Tarascan

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Definitions

1. A member of an indigenous people primarily located in the western region of Mexico, particularly in Michoacán
2. The language spoken by the Tarascan people, classified within the Uto-Aztecan family
3. Pertaining to the cultural practices, historical context, or artistic expressions of the Tarascan civilization in pre-Columbian Mexico

Etymology: The name "Tarascan" was not chosen by the people it describes. It comes from Spanish "tarasco," which in turn traces to a Purepecha word whose sense was roughly "father-in-law" or "son-in-law." The Purepecha people, who built a powerful state centred on Lake Pátzcuaro in western Mexico, used this term in their dealings with neighbouring peoples, and the Spanish picked it up and applied it to the group as a whole. The kinship sense is a reminder that the label was a relational term rather than a name the Purepecha themselves used for their own society. The Spanish suffix "-an" was then added to form the adjective and noun used in English. So the word now covers everything from the people themselves to their pottery, architecture and sculpture, but it is an outsider's label built on a kinship term. Scholars today often prefer the self-designation "Purepecha" for the living people and the culture, which makes this older, externally applied name a useful case of how colonial categories can stick.

Synonyms: Purépecha