According to Aztec tradition, the Otomis were the earliest owners of the
soil of Central Mexico. Their language was at the conquest one of the
most widely distributed of any in this portion of the continent. Its
central regions were the states of Queretaro and Guanajuato; from the
upper portion of the valley of Mexico it extended north to the Rio Verde,
on the west it adjoined the Tarascans of Michoacan, and on the east the
Huastecs of Panuco.
The Otomis are below the average stature, of dark color, the skull
markedly dolichocephalic,[157] the nose short and flattened, the eyes
slightly oblique. Following the lead of some of the old writers,
modern authors have usually represented the Otomis as rude savages,
far inferior to the Nahuas. Doubtless the latter often so represented
them, but this does not correspond with what we learn of them from
other sources. Although subjected by the Nahuas, they do not seem to
have been excessively ignorant. Agriculture was not neglected, and
from their cotton the women wove clothing for both sexes. Ornaments of
gold, copper and hard stones were in use; their religion was conducted
with ceremony;[158] and they were famous for their songs and musical
ability.[159] The members of the nation to-day are laborious, good
tempered, and endowed with a remarkable aptitude for imitation,
especially in sculpture. Some of the women are quite handsome.[160]
Their language has attracted a certain amount of attention, partly from
its supposed similarity to the Chinese, partly because it is alleged to
differ from most American tongues in showing no incorporation. Both of
these statements have been proved erroneous.[161] It is a tongue largely
monosyllabic, of extremely difficult enunciation, worn down by attrition
almost to an isolating form, but not devoid of the usual traits of the
languages of the continent. There are several dialects, the relations of
which have been the subject of fruitful investigations.[162]