Tarasco

Tarasco
/teuh ras"koh, -rahs"-/, n., pl. Tarascos, (esp. collectively) Tarasco.
Tarascan.

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Indian people of Michoacán state in central Mexico.

Traditionally, they have been farmers, though they fish, hunt, trade, and work for wages as well. Each village tends to specialize in a craft (e.g., woodworking, weaving, pottery, net weaving, embroidering, or sewing). Their Roman Catholicism is only slightly influenced by pre-Columbian religion. They are gradually becoming assimilated to the mestizo culture, though their primary language remains Tarascan.

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people
also called  Tarascan 

      Indian people of northern Michoacán state in central Mexico. The area in which the Tarasco live is one of high volcanic plateaus and lakes; the climate is arid and cool. The Tarascan people are undergoing a slow process of assimilation into the mainstream mestizo culture of Mexico, but there are still people primarily monolingual in the Tarascan language and culturally conservative.

 The Tarasco are basically agricultural, growing the Middle American staple crops—corn (maize), beans, and squash—and raising livestock—primarily sheep, hogs, and chickens. Field cultivation is by means of the plow or digging stick. A number of nonstaple crops are also grown for livestock food, for cash, and for variety in the diet. Fishing, hunting, trading, and wage labour are other activities of economic significance. Settlements are generally villages with farmlands surrounding them. Houses are of wood, stone, or adobe, with tile or shingle roofs. Among crafts practiced by the Tarasco are woodworking, weaving, pottery, mat making, net weaving, embroidering, and sewing (see photograph—>). Craft specialization by village is the general rule. Traditional dress is disappearing among the Tarasco; most men wear denim work clothes and may have dark trousers, wool jackets, and felt hats for special occasions. Many women wear cotton housedresses, and even the traditional costume is much modified from the pre-Columbian skirt and huipil (overblouse, or tunic).

      An important social institution is the compadrazgo, an institution of ritual kinship based on godparenthood, common in Middle America; in an elaborate form, it is widely seen among the Tarasco. The Tarasco are Roman Catholics, and although they practice the standard folk Catholicism of Middle America, emphasizing patron saints and fiestas, their Christianity is remarkably little influenced by pre-Columbian indigenous religion; they do not believe in gods, demons, or witches.

      The Tarascan language is not known to be related to any other.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

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  • Tarasco — ► adjetivo 1 HISTORIA De un pueblo amerindio mexicano, con cultura de influencia tolteca, que ofreció gran resistencia a la expansión azteca. SINÓNIMO [purepecha] ► sustantivo 2 HISTORIA Persona natural de este pueblo. ► sustantivo masculino 3 …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Tarasco — Verbreitung des Tarasco im mexikanischen Bundesstaat Michoacán. Tarasco oder Purépecha ist eine isolierte indigene Sprache Mittelamerikas. Sie kommt hauptsächlich in Mexiko im Bundesstaat Michoacán vor und wird von etwa 136.000[1] …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • tarasco — (ˌ)skō noun (plural tarasco or tarascos) Usage: usually capitalized Etymology: Spanish 1. a. : a people of the state of Michoacán, Mexico …   Useful english dictionary

  • tarasco — s m 1 Grupo indígena mesoamericano que habita en la mayor parte del estado de Michoacán desde una época no determinada. Originalmente era un pueblo sedentario, agricultor y pescador que habitaba las islas y los alrededores de los lagos… …   Español en México

  • TARASCO vulgo TARASCON — TARASCO, vulgo TARASCON oppid. Occitaniae, ad Alburacim fluvium, Baudrand. Valesius habet ad flumen Lertium, in Comitatu Fuxiensi, 3. leuc. supra Fuxium in Meridiem ad radices Pyrenaeorum …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

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  • tarasco — ta·ras·co …   English syllables

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