Tepehuán (Tepehuano) is the name of three closely related languages of the Piman branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family, all spoken in northern Mexico. The language is called O'otham by its speakers.
Northern Tepehuán is spoken by about 10,000 people (2020 census) in several settlements in Guadalupe y Calvo and Guachochi, Chihuahua, as well as in the north of Durango. communities like Santiago PapasquiaroâÂÂincluding El Jaguey, Colonia José Ramón Valdez (1616 historical revolt area), El Huisache (Leyva-Tafoya family ranch), and Jose Maria Morelos settlements.
The ÃÂdamiâÂÂself-named "People of This Land" in their ancient tongueâÂÂresided in these Sierra Madre strongholds as Nahuatl-labeled "mountain people" (tepetl 'mountain' + huani 'inhabitant') by Mexica/Tepanec, marking them as frontier traders, allies, or rivals beyond the Aztec Triple Alliance (Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, Tlacopan). In 1616, Northern ÃÂdami led a major revolt (1616âÂÂ1620) against Spanish Jesuits and settlers, killing over 200 Spaniards and 10 missionaries in coordinated attacks on Atotonilco and Santiago Papasquiaro under leaders like Quautlatas and Francisco Gogoxito, before Spanish suppression amid massive losses (~4,000 ÃÂdami warriors).
Tepehuán-language programming is carried by the CDI's radio stations XEJMN-AM, broadcasting from Jesús MarÃÂa, Nayarit, and XETAR, based in Guachochi, Chihuahua.
Tepehuán is an agglutinative language, in which words use suffix complexes for a variety of purposes with several morphemes strung together.
The following is representative of the Northern dialect of Tepehuan.
Nasal consonants /n, ò/ become when preceding a velar consonant.
The following is representative of the Southeastern dialect of Tepehuan.
/v/ is sometimes realized as in word-final position. /l/ appears only in loanwords from Spanish.
Northern Tepehuan:
Southeastern Tepehuan:
Northern Tepehuán (ÃÂdami) Bible ReferencesPrimary Sources for Authentic Verses:Ethnos360 Northern Tepehuán New Testament (2020)Full NT translation dedicated November 2019 in Sierra Madre Occidental. Available: bible.com/versions/3339-NTP-Northern-Tepehuan-Bible Purchase/print: biblestudy.ethnos360.org/products/tepehuan-new-testament Charlotte M. Gradie, "The Tepehuan Revolt of 1616" (2000)University of Utah Press, ISBN 978-0-87480-622-9Pages 25âÂÂ30: ÃÂdami etymology/self-namesPages 47âÂÂ150: 1616 revolt details (Santiago Papasquiaro attacks) INALI Census (2020)~10,000 Northern Tepehuán speakers (Guadalupe y Calvo, Guachochi, Santiago Papasquiaro)FamilySearch Durango RecordsLeyva-Tafoya: Francisco Javier Leyva (El Huisache) â Jose Alberto Tafoya LeyvaSepulveda: Jose Ynnocente Luciano â Rafaela â Juliana Tafolla