Trique people

Trique people

Trique people during a Palm Sunday procession
Total population
25,883
Regions with significant populations
Languages
Trique, Mixtec & Mexican Spanish
Religion
Catholic, Protestant & Native trique religion
Related ethnic groups
Mixtec people & Cuicatec people

The Trique (IPA: [triki]) or Triqui (Spanish: [ˈtɾiki]) are an indigenous people of the western part of the Mexican state of Oaxaca, centred in the municipalities of Juxtlahuaca, Tlaxiaco and Putla. They number around 23,000 according to the Ethnologue surveys. The Trique language is a Mixtecan language of Oto-Manguean genetic affiliation. All Trique peoples are known for their distinctive woven huipiles, baskets, and morrales (handbags).

Trique people live in a mountainous region, called "La Mixteca Baja", in the southwestern part of the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. The elevation within the Trique region varies between 1,500–3,000 m (4,900–9,800 ft). This high elevation permits low-lying cumulus clouds to envelop entire towns during the afternoons and evenings.

Like many other southern Mexicans, many Trique men travel to Oaxaca City, Mexico City, or the United States as day labourers or migrant workers. As the average daily salary of a rural Oaxacan is less than $5 (U.S.) and La Mixteca is the poorest region of Oaxaca, migration and remittances sent back to Oaxaca confer economic benefits to both migrant Triques and their families in Oaxaca. Trique women are more likely to remain in the Trique region and do not travel as often as Trique men do.