Tepehua, Tlachichilco in Mexico
Photo Source:
Anonymous
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| People Name: | Tepehua, Tlachichilco |
| Country: | Mexico |
| 10/40 Window: | No |
| Population: | 4,700 |
| World Population: | 4,700 |
| Primary Language: | Tepehua, Tlachichilco |
| Primary Religion: | Christianity |
| Christian Adherents: | 70.00 % |
| Evangelicals: | 13.00 % |
| Scripture: | New Testament |
| Ministry Resources: | Yes |
| Jesus Film: | No |
| Audio Recordings: | Yes |
| People Cluster: | Central American Indigenous, other |
| Affinity Bloc: | Latin-Caribbean Americans |
| Progress Level: |
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Introduction / History
The Tepehuas live in Veracruz state in eastern Mexico. There are three Tepehua subgroups, each with their own language. One of these is Tlachichilco.
What Are Their Lives Like?
Their primary food crop is corn and beans. As a cash crop, some grow coffee or oranges, although sugar cane is more common. Many young people have sought temporary work in cities because the local economy cannot support them. Older women still make and wear traditional hand-embroidered blouses with intricate patterns of flowers, fruit, birds, and animals.
What Are Their Beliefs?
Because the priest who worked in the area after the land wars of the 1930s was not Roman Catholic, but Eastern Orthodox, the result is something unique among rural Mexican towns. The church in the town square is Orthodox and not Roman Catholic. In spite of this, the majority of the people really don't understand how the Orthodox church differs from the Roman Catholic Church.
In addition to the Orthodox congregation, a Roman Catholic priest conducts mass with a small group of devotees in a private home. Most Las Flores speakers identify themselves as Catholic, but their belief system demonstrates what anthropologists call "Cristo-paganism." The saints of the church are considered gods or mini-gods with special power in certain domains.
There is a local Assemblies of God congregation as well.
What Are Their Needs?
While people acknowledge God, they also practice traditional medicine. A family will often seek out a modern cure from a local government clinic first. But if the illness persists, they will then turn to the local shaman to deal with the spirits. This suggests a need for medical care.
Prayer Points
Pray for God to send someone to teach them marketable skills that they can use anywhere in Mexico.
Pray for Tlachichilco Tepehua disciples to make more disciples.
Pray for a spiritual hunger that will lead them to the cross.
Pray for the Lord to show himself mighty by abundantly providing for their needs.