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San Pablito is a small town located on the side of the Guajalote Mountain in the Sierra Norte de Puebla mountain region in central east Mexico. It belongs to the Pahuatlán municipality of the state of Puebla. Culturally it is dominated by the Otomi although it is part of the La Huasteca region. San Pablito is best known for the commercial production of a bark paper called amate as a handcraft. This paper is mostly sold to Nahua painters in Guerrero, but it is also sold nationally and internationally on its own. The paper is made much the way it was before the arrival of the Spanish. Originally, it was made only by the area’s shamans for ritual purpose but today commercial production is mostly done by the town’s women and children as many men have left to work in the United States. ==The town== San Pablito is one of the towns belonging to the Pahuatlán municipality, located in the Sierra Norte region of the state of Puebla in eastern Mexico. The area is rugged mountain terrain which was relatively inaccessible until recent decades.〔López Binnqüist, p 108〕 Before the current vehicular road was built in 1978 (paved in the mid-1990s), the only way to reach the community was a steep path by foot or horse.〔López Binnqüist, p 144〕 While the valley area is in a cultural region called La Huasteca, San Pablito and the other villages on its side of the San Marcos River are Otomi territory. These Otomi are related to those in the Mezquital Valley in Hidalgo and among a number of indigenous ethnicities which migrated here from other parts of Mexico.〔 The Otomi name for the town is Bité or Nvite, which means “at the bottom of the hill.” Traditional dress for women consists of a skirt decorated with stripes and a cotton blouse with short sleeves and a square neckline which is embroidered in bright colors. This embroidery often has images of humans and animals done in cross-stitch or with beads. A poncho-like garment called a quezquémetl is worn over the blouse, which is usually white with a wide purple or red trim. If it is sunny, this garment is then usually folded to be worn on the head. Traditional dress for men consists of pants and a shirt in plain cotton with a white cotton belt, with a macramé fringe and bright colored embroidery. A heavier shirt in black or blue with white stripes may be worn over this along with an ixtle fiber bag and huarache sandals. A local type of basket which is still in use is called a tancolote, which has a frame of tree branches.〔 Much of the natural vegetation of the valley is lost, but the town is surrounded by orange groves and coffee plantations.〔 These grow in the area’s hot, wet climate, strongly affected by warm air masses coming in from the Gulf of Mexico. These air masses produce many days with fog along with rain.〔 Traditionally subsistence consisted of farming with hunting and gathering. The first external commerce was the growing of coffee beans, with this and latter selling of various handcrafts done through intermediaries to the outside world. One reason for this was that few in the town spoke Spanish.〔 Today, amate paper production is the main economic activity. On days when the townspeople, mostly women, are making it, the rhythmic pounding of stones fills the air. Another important craft is called “chaquira,” intricate beadwork based on what has been done on the traditional blouses of women. It has been adapted to decorate purses and to create jewelry.〔López Binnqüist, p 146〕 Women also embroider cotton skirts with figures of horses, people and eagles, not for their own use but rather for sale to tourists.〔 The production of amate paper has been commercially successful, with sales mostly outside the Sierra Norte region, which has given the town economic and political clout up to the state and federal levels. It is the only town in the municipality, aside from the seat, to have private telephone service, a high school and computers. Much of this was negotiated with federal and state agencies rather than municipal authorities.〔López Binnqüist, p 115〕 Despite the commercial success of the town’s crafts, many men, mostly of the younger generations, migrate out of the area, generally to North Carolina in the United States at least temporarily to work. This has left the town mostly populated by women and children, who produce the amate paper and other crafts.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「San Pablito, Puebla」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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