NOTES

NOTES to CHAPTER 1

1. Eschmann 1976 and López Austin 1980 have discussed this topic in depth. The shamanistic aspect of incipient rulership is well documented for the chiefdoms in the Caribbean area (e.g., Hoogland 1996, Oliver 1998) and for the Olmec culture in early Mesoamerica (e.g., Köhler 1985 and Coe et al. 1996). See also Jansen 2004b.

2. The four dresses are described in detail in the chronicle of Fray Bernardino de Sahagún (1950–1978, book XII: ch. 4) and illustrated in Codex Magliabechi, page 89 (Anders et al. 1996; cf. Nowotny 1960). For a critical study of Cortés’s report, see Frankl 1966.

3. Compare the enthronement speeches registered by Sahagún 1950–1978, book VI: chapters 4–16.

4. For the ancient history and archaeology of Mesoamerica, see, for example, Evans 2004 and Joyce & Hendon 2003, while Carmack, Gasco & Gossen 1996 and Florescano 1997 offer an overview of the development of its culture to the present. The Classic-Postclassic transition is specifically dealt with in Carrasco, Jones & Sessions 2000, while Smith & Berdan 2003 focus on the Postclassic period.

5. See the Codex Vaticanus 3738, or “Vaticanus A” (Anders & Jansen 1996: 54 ff), the Legend of the Suns (Lehmann 1938), and the central image of the famous Calendar Stone in the Museo Nacional de Antropología. The Mexica used the word tzontli, “(head with) hair,” to designate each era. As the same term was used for the number 400, confusion arose, which resulted in attributing very long durations to each tzontli (see Jansen 1997b: 25).

6. A general description of the Mexica concept of Toltecayotl as the awareness of a specific cultural heritage is provided by León-Portilla 1987. On references to Teotihuacan as Place of Cattail Reeds (pu) in Maya inscriptions, see the articles by William Fash & Barbara Fash and by David Stuart in the work edited by Carrasco, Jones & Sessions (2000: 433–513).

7. These are only a few of the traits in the complex development of warfare in Mesoamerica, as documented and reconstructed by Hassig 1992. For an introduction to the ideological aspects and general theory, see Conrad & Demarest 1984.

8. For the concept of peer polities, see Renfrew & Cherry 1986. Recall, however, that in many cases the Mesoamerican polities were not true peers. Therefore the concept of “city-state culture,” as proposed by Hansen 2000, is often more adequate.

9. For a discussion of the various strategies that may have played a role in these different political environments, see Blanton et al. 1996.

10. We cite the work of Braidotti and Loomba because of their clarifying insights into the fundamental correspondence between the historical oppression of women and the colonization process.

11. The aspect of time-space distanciation through the invention of writing and its consequences for state formation has been commented upon by Giddens (see Kaspersen 2000: ch. 3). See also the bundle with case studies edited by Gledhill, Bender & Larsen 1988, as well as the works of Ong 1982 and Goody (e.g., 2000).

12. Through intensive and large-scale investigations since the mid-1970s, the Maya hieroglyphs have been deciphered to a large extent. The history of this accomplishment is synthesized by Coe 1992 and put in proper perspective by Westphal 1991. The resulting insights contribute to a deeper understanding of texts from other parts of Mesoamerica. For the hieroglyphic system of the Classic Beni Zaa or Zapotecs (in Oaxaca), see Urcid 2001.

13. An overview of the pictographic and other historical sources for Mesoamerica is presented in the Guide to Ethnohistorical Sources, in vols. 12–15 of the Handbook of Middle American Indians (Cline 1975). Classical monographs have been published by Nowotny 1961a and Smith 1973a, which constitute the basis for more recent works such as Anders & Jansen 1988, Marcus 1992, Boone & Mignolo 1994, and Arellano Hoffmann & Schmidt 1998. In a recent overview of Central Mexican and Ñuu Dzaui pictography, Boone 2000 includes a synthesis of the contents of the main manuscripts according to existing interpretations.

14. With justification, Robicsek and Hales 1981, therefore, called their publication describing Classic Maya funerary vases The Maya Book of the Dead. The Ceramic Codex. A parallel exists between the history of the pictorial manuscripts and that of similar precious objects, such as feather mosaics (see Anders 1975, 1978, and Castelló Yturbide 1993).

15. The fascinating history of the collection and interpretation of ancient Mexican codices has been traced and contextualized in several general works on the history of Mesoamerican studies, such as Keen 1971. For a detailed essay with extensive bibliographical notes, see Anders 1999.

16. For a full discussion of the problems involved in determining the place where these screen-folds were painted, see Anders, Jansen & van der Loo 1994.

17. See the facsimile editions with commentaries published by the Fondo de Cultura Económica (Anders, Jansen & Reyes García 1993; Anders & Jansen 1993; Anders, Jansen & Pérez Jiménez 1994; Anders & Jansen 1994; Anders, Jansen & van der Loo 1994). The religious section of the Codex Yada (Tututepetongo) is discussed together with Codex Mictlan / Laud in Anders & Jansen 1994, while the historical part is analyzed by Van Doesburg in his dissertation (1996). For the Codex Yecu or Fonds Mexicain 20/21, see Jansen 1998c.

