Oaxacan Culture ( no complete)

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California State University, Dominguez Hills *

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Health Science

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Jan 9, 2024

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docx

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1 Oaxacan Culture Ugomma Epoh California State University, Dominquez Hills March 18, 2021

2 Oaxacan Culture Did you know of 350,000 indigenous Oaxacans' that have migrated to California, approximately 180,000 of them are established here in Southern California (Rabadan, & Rivera- Salgado, 2018)? Mostly Mixtecs and Triquis of the indigenous Oaxaca people make up about one third of the Mexican agricultural workers (Rabadan, & Rivera-Salgado, 2018). Approximately 68% of the farm workers in the United States originated from Mexico and about 20% are from the south of Mexico, such as Oaxaca (Ornelas,2012). Despite being some of the underprivileged farm workers with less education and financially poorer, they were fairly healthy when they initially migrated to the United States (Ornelas, 2012). Rates of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes and obesity have increased substantially over the generations and are among the many diseases suffered from the indigenous Mexicans here in California today (Ornelas,2012). The life and work of indigenous farm workers is tough; exposed to poor working conditions and poor living causes both physiological and psychological stress (Lighthouse, 2001). With Oaxacan health status in mind, these individuals will be seen in the health setting and will need compassionate and knowledgeable care, along with and understanding for their culture for improvement in health. To understand whom the Oaxacan people are, we will focus on the Oaxacan definition of health and traditional medicinal practices with an emphasis on language, traditions, and foods to better understand the Oaxaca culture. Who are the Oaxacan people & what are their demographics? Location Oaxaca is a state located in southwest Mexico. Its southern border falls along the coastline of the Pacific Ocean and its capital is Oaxaca de Juárez. Oaxaca’s neighboring states include Guerrero, Veracruz, Puebla, and Chiapas (Schmal, 2019).

3 Population and Growth As of 2010, Oaxaca has a total population of 3.9 million people (Cuentame, n.d.) and is best known for having the largest population of indigenous people within its state. There are a total of sixteen indigenous communities representing diversity in ethnic groups and languages. The sixteen communities are Zapotec, Mixtec, Mazateco, Chinaanteco, Mixe, Chatino, Trique, Hauve, Cuicateco, Zoque, Amuzgo, Oaxaca Chontal, Tacuate, Chochotec, Ixcateco, and Popoloco. Of the sixteen communities, Zapotec and Mixtec are the two largest communities of the indigenous groups. Women currently exceed its men population with a majority of the population being under the age of 30. Similar to many other countries of the world, women seem to live longer than men and while its population is growing at an intensely slow rate, the population seems to steadily increase through the years. As of 2016, birth rates exceed death rates by about 109% (Cuentame, n.d.). Religion Prior to becoming Oaxaca, its indigenous people were polytheist. They believed in many Gods and Goddesses. During the Spanish-Aztec war the indigenous people of Mexico struggled and resisted against colonial domination and the Spaniards eventually settled in on the land in 1521 (History.com, 2009). This resulted with Catholic missionaries burning down temples, establishing churches, and giving rise to Catholicism.

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