Los “últimos” tlahmaquetl nahuas: continuidades e innovación en la Montaña de Guerrero, México

For the nahuas of the Montaña in Guerrero, the tlahmaquetl or religious specialists represent the focal point of religious life. Their principal role is to celebrate rituals related to the rain or corn, like rain petitioning or the corn harvest thanksgiving. These rituals represent one of the most important offerings of the ritual cycle for the nahua people, in a rural and high region like theirs frequently affected by water scarcity. The tlahmaquetl, a figure with supernatural powers, has the role to mediate with prayers and offerings between men and nature, and he must be able to measure rains and to reject storms. His role is linked to the collective memory of the community by which its members have to face the challenges of modernity, opening ways to adapt while preserving their cultural identity.