The garments include a blouse, a skirt called a chincuete, an underskirt, apron, rebozo, quezquémetl, and a sash.

The sash is one of the most important elements, worn around the waist which is considered to be the energy center related to the cosmos and Mother Earth.

[2] In the Mazahua region, almost all women wear crescent earrings, as it is custom for a groom to buy a pair for his fiancé instead of a ring.

In the 1970s, efforts were made headed by María Teresa Pomar to preserve the silversmithing tradition, which was in danger of dying out.

Her efforts eventually led to the creation of a Mazahua silversmith guild whose members have won prizes for their work.

[5] Annual festivals are based on the Catholic calendar with each community having a patron saint, the most common of which is Isidore the Laborer.

[5] The Day of the Dead is the welcoming back of the souls of the ancestors, which are given offerings of foods that they preferred in life, along with drinks such as pulque and beer, along with bread, sweets and fruit.

The altars are decorated much the way most others in Mexico are, with flowers, paper cutouts, etc., but they often also contain cloths hand embroidered with Mazahua motifs.

[3] The Mazahua believe that the souls of the departed return on the Day of the Dead in the form of monarch butterflies to enjoy the offerings of fruit and bread that are left on altars.

The ceremony has retained its significance, but the growing of corn is no longer the area's main source of income.

Handcrafts include textiles such as blankets, sashes, rugs, cushions, tablecloths, carrying bags and quezquémetls made of wool.

[2] In 2011, a group of rag dolls made by Mazahua women were displayed at the Museo de Arte Popular.

The classification indicates the kind of treatment, which can include herbal remedies, massages, ceremonies, or professional medicine.

In addition to familial duties, Mazahuas are required to contribute voluntary labor to the community, called faena.

Common ingredients include squash, pipian sauce, a vegetable called quelite and a wide variety of mushrooms, generally found in the forest at certain times of the year.

Zende is a local drink made with sprouted corn, which is brewed and colored with a little bit of chili pepper.

One story says that they were one of the five Chichimeca groups that migrated to the area in the 13th century, headed by a chief named Mazahuatl.

[5] The Mazahua lived for hundreds of years in the forests of northern State of Mexico into Michoacán, mostly by hunting and gathering.

During the colonial period, the territory became economically dominated by large haciendas in Temascalcingo, El Oro, Jocotitlán and Almoloya de Juárez.

[4] The culture developed to live in temperate to cold climate, in an area filled with pine, holm oak, and oyamel fir trees.

[2] One major example is the employment of Mazahuas at a former ranch called Pastejé, near Atlacomulco, now known for its electrical appliance factory.

The plant began employing Mazahuas, primarily women, to do assembly work to produce electricity, water meters, conductors, bulb holders, and more.

[5] Another major change for the Mazahua people has been migration to other areas of Mexico and even to the United States, either seasonally or permanently.

[2] That began in 1945, when the Atlacomulco-Toluca highway was built, making it easy to travel out of the area, primarily to Toluca and Mexico City.

They brought their wives, who began to sell fruits, vegetables, and later rag dolls in the street, often making more money than their husbands.

[8] The mass migration has left a number of Mazahua communities, such as San Felipe Santiago, populated mostly by women and children.

[14] About 40% of the population works in agriculture, producing corn, beans, wheat, barley, oats and potatoes, with peas, vegetables and flowers grown in some municipalities.

[5] Another traditional source of income, especially in San Felipe del Progreso, is handcrafts, making blankets, sashes, rugs, carrying bags, tablecloths, quexquemitls, vests, and other garments from wool.

Other common crafts are making carrying bags from recycled plastic strips, brushes and brooms and pottery.

[6] Every year a school, ASF, holds a tianguis (outdoor market) to raise money to donate it to the community.