Mesoamerican Indian peasants of the Pacific coast of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (Tehuantepec, Isthmus of). The exact relationship of the Huave language to other Mesoamerican languages is a matter of scholarly dispute. Fishing and agriculture are the main subsistence activities, but the Huave also depend on markets in nearby towns to meet their needs for staple foods and manufactured goods. Patrilocal family units occupy thatched-roof huts that make up compact villages. All male members of the community enter the escalafón, a system of civil and religious office holding.