18. We refer to these editions: Anders, Jansen & Pérez Jiménez 1992a (Yuta Tnoho); Caso 1960 and Jansen & Pérez Jiménez 2005 (Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu); Anders, Jansen & Pérez Jiménez 1992b (Tonindeye); Caso 1964 (Añute; see also the commentary by Jansen & Pérez Jiménez 2000); León-Portilla 1996 (Iya Nacuaa; see also the commentary by Troike 1974b). In proposing these new names for the pictorial manuscripts, we follow a reasoning similar to Brotherston 1995, who called Codex Bodley the “Tilantongo Annals,” Codex Nuttall the “Teozacoalco Annals,” Codex Colombino-Becker the “Tututepec Annals,” and Codex Selden the “Xaltepec Annals.” Our main difference is that we prefer names in Dzaha Dzaui. Brotherston’s theory that Codex Vindobonensis comes from Tepeji and could be called the “Tepexic Annals” is too speculative, however.

19. For an early synthesis of these sources, see Dahlgren 1954. The social structure and the role of the caciques have been extensively studied by Spores 1967, 1984. The colonization process, with its acculturation and syncretism, is the central theme in a monograph by Romero Frizzi 1996; see also Terraciano 2001.

20. Codex Yuta Tnoho contains a list of towns with their sacred founding dates. The date for Ñuu Tnoo is year 7 Flint day 7 Flint (cf. Codex Tonindeye, 22). In Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu this date is connected with the scene in which the Founding Father of the dynasty, Lord 4 Alligator ‘Blood Eagle,’ is born from the earth. The date of Añute is year 8 Rabbit day 2 Grass. In Codex Añute these two components are the calendar names of the dynasty’s Founding Mother and Father.

21. See Eschmann’s analysis (1976) of the interrelatedness of history and cosmovision among the Mexica.

22. Smith 1973b identified the sign. Flying balls of fire, able to perforate rocks, are still known as powerful and vampire-like nahuales in Ñuu Dzaui. They are called yahua in Yutsa Tohon, sucun yuu in Ñuu Ndeya (Chalcatongo). The latter term corresponds to dzuq yuhu, translated as “hechicero” by Alvarado.

23. Codices Yuta Tnoho reverse, I-1, and Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 13-V.

24. Compare the similar title of kings among the Maya: k’uhul ajaw; its glyph seems to contain signs of blood and preciousness (Freidel in Demarest & Conrad 1992).

25. Fray Antonio de los Reyes 1976: i documents the wordplay among toho, “noble lord,” tnuhu, “word, lineage,” and tnoho, “to pluck (feathers).”

26. The Relación Geográfica of Yodzo Cuiya (Juxtlahuaca) documents an association of this title with the Sun God: “adoraban al sol los guerreros valientes, que llamaban en su lengua mixteca Taandozo y que cuando andaban en las guerras, si mataban algún indio estos guerreros, luego le sacaban el corazón y lo ofrecían al sol” (Acuña 1984, I: 284–285).

27. A similar observation on the aspect of reciprocity as the cornerstone of this worldview is made by Anders & Jansen 1988, 1994.

NOTES to CHAPTER 2

1. In ritual texts from Cahua Tachi in Guerrero, the title is given as (ta)-yiwua (ta)-si’i (Schultze Jena 1933–1938, III: 86); in Yutsa Tohon (Apoala) it is ta de’e (López García 1998: 108). The same expression occurs among the Maya and elsewhere in Mesoamerica. See also Jansen 1998c.

2. See, for example, the informative monographs by Pasqualino 1989 and Croce 1999.

3. “The Deleuzian becoming is the affirmation of the positivity of difference, meant as a multiple and constant process of transformation. Both teleological order and fixed identities are relinquished in favor of a flux of multiple becomings” (Braidotti 1994: 111).

4. See the analysis of liturgical time and locale by Jonathan Smith 1987.

5. Much of our discussion of ritual follows the monumental work of Rappaport 1999. On the use of the concepts “syntagmatic” and “paradigmatic,” see Leach 1976. We thank anthropologist Sabine Luning (Centre of Non-Western Studies, Leiden) for her inspiring classes and orientations. Broda & Báez-Jorge 2001 present several aspects of Central Mexican religion. Symbolic territories are the central topic in the bundle Diálogos con el Territorio (Barabas 2003; cf. our section “Hablar con la Tierra” in Anders, Jansen & Pérez Jiménez 1994).

6. See Jansen 1997b. The concepts “liminality,” “communitas,” and “social drama,” used in this analysis, were coined by Turner 1990, 1995. An example of a recent theoretical reflection on the role of power in different types of societies is Wolf 1999.

7. For the first metaphor, see Sahagún 1950–1978, book VI: ch. 43, and Codex Telleriano-Remensis, page 19; for the second, see Sahagún 1950–1978, book VI: ch. 43, and Codex Telleriano Remensis, page 11v.

