Glossary and Pronunciation
| kh | c in cat (with a puff of breath) |
| ph | p in push (with a puff of breath) |
| th | t in tip (with a puff of breath) |
| x | sh in short |
| ' | first h in uh-oh (glottal stop) |
| a | a in aye |
| e | e in hey |
| i | i in marine |
| o | o in grow |
| u | u in tune |
| å | au in taught |
| ε | e in bet |
| ï | u in church (but with rounded lips) |
| ø | eu in French eux |
Otomí vowels marked with a tilde are nasalized. Accent marks indicate high tone.
Nahuatl words stress the penultimate syllable.
| adobada | Spicy sauce blended from stewed tomato, chili, onion, and other seasonings | |
| brujo | 'Witch,' but generally used for any private ritual specialist such as curandero or shaman | |
| Casa de Dios | 'House of God,' the Pentecostal house of worship in Tenamitl | |
| chichikilli | Square tamale stuffed with meat and folded within a pahpaatla leaf | |
| Chikomexochitl | 'Seven Flower,' an Aztec god of maize and fertility; although the deity has male and female aspects in modern worship, she is described through the account as basically female | |
| comal | Flat, circular grill, usually made from baked clay | |
| compadrazgo | Fictive 'co-parent' kinship formed through ritual sponsorship between unrelated adults; a male relative is a compadre, and a female relative is a comadre | |
| copal | Incense made in the Huasteca from a blend of resinous, aromatic barks | |
| costumbre | 'Custom,' general term for traditional indigenous religion | |
| costumbrista | One who attends or performs costumbre rites | |
| curandero | 'Curer,' a folk healer who uses medicinal plants and ritual practices; the practice is curanderismo | |
| cutting | Small paper doll used to represent a god or spirit, to receive ritual offerings; in Nahuatl the plural is tlatekme (singular tlatektli), and in Otomí it is hεkí | |
| hermano | 'Brother,' a general term for evangelical converts | |
| huapango | Musical style performed with guitar, violin, and/or jarana (small guitar) and often highlighted with vocal upswings; distinct to the Huasteca region | |
| Huasteca | Lowland crescent abutting the west Gulf Coast; renowned especially for its livestock herding, subtropical climate, fertile terrains, and indigenous cultures; named after the local Huaxtec civilization | |
| indio | 'Indian,' usually a pejorative racial term in Latin America for indigenes | |
| maxochitl | 'Hand flower,' a marigold or olohuite blossom folded within the base of a palm leaf strip and fastened with a portion of the leaf; used as ritual decoration | |
| Mesoamerica | The indigenous culture area between Central Mexico and northern Central America, defined by massive cities and complex civilizations such as the Maya and Aztec | |
| Mestizo | Mexican person of mixed European and indigenous ancestry; also, the mainstream society that espouses this mixed cultural heritage | |
| milpa | Garden plot used principally for maize but also diverse secondary crops; many rural indigenous families own these through government-apportioned ejidos | |
| morral | Square bag woven from sisal and slung around the shoulder | |
| Moyankwilia | 'Self-renew,' Nahua New Years' ceremony timed to the first sowing around the middle of January | |
| nagual | The animal guise of one's tonalli spirit; also, a human or other being that can transform into animals | |
| Nahuatl | A Uto-Aztecan language spoken across various dialects in Mexico and most famously by the Aztecs; modern indigenous speakers are Nahua | |
| n'yogí | Otomí term for the indigenous nature gods, consciously recognized as "ancient," predating Spanish Christianity | |
| Otomí | An Oto-Manguean language spoken across various dialects in Central Mexico; noteworthy for its tonal and nasal vowels and its complex pronoun systems | |
| pahpaatla | Stalk plant (Heliconia sp.) whose leaves are often used to wrap corn dough during cooking | |
| pantsi | 'Small bread,' a sweet bun | |
| PEMEX | 'Mexican Petroleum,' the national fossil fuel company | |
| peso | Basic unit of Mexican currency; during the field season it valued between 11 and 12 to the U.S. dollar | |
| shaman | Part-time ritual specialist who communicates and engages directly with supernatural beings under a trance or other altered state of consciousness | |
| tianguis | Weekly outdoor market | |
| tlachpoastli | Abbreviation of tepetlachpoastli, 'mountain broom,' a bush with small, waxy leaves; its leafy branches are used to sprinkle water or sweep altars during rituals | |
| Tlahzolteotl | 'Trash Spirit,' Aztec goddess of lust, fertility, and growth; commonly identified with a conical headdress, cotton ornaments, and tarred lips; a cultural borrowing from the Huaxtec mother goddess | |
| Tlaloc | 'Covered in Earth,' the Aztec rain god; commonly identified with ringed goggles, upper fangs, and a curled mustache | |
| Tlamanas | Contraction of elotlamanalistli, 'distribution of maize ears,' thanksgiving ceremony dedicated to the first harvest; traditionally held toward the middle of May and again around the beginning of October | |
| tlatekme | See "cutting" | |
| tonalli | Type of soul attributed to individual personality, consciousness, and perception; accounts widely say that it can exist in an animal or other material form separate from the owner's body | |
| xochikalli | 'Flower house,' community chapel dedicated to costumbre religion | |
| xochitlalketl | 'Flower setter,' Nahua ritual practitioner who specializes in rites dedicated to agricultural gods |
