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Nahua, Middle American Indian population of central Mexico, of which the Aztecs of pre-Conquest Mexico are probably the best known members. The language of the Aztecs, Nahuatl, is spoken by all the Nahua peoples in a variety of dialects.
The modern Nahua are an agricultural people; their staple crops are corn (maize), beans, chilli peppers, tomatoes, and squash. Also common are maguey (the Mexican century plant), sugarcane, rice, and coffee.
The Nahua are Roman Catholics, oriented toward the patron saints of their villages as well as the Virgin of Guadalupe and various Cristos involved in local legend. Witchcraft is commonly believed in, along with a variety of pagan or semipagan supernatural creatures. Pagan religious rituals, except as they relate to witchcraft, are no longer practiced.
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