Opata people
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (Unknown) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Mexico (Sonora) | |
| Languages | |
| Opata and Spanish | |
| Religion | |
| Indigenous Religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Other Chichimecas |
The Opata are three indigenous peoples native to the northern Mexican border state of Sonora. Opata territory, the “Opatería”, encompasses the mountainous northeast and central part of the state extending to near the border with the United States. Most Opatan towns were situated in river valleys and had an economy based on irrigated agriculture. In the 16th century when they first met the Spanish, the Opata were the most numerous people in Sonora. As an identifiable ethnic group, the Opata and their language are now extinct, or nearly extinct.
At the time of the first contact with the Spanish in the 16th century, there were multiple sub-groups of Opata people. However, by the mid 17th century, the Spanish identified only three Opatan groups. The largest was the Eudeve (eh-oo-deh-veh), whose ancient villages and current towns encompass the western portions of traditional Opata territory. The Eudeve also referred to themselves for short as “Deve.” Both names mean “people.”
The second largest group was first known as the Ore but later called the Tegüima or Tehuima (teh-wee-mah), whose ancient villages and current towns encompass the northeastern and central portion of Opata territory. “Tehuima” means “river people.”
The smallest Opatan group was the Jova (ho-vah). “Jova” means “water people.” They originally consisted of eight villages in the southeastern portion of Opata territory. During the 18th century the Jova inter-married with neighboring Eudeves to the extent where they merged, with the Jova no longer being identified as a distinct indigenous ethnic group.
The Opata language is a Uto-Aztecan language, related to neighboring languages such as O'odham, Tarahumara, Yaqui and Mayo, among others.
The name of the Eudeve dialect is Dohema. The Tehuimas spoke Tehuima, and the Jovas spoke Jova. The Eudeve and Tehuima languages were closely related, as "different as Portuguese and Spanish." Jova was a more distinct language.
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Wikipedia