How were the Pipil related to the Nahua peoples?

The Pipil are a group of Indigenous people belonging to the Aztecan (or Nahuan) branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family. They are linguistically and culturally related to the Nahua of central Mexico, as both groups are classified under the Nahuan language division.12

Historically, the Pipil migrated from central Mexico around 800 CE, moving through regions of present-day Mexico and Guatemala before settling in areas including El Salvador. Because of this shared ancestry, the Pipil civilization in El Salvador exhibited cultural characteristics that resembled those of the Aztecs in Mexico. While the Nahuatl language is the most well-known representative of the Nahuan group, Pipil is recognized as a distinct language within the same Nahuan subgroup.1342