Tlapanec people

This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (June 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Tlapanec

Meꞌphaa
Total population
~75,000
Regions with significant populations
Mexico ( Guerrero,  Oaxaca,  Morelos)
Languages
Tlapanec, Spanish
Religion
Roman Catholic, Protestant Christian, Animism
Related ethnic groups
Subtiaba

The Tlapanec /ˈtlæpənɛk/, or Meꞌphaa, are an indigenous people of Mexico native to the state of Guerrero. The Tlapanec language is a part of the Oto-Manguean language family. The now extinct Subtiaba language of Nicaragua was a closely related language. Today, Tlapanecs live primarily in the state of Guerrero and number more than 98,000.

In pre-Columbian times they lived in the isolated mountain area along the Costa Chica region of Guerrero, just southeast of present-day Acapulco. Their territory was called Yopitzinco by the Aztecs who also referred to the Tlapanecs as Yopi^{[pronunciation?]}. Yopitzinco was never conquered by the Aztecs and remained an independent enclave within the Aztec empire. The main Tlapanec city was Tlapan and the name Tlapanec is the Nahuatl for "Inhabitant of Tlapan".