8. Cf. the Historia de los Mexicanos por sus pinturas (Garibay 1979: 32). The Aztec Tezcacuahuitl parallells the “mirror tree” Wakah Chan, represented on the famous lid of the sarcophagus of Lord Pakal (A.D. 603–683) of the Maya city-state of Palenque (see Jansen & Pérez Jiménez 2000: ch. VI).

9. Codex Yoalli Ehecatl, pages 49–53, and Codex Tezcatlipoca, page 1. In Nahuatl the primordial tree is called Tonacacuahuitl, “the tree of our sustenance, that is, of maize,” adored first by the Toltec divine ruler Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl and later identified with the Christian cross—cf. the references by Mendieta 1971: 309, Codex Vaticanus A (3v, Sahagún 1950–1978, book VI: ch. 21, Ixtlilxochitl 1975–1977, II: 8). In the early colonial period several authors identified the Toltec ruler Quetzalcoatl with a Christian apostle (see Lafaye 1976 and Stenzel 1980).

10. The First Ruler, born from a tree, is implicitly compared to the Maize God born from the Earth, represented as an alligator in Central Mexico and as a turtle by the Maya (cf. Freidel, Schele & Parker 1993: 66).

11. So it is said explicitly about the founder of the dynasty of Yodzo Yaha (Tecomaxtlahuaca) in the codex, or tira, of the same name (see Jansen 1994).

12. The technical term for the offering or sacrifice made at the occasion of building a house, shrine, or other important structure is taken from the German language: Bauopfer. Similar bowls are associated with Cihuacoatl in the temple rituals depicted in Codex Yoalli Ehecatl, pages 29–31; cf. Jansen 1998d and Jansen & Pérez Jiménez 2000: ch. VI.

13. Compare the scene in Codex Yoalli Ehecatl, page 53, where the Gods Quetzalcoatl and Macuilxochitl offer their blood to the earth deity Cihuacoatl so that the tree of maize can grow from her.

14. The vision serpent is important in Maya iconography too (Freidel, Schele & Parker 1993). Motolinía 1969: 20 tells how the priests became “drunk” from eating mushrooms and saw many visions, “especially of serpents.” Another chronicler, Nuñez de la Vega, described in 1702 the shamanic experience of being swallowed by a huge dragon-like snake (Aguirre Beltrán 1963: 283). Until today this concept has been part of the visionary wisdom of the Mazatec curanderos (healers) (Boege 1988: 178 ff). See also our commentary on Codex Añute (Jansen & Pérez Jiménez 2000: ch. VI).

15. For an in-depth analysis of sacred architecture, see Carmichael et al. 1994 and Jones 2000.

16. Several authors have tried to explain this building’s deviant orientation in terms of astronomical alignments. These theories remain unconvincing. A general problem with archaeo-astronomical arguments is that with a plurality of architectonical elements there are many sight lines that can be traced to some points at the horizon where, given the enormous richness of the universe, some siderical or planetary presence will occur. With so many chances for coincidence, the question is whether the “orientation” we can now observe was actually significant and consciously constructed in the ancient civilization or totally unrelated to astronomical observations. Often, and also in the case of Mound J, the postulated sight line is not self-evident, and concrete data about the suggested religious value (cult, symbolism) of the specific celestial phenomena to which such a line is supposed to point are conspicuously absent.

17. Compare the interpretation given by Köhler 1985 and Coe et al. 1996. This convention is also present in the frescoes of Teotihuacan. The dictionary of Alvarado contains several terms for “hechicero, embaidor que decía se volvía en tigre” and “brujo que engaña en decir que se vuelve león.”

18. For an overview, see the article by Rodríguez Cano, Rivera Guzmán & Martínez Ramírez 1996–1999. The first monograph on Ñuiñe reliefs was published by Moser 1977. In her thesis, Rodríguez Cano 1996 presents an updated and systematic catalog of all known monuments.

19. Such a name or title is also documented in Monte Albán, on steles (cf. Winter et al. 1994: 70), and on the famous Lápida de Bazán (Winter et al.: 72).

20. Tequixtepec Stone 19; Cerro de los Soles Stone 1 (Rodríguez Cano 1996).

21. Tequixtepec Stone 17 and Cerro de la Caja Stone 2, respectively (Rodríguez Cano 1996; Rivera Guzmán 2002). See also Jansen 2004a.

22. Stone 1 in the Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum, Cologne, and Huajuapan Stone 1 (Rodríguez Cano 1996).

23. See Winter 1994: 34 and Jansen 1997a, 1998d, 2004b.

24. Examples are found in Caso & Bernal 1952: figs. 16, 151, 159, 161, 241, 328, 363.

NOTES to CHAPTER 3

1. Burgoa 1934b, I: 406.

2. See Jansen’s analysis of Mesoamerican religion in the commentary on Codex Mictlan / Laud (Anders & Jansen 1994).

3. Sahagún’s translation is: “decían que antes que hubiese día en el mundo que se juntaron los dioses en aquel lugar que se llama Teotihuacan, que es el pueblo de San Juan . . . dijeron los unos a los otros dioses: ‘¿Quién tendrá cargo de alumbrar el mundo?’” It is interesting that this model was also used among humans to establish a social structure: “entraron en consulta, donde trataron lo siguiente diciendo: ‘Vendrá tiempo cuando hay luz para el regimiento de esta república’” (Sahagún 1950–1978, book X: ch. 19 § 12).

4. Compare the unified image of the Death God and Quetzalcoatl as archetypical priest in the Teoamoxtli Group (Codex Yoalli Ehecatl, 56, 73).

5. For a detailed analysis of this map and the identification of Monte Albán in the Ñuu Dzaui codices, see Jansen 1998b.

6. According to the Relación Geográfica of Ñuu Tnoo: “los dioses a quien adoraban eran ídolos de madera y piedras, los cuales ídolos llamaron en su lengua mixteca Qhyo Sayo y en mexicano teul, que en castellano quiere decir dios” (Acuña 1984, II: 232–233).

7. Later in Codex Añute (6-II) we find a reference to a cave where the Heart of Ñuu Dzaui is located, clearly a reference to the oracle cave of Ñuu Ndecu described by Burgoa. The heart is accompanied by a jewel or jade sign, which again suggests that Place of Jade (Jewel) was one of the ancient names of Ñuu Ndecu, surviving as the name of one of the wards that integrated the village-state. Town of Jade, also called Valley of Opening Jade or Chipped Jade, where the divine beings (Ñuhu) were born and the sanctuary of the nobility (quetzal feathers) stood, is repeated later in Codex Yuta Tnoho (45). There it initiates a list of places that mark the four directions, a position that suggests that Town of Jade actually represents the center. This suggestion is further confirmed on page 12 of the same codex where Maize Maiden, the daughter of Lord 8 Alligator and Lady 4 Dog, is associated with Heart of the Earth, that is, the Center. These references coincide nicely with the information on a cult for the Heart of the People in Ñuu Ndecu.

8. The teicpalli is mentioned in the Historia Tolteca Chichimeca (Kirchhoff, Odena Güemes & Reyes García 1976: 138).

9. The Sacred Bundle of Lord 9 Wind ‘Flint-born Quetzalcoatl’ is depicted in Codex Tonindeye, pages 15, 21–22, 42.

10. Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 48. For the concept of Do Asean, see Boege 1988: 174–183. The shamanic flight is discussed by Furst and Anguiano 1977, Furst 1978: 113, and Jansen 1982: 147–148.

11. Compare the signs of these months in the Codex Yodzo Cahi (Yanhuitlan) as part of the sequence of the four tribute periods (Sepúlveda y Herrera 1994: pl. X–XI).

12. Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 47. For the reading in Dzaha Dzaui, see Anders, Jansen & Pérez Jiménez 1992a. The Mountain of Pulque in this context is probably a cognate of the Pozonaltepetl of Nahuatl cosmovision (Sahagún 1950–1978, book X: ch. 29).

13. Cf. Codices Añute, page 2, and Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 1-V. The same tree is depicted on incised bones found in Tomb 7 of Monte Albán. The form of the tree in Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 37, is also diagnostic of a ceiba or pochote.

14. The day 7 Eagle occurs as a preferential marriage day for Ñuu Tnoo rulers (e.g., Codices Yuta Tnoho reverse, I-3; Tonindeye, 42; Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 12-III and 29-IV). The day 7 Rain is the calendar name of Xipe as Patron deity of Zaachila (Tonindeye, 33) but is also associated with the cult of the Bundle of Lord 9 Wind (Tonindeye, 15-II). The combination of the days 7 Eagle and 7 Rain echoes the possible reference to Ñuu Tnoo and Zaachila as the first mentioned towns in Codex Yuta Tnoho (52).

15. Compare the account by Muñoz Camargo, who describes how the Patron Deity sends his people to their “place of dawn”: “uncan tonaz, oncan tlahuiz, oncan yazque ayamo nican, ‘adelante habéis de ir, que no es aquí aún donde adonde ha de amanecer y hacer sol y resplandecer con su propios y fulgentes rayos’” (in Acuña 1984–1985, I: 144).

16. As stated by Fray Antonio de los Reyes in his prologue (1976: i): “En especial era tradición antigua que los dichos señores que salieron de Apoala se habían hecho cuatro partes y se dividieron de tal suerte que se apoderaron de toda la Mixteca.”

17. See Jansen 1982 and 1998c. The Ngigua (Popoloca) of the State of Puebla still consider Tepeji the place of the North (Michael Swanton, pers. comm.).

18. For the Yoayan (yohuayan) concept, see Sahagún 1950–1978, book III appendix: ch. 4; for Chicomoztoc, the Historia Tolteca Chichimeca, f 16r, and Ruiz de Alarcón 1953, Tratado VI: ch. 18. The Ñuu Dzaui version of Chicomoztoc is Soko Usha (Dzoco Usa in Alvarado’s orthography), “Hole 7” or “Well 7,” considered the origin place by inhabitants of Nuu Yoo (Monaghan 1995: 210). In the Lienzo of Tlapiltepec (A/B–1/2 in the publication of Caso 1961) Chicomoztoc is combined with a River of Necklace and Quetzal-feathers, which recalls the Nahuatl metaphor in cozcatl in quetzalli for a baby (Sahagún 1950–1978, book VI: ch. 24). Another expression of this symbolism is the manifestation of the tribal God Huitzilopochtli on Coatepec, the Serpent Mountain, as light after a period of darkness (Codex Azcatitlan, pl. VI; see the commentary by Castañeda de la Paz 1997).

19. A frieze that stands for ñuu, “town,” on top of which a cradle (dzoco) is placed. Pictorially the cradle suggests “origin”; on the other hand, it can be read phonetically as the verb yodzoco, “to offer, to dedicate or consecrate” (as in yodzoco huahi ñuhu, “to dedicate a church”).

20. The origin tree with eye appears in Codex Añute, page 2-I. Later the same element characterizes a Sacred Bundle (3-I). A Temple of the Eye stood in Ndisi Nuu (Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 28-I, 32-IV).

21. Such a temple stood in Ñuu Yuchi, Mogote del Cacique (Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 29-V).

22. A Temple of the Bowl with Blood appears in the ceremonial center of Yucuñudahui (Codex Tonindeye, 2).

23. See the rituals described by Boege 1988: 146, 156, 165, 167, 178 (cf. Van Doesburg & Carrera González 1996: 193 ff). The temple is documented in Chiyo Cahnu by the map that accompanies the Relación Geográfica of that town (Acuña 1984, II); it seems to be paired with the Heaven Temple in Ñuu Tnoo (cf. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 13-I), in Ndisi Nuu, and on Mountain of the Precious Mask (Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 30-V, 22-I).

24. See the discussion of this couple in the commentary on Codex Cihuacoatl / Borbonicus (Anders, Jansen & Reyes García 1991: 181–185) and the Cipactonal imagery in the temple scenes of Codex Yoalli Ehecatl / Borgia (Anders, Jansen & Reyes García 1993: 175 ff).

25. See Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 21, and Codex Yada (Tututepetongo), page 33. In our commentary on Codex Añute (2000) we discuss the representation of these two priests on the famous vessel of Nochixtlan. Lord 2 Dog was aptly called the “archetypical shaman” by Peter Furst. It is curious that he became associated with the North, but he apparently was born in Ñuu Ndaya (Chalcatongo), an emblematic place of the South (Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 36-I).

26. See Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 35. The same two couples are mentioned in Codex Tonindeye, page 36, placed in the context of the Sacred Landscape of the valley of Yuta Tnoho.

27. Another toponymic reference to two rivers follows, but their names are illegible.

28. In Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 35, it was Lord 9 Wind who acted as ambassador; therefore it is also possible that he is the second person in this damaged scene. On the other hand, Lord 4 Alligator and Lord 11 Alligator constitute a well-known pair, associated with the Place of Heaven near Yuta Tnoho (cf. Codex Yuta Tnoho, 51, 13). Their role is similar to that of Lord 4 Serpent and Lord 7 Serpent (Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 2-V).

29. As such, it occurs in Codex Ñuu Ñaña, page 15 (König 1979). The association of the Carrying Frame–Sweat-bath place with Lady 8 Deer in Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu is paralleled by an association of the same lady (and her husband, Lord 7 Wind) with the Town of Blood and Wooden Fence in the Codices Tonindeye (3) and Yuta Tnoho (3), suggesting that the latter toponym is closely related to, if not identical with, that of Carrying Frame–Sweat-bath. As “blood” is neñe or niñe, it is very probable that Town of Blood is indeed an alternative sign for Ñuu Niñe, “Town of Heat” (Tonalá). The incorporated Wooden Fence (nduyu) has to be the sign of Ñuu Nduyu (Silaca-yoapan), an important subject town of Ñuu Niñe (cf. Gerhard 1972: 128–132).

30. Only six dots of the man’s name are still visible; we reconstruct eight because we suspect there was a significant symbolic sequence of successive day names here: 7 Flower–8 Alligator–9 Wind.

31. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu mentions the year 7 House before the marriage scene. This would correspond to 837, but it does not fit the sequence. We propose that this year should be corrected and read as 8 House, the year before 9 Rabbit, that is, a reference to the preparation for the marriage. Then a year 4 or 5 Reed is mentioned. The day has either become invisible or was never painted. As 5 Reed (835) it could again be the birth year of Lord 5 Wind (cf. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 39-I). Obviously, all this is a speculative reconstruction. The dates in this time period often function as ritual, sacred dates. An additional problem is that these dates are all in the Late Classic period; it is possible, even probable, that in the break between the Classic and the Postclassic changes occurred in the way of counting the years, leading to chronological confusion.

32. Codex Yuta Tnoho, pages 34–33, shows a similar offering in a parallel context; there the jewel is clearly part of the offering, and the river is the Yuta Tnoho.

33. The two rain personages are invoked as Spirits in a ritual in Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 27. The feather ornament is known in Nahuatl as quecholli.

34. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, pages 37/38-III. It may also be that a general reference to a “Place of the Elders” is made. Thus we find a “pile of pearls” designating the name of a temple in Cholula (Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 12-V). The occurrence of the Mountain of Pearls with Face, however, is limited to this context, which suggests that it was not one of the important cacicazgos of the Mixteca Alta. The jade and pearls also occur in an elaborate glyph in Codex Yuta Tnoho (44-III) surrounded by places in the Mixteca Baja, a context highly suggestive of Tezoatlan.

35. We can compare this statement with the reliefs on the sarcophagus of Lord Pakal in the Temple of the Inscriptions in Palenque, where the deceased Royal Ancestors are identified with the plants and fruits. Another parallel would be the mantic symbolism that accompanies certain couples in the chapter on marriage prediction in the Books of Wisdom (Anders & Jansen 1994: 171 ff). Similar elements are found in marriage scenes on Late Classic dynastic slabs from Monte Albán.

36. In Codex Yuta Tnoho, pages 32-III, 27-I, and 1-II, we also find a Lady 6 Eagle, but she has another given name.

37. Possibly, this is the same place where Lord 8 Wind later received the ceremonial salute (Codex Tonindeye, 5).

38. See the interesting text of Suárez de Peralta 1949: 86. One is reminded of Hercules fighting the Stymphalian birds. A similar scene occurs in Tomb 1 of Jaltepetongo (Matadamas 1997)—this suggests that we are dealing here with a literary theme with symbolic implications. A similar theme occurs in painted scenes on Maya vessels related to the Popol Vuh (Tedlock 1985: 89 ff), as well as on vessels from Teotihuacan (Langley, in Berrin & Pasztory 1993). Compare also the bird hunt with bow and arrow, carried out by Lord 8 Deer shortly before his death (Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 14-V).

39. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 38-III/IV; cf. Codex Añute, page 1, where an arrow thrown by Lord Sun and Lord Venus causes the birth of the Founding Father of the dynasty of Añute (Jaltepec).

40. The year 5 House would be significant in view of other historical events of that period, but the number of the year bearer is badly damaged; it could also be 6 House (953) or a higher number. The day Alligator is not normal for a Ñuu Dzaui wedding—generally, the days Deer and Eagle were preferred. Perhaps it was a reference to the sacred day of the place (cf. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 38-V).

41. An example is given in Codex Añute (1), where two priests visit the couple before bringing about the birth of the forefather of the Añute dynasty from a mysterious and powerful tree in Ñuu Ndecu.

42. The composition of the valley as body of the Plumed Serpent recalls the representation of the Plumed Serpent in the reliefs of the Temple of Quetzalcoatl at Xochicalco. Observe the reference to the same divine being in the given name of Lady 9 Alligator (Codex Yuta Tnoho, 27-I).

43. “Un anciano apoaleño me refirió la siguiente leyenda que transcribo, expurgada de muchos detalles inverosímiles. Hace muchos siglos de la parte donde sale el sol arribó a las montañas azules un anciano venerable, muy distinto de los habitantes de estas regiones. Era de una estatura y complexión regulares: su cabeza ligeramente inclinada sobre el pecho estaba poblada de una hermosa cabellera blanca como la nieve, su frente espaciosa dejaba ver sus venas azules que resaltaban en su cutis blanco-rosado, sus ojos sombreados por largas pestañas despedían miradas penetrantes, la forma de su rostro era ovalada y estaba adornado por una hermosa barba castaña emblanquecida por las canas, su traje consistía en una túnica blanca que le cubría desde los hombros hasta los tobillos, andaba descalzo y con nada se cubría la cabeza. Cuando andaba, el paso era lento y seguro y nunca caminaba con precipitación. El eco de su voz era dulce y persuasivo y cuando hablaba lo hacía con donosura y modestia. Nadie supo con qué se alimentaba y todos vieron que era incansable su misión. Vivió con estas tribus durante algún tiempo y durante él les refirió que había caminado por muchas regiones y que en varias partes había dejado señales imborrables de su paso. Aquí comenzó a enseñarles los fundamentos principales de su religión, las máximas de la moral y las bases de su legislación. Les enseñó a cultivar las artes y las ciencias, y después de ocupar muchos años en este trabajo mandó reunir a todos los moradores y sus inmediaciones, les predicó un hermoso sermón y se introdujo en la Gruta, diciéndoles que se iba a descansar de sus fatigas y que nadie penetrara a ese lugar porque moriría irremisiblemente. Nadie se atrevió a profanar esa cueva y dicen los apoaleños que ese personaje es el Obispo uniformado. Esta leyenda, si tiene algo de cierto, coincide con la aparición del Quetzalcoatl de los mexicanos” (Mariano López Ruiz, in Manuel Martínez Gracida, Obra Inédita, vol. 29).

44. This development is found as early as the work of sixteenth-century chroniclers such as Mendieta. See the classic studies by Phelan 1970 and Lafaye 1976 and, for the general context, the introductory chapters of Anders et al. 1996.

45. For the whole story, see Jansen 1982: appendix 4.

46. For Qhyo Sayo, see the Relación Geográfica of Ñuu Tnoo (Acuña 1984, II: 232). Lord 1 Rain and Lord 7 Rain are also mentioned as rulers or Patrons of Town of Paper (Andutu, Amatlan?) on page 17 of Codex Tonindeye; also, other protagonists of this section are repeated there.

47. Andua was likely an important political center. Its close neighbor Chindua (Tocanzacuala) appears prominently as Spiderweb Altar, Chi(yo) Nduhua, at the beginning of the Añute dynasty (Codex Añute, 1-II). Chindua and Andua are very close and difficult to distinguish. The latter can be written as Mouth-Spiderweb (a-nduhua); as such, it appears as the seat of Lord 3 Monkey, mentioned by Herrera as the Lord of Yanhuitlan who fought the Aztecs (Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 17-II). An alternative sign is Mouth-Arrow (a-nduvua), mentioned among the towns that participate in the foundation of the kingdom of Añute (Codex Añute, 4-I).

48. Burgoa 1934b, I: 278. The pointed object has not yet been identified; it occurs in Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 18, lying on a storage or cooking vessel. Its shape is that of an acocote, a gourd used to extract the juice of the maguey.

49. Many rulers of the associated dynasty (40–41) have different black markings around their eyes, which could be explained as variants of the characteristic convention used to indicate speakers of Nahuatl (Smith 1973a: 203). The black-and-white band might represent naa, “dark,” just like the checkerboard motif used as the emblem of the North. The curved black-and-white band with a pointed end (or hairy texture) also appears as a tail, which is dzuma in Dzaha Dzaui (compare Codex Tonindeye, 24-II). In view of a possible link to the Valley of Cholula, it is interesting that one of the names for speakers of Nahuatl (“mexicano”) is Ñuu Dzuma, “People of the Tail” or “Scorpion People”—the scorpion is called a “tail animal,” te-dzuma, in Dzaha Dzaui, but is conspicuously absent here. So far these associations and speculations have not led to any convincing identification.

50. A similar combination is found in Codex Dehesa, a pictorial manuscript that has been studied by Cathalijne van Oort (unpublished M.A. thesis, Leiden University, 1999).

51. See Burland and Kutscher 1955. The scene is a clear parallel to Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 48.

52. The blackened eyes are to be read as sahmi nuu, “burned eyes,” a term given by Alvarado for those who speak Nahuatl (“mexicano”), that is, the Toltecs (Smith 1973a: 203).

53. “La razón por que [se] le puso este nombre dicen que es porque, en un cerro que está al día de hoy a[d]junto al asiento del d[ic]ho pu[ebl]o, moraba antiguam[en]te una culebra de tan increíble grandor, que dicen que con su cuerpo rodeaba todo el cerro, y sobraba mucho cuerpo más, que se enroscaba uno sobre otro. Y esta culebra tenía el cuerpo pintado a forma de estera y, por eso, la llamaban ‘culebra de estera, o esterada’; la cual culebra cuentan que era velocísima y, [por]que se comía [a] cuantas personas veía, que tenía despoblada toda la comarca y nadie osaba a pasar por allí, siendo camino r[ea]l. Y, según las pinturas de los d[ic]hos indios de Petlalcingo, dicen que un hombre valeroso y gran guerrero, que había discurrido muchas provincias, vino con gente de guerra con gana de poblar este asiento de Petlalcingo, y se puso en celada, aguardando a que esta culebra saliese de su cueva. Y, desde un cerro que está frontero del d[ic]ho cerro donde la culebra vivía, casi [a] un cuarto de legua, la apuntó con su arco y flechas, y la mató. Y pobló allí con la gente que traía y, del nombre de la d[ic]ha culebra, que era petlalcoatl, llamó a su población Petlalcingo” (Acuña 1984–1985, II: 48).

54. See the description of the Tlachihualtepetl in Codex Vaticano A (Anders & Jansen 1996: 90–93). The Quetzal Mountain of Cholula is mentioned in Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 39, in combination with a female breast, to guarantee the reading ndodzo (“breast,” “quetzal”). Possibly tlachiual-, “manmade” was understood as chichiual-, “breast” (Jansen & Pérez Jiménez 2000: 75).

55. The serpents are analogous to those that express the mysterious character and magic powers of the Tree of Origin in Codex Añute, page 2 (see the commentary by Jansen & Pérez Jiménez 2000).

56. Van Doesburg and Van Buren 1997 have identified this spring as Omeapan.

57. This crown was shaped in the form of the head of the Rain God, with aspects of the primordial alligator representing Earth. On the Plumed Serpent in Teotihuacan and on his Postclassic iconography, see the contributions of Sugiyama and Nicholson to the excellent book edited by Carrasco, Jones & Sessions 2000, as well as the thought-provoking article by Ringle, Gallerta & Bey 1999.

58. Sahagún 1950–1978, book XI: ch. 3, describes both shells. See also the representation of the Rain God walking over the waters in Codex Mictlan / Laud, page 23; the Earth appears as a precious alligator floating in the sea between the strombus and spondylus molluscs. The fact that the same combination occurs in Andean iconography, already in Chavín reliefs, suggests that we are dealing with a widespread and very old concept. See also Davidson 1982.

59. See, for example, Sahagún 1950–1978, book VI: ch 1; compare the interpretation of the Codex Yoalli Ehecatl / Borgia by Anders, Jansen & Reyes García 1993 and the article on these scenes by Jansen 1998d.

NOTES to CHAPTER 4

1. Cf. Codex Vaticanus A, f 8r, and Sahagún 1950–1978, book I: ch. 15. The opposition between Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca (Huemac) in Tula Xicocotitlan is well-known (Van Zantwijk 1986).

2. The evidence for identifying the Xipe dynasty as that of Zaachila was presented by Jansen at a symposium in Leiden (Jansen & Leyenaar 1982; see also Jansen 1989, 1998b; Oudijk & Jansen 2000). The implications for understanding Beni Zaa historiography have been examined by Oudijk 2000.

3. The same couple is repeated in the representation of Heaven in Codex Tonindeye, page 21. Among Lord 12 Wind’s companions are Lord 7 Eagle and Lord 9 Movement. Persons with these calendar names are also associated with the Tree of Origin in Codex Yuta Tnoho (37-II, 36-IV), but it is not clear if we are dealing with the same individuals. Similarly, a Lord 12 Wind appears among the descendants of the Tree and among the attendants of Lady 9 Death, the Spirit Guardian of the Cave of Death, which is the emblem of the South (Codex Yuta Tnoho, 36-II, 14-I).

4. This identification is based on a comparison of this scene in Codex Tonindeye (19) with the Map of Xoxocotlan (Smith 1973a: 202 ff). The diagnostic toponyms “Insect” and “Reeds” can be found as elements that name different slopes of Monte Albán: Tiyuqh, “Fly” or “Lice” (Sayultepec in Nahuatl), and Yucu yoo, “Hill of the Reeds” or “Hill of the Moon” (Acatepec in Nahuatl). We interpret “Curved Hill” as a variant of “Mountain that Opens” (or rather “that is torn open”), reading Yucu Cahnu, “Big Mountain” in Dzaha Dzaui, because both “torn” and “bent” are cahnu, which in turn is a homonym of cahnu, “big” (apart from the tones). For a full argumentation, see Jansen 1998b.

5. A similar visionary cult in a cave is documented on a stone relief from Ñuu Yuchi, Mogote del Cacique (Jansen & Winter 1980; Jansen 1997a).

6. Cf. Smith 1973a; Mundy 1996. No precolonial cartographic documents have survived, but a beautiful example of what such maps may have looked like is the early colonial Lienzo of Tlapiltepec (Parmenter 1982; Jansen 1992).

7. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, pages 3–4. For the modern use of the “father-mother” title, see Schultze Jena 1933–1938, III: 67, 87, and López García 1998. Cf. Jansen 1998c, 2004b.

8. It is interesting that a Lady 12 Vulture appears with a Lord 12 Alligator (error for 12 Lizard?) among the descendants of the Sacred Mother Tree in Codex Yuta Tnoho (37-III). In another group of persons, also associated with Yuta Tnoho (Apoala), we again find a Lady 12 Vulture, now paired with a Lord 7 Rain ‘Xipe’ (in another context, the Patron of Zaachila). In a third scene this latter Lady 12 Vulture is depicted as a man and receives the name ‘Night Eagle, Night Jaguar’ (Codex Yuta Tnoho, 29-II). Also, a Lord 10 Eagle, a Lord 3 Monkey, and a Lord 4 House are among the Tree’s descendants, although not combined as a group (Codex Yuta Tnoho, 37-II, 36-I, 36-III).

9. Carrasco, Jones & Sessions 2000; cf. Marcus 1992; Urcid 2001. There are several “candidates” for Sun Mountain. Its inclusion in Codex Yuta Tnoho (17) suggests that it was somewhere in Ñuu Dzaui territory. We have been considering Yucunchii (Tonaltepec), but no evidence yet exists for attributing such special importance to that town. Also a specific sun temple may have been meant, like the one in Ñuu Ndecu (Achiutla). Closer to Monte Albán, one might consider Teotitlan del Valle.

10. For this concept, see Turner 1995: 111–112; Barabas 1989. See also Jansen 2004a. Various other contributions to the third Round Table of Monte Albán (Robles García 2004) also deal with the Classic to Postclassic transition.

11. For the column that sustains the Heaven