Sierra Occidental Purepecha in Mexico


Population
Largest Religion
Christian
Evangelical
Progress
Progress Gauge

Introduction / History

The Purepecha tribe was once called Tarascan. They live along the Sierra Madre Mountains in the state of Michoac n. The mighty Aztecs never conquered them largely because the Purepecha were adept at forging and wielding metal weapons. Their ancestors were not engulfed by the Spanish Empire until the 1530s, over a decade after the Aztecs were conquered. The Spaniards proceeded to use up the forests in the Purepecha homeland.

They have a subgroup with a different language called the Sierra Occidental Purephechas.


What Are Their Lives Like?

The Sierra Occidental Purepecha were Christianized as part of Spanish Conquista. The church ideas were assimilated by Purepecha people but not understood well until the 20th century. Mass was held in Latin until the 1950s, then Spanish. More recently mass is sometimes in Purepecha but usually still in Spanish. Evangelicals use more Purepecha, but even there it is often Spanish because there are no Bible schools in Purepecha yet.


What Are Their Beliefs?

They are mainly devoted to traditional religion and Roman Catholicism. There is an Evangelical minority among them.


What Are Their Needs?

Scripture portions were translated in the 1580s, the New Testament in 1968 and the whole Bible is now being translated as a United Bible Society project. The people are open to the gospel when presented appropriately. The Purepecha are mostly modernized (mobile phones, CD, television, radio, post-secondary education, etc.) but there are also areas that are still less developed (no plumbing, minimal education, etc.).


Prayer Items

Pray for a complete and accurate Bible translation in the Purepecha language.
Pray for the Holy Spirit to move in their local churches, drawing them to Jesus Christ, who is the truth.
Pray for them to put all their faith in the God of the Bible.


Scripture Prayers for the Purepecha, Sierra Occidental in Mexico.


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

People Name General Purepecha, Sierra Occidental
People Name in Country Purepecha, Sierra Occidental
Natural Name Sierra Occidental Purepecha
Pronunciation see-AIR-ah oak-see-den-TAHL poo-DAY-peh-chah
Alternate Names Tarasco
Population this Country 228,000
Population all Countries 281,000
Total Countries 2
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 4
Unreached No
Frontier People Group No
GSEC 1  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed
PeopleID3 18910
ROP3 Code 114871
Country Mexico
Region America, Latin
Continent North America
10/40 Window No
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 31  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Location in Country Michoacán state: Comachuén east, Cañada de los Once Pueblos north, Nuevo Parangaricutiro south; Tarecuato west; Jalisco state: Jilotlan de los Dolores municipality, small border aea.   Source:  Ethnologue 2016
Country Mexico
Region America, Latin
Continent North America
10/40 Window No
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 31  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Location in Country Michoacán state: Comachuén east, Cañada de los Once Pueblos north, Nuevo Parangaricutiro south; Tarecuato west; Jalisco state: Jilotlan de los Dolores municipality, small border aea..   Source:  Ethnologue 2016

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Primary Religion: Ethnic Religions
Major Religion Percent
Buddhism
0.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 5.00 %)
45.00 %
Ethnic Religions
55.00 %
Hinduism
0.00 %
Islam
0.00 %
Non-Religious
0.00 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
Primary Language Purepecha, Western Highland (228,000 speakers)
Language Code pua   Ethnologue Listing
Primary Dialect Purepecha, Sierra Occidental
Dialect Code 15804   Global Recordings Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 1
Primary Language Purepecha, Western Highland (228,000 speakers)
Language Code pua   Ethnologue Listing
Primary Dialect Purepecha, Sierra Occidental
Dialect Code 15804   Global Recordings Listing
Total Languages 1
People Groups Speaking Purepecha, Western Highland
Photo Source Edgar a secas - Flickr  Creative Commons 
Profile Source Joshua Project 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.