young mcn
Hnt h hnir n . h Nrta.a~ n,l l~-ya. ,a-t~ .
inc head quito short. while leaving that behind
and atov? considerably longcr;. this gives q
snHriocsly high, conica! form to the whole head.
Mon,cn part tho hair along n middle line from
me io'sEcad 10 the very lowest point behind.
ana then brait 1t into two braids.
Almost oil the women wear the ancient cos
TUNE. II consists of the huipilli, cnagua. faja,
anu agate. For these garments the common
names. excehl fNja, are Aztec words. The hui
PLY Is a cotton blanket with a slit through
winch The head passes; on each side the slit are
uan1s OF embroidered patterns in bright colors;
nIch OF the rest OF the surface OF the garment
may rnno ~ similarly, decorated: sometimes 1t be.
asunlly geomctricGl figures, but may be
TTGnrcs Of animals. birds, or human beings.
h t"yy maE DC arranged with regularity or jun
s%, haphaznrd. The lower acknowledgements
iG"nslsis o. two strips OF cloth. usually OF differ.
nS klhns and roiors. sewed together side by
~ III hT men wrapped horizontally about the
49, lne STRIPS OF cloth are generally OF native
tpmm. naive dyed. and native woven wool. The
iNoriio co'ors are dark hluc, brownisn purple,
ri ~, ~ iV''n pFlHpnlHlN panied with narrow
h. IN a n,rlpcs; The Two strips are usually joined
'ETt fancy rolorcr line Of stitching.
a"e eiI"gna Is simply Wrapped about the body.
s ML iun'ea thrown into n~lai;ings in front. and
nh' IN place by n broad cotton belt of bright
b1Io, MO which are woven quaint designs
,. m, "nrill'i', ,hnlIIan figures. and geometrical
"m NJ iheSG bets are called by the Spanish
TLmo ~. loih men and women wear ayates.
n, w square Or rectangular blankets made
H. H M .hc strong hbrc of the maguey. Like
III H. vl'bhas, hey consist usually of two pieces
III u! Sllr, StiiChcl together with some bri hit
n,r,l, inh iiorr. which is got from the leaves,
nmmni w 'hh'rrlti0n and p irtly by beating. is
o -" 81 4, primitive way. Almost every woman
~ ts''S III the rOnd. no matter what burden
OF ,hnn'n ". goods Nnc may carry, has n hank
An" tt,o mn'tr more lhrOwn over her shoulder,
Mn ~ hc' Mite spindle whirling, spin.
W I'VE strong thread rs she walks. iITr snin.
CONSISTS Of y slender stick thrust throuph n
no ior" noi oi nIkc pottery. such whorls are
t Il" ongtr made. bat the ancient onc-cailed Inv
HnlI'"un' mi!hcAtls-Irc picked up I'm tho
Tho I'll trlpp.led 10 The original use. Usually
Whlta ,hIehl Is left OF its original gray or
fine ro,PI, out sometimes the fibre is dyed. a
thread Iih"s" SHADE being ~favoritc. The kill
rated vI, NoVol INTO aratcs. which arc deco
carrying hu ptIsht embroidery. and arc used for
-onythS ouruchs' Vegetables. charcoal, babies
tisa ianlh2-aT put into them. Two ends nre
tHe ohar. ,rr to hold The burden in place, and
tirb n', WV are pissed across the breast and
estori.bt,oll' lhrSe carry blankets. and are
Otont" strong and unylclding.
walls IiiLHnnVIlecs present little OF interest, The
They NJ mI' ~ SOM. are built OF adobe bricks.
tiGtyJ vyh";,,co"hl p~i4Stcrnd over the outside and
I'm, iMHl'c % wink. The roofs are nitched
i TI Mtth II gentle slope. T6cr consist ltoa of a
sbinn%gMorR o. poles upnn which Ionu nsrpa%
,,nnnfIvs are laid and prgycl in nlnca yvith 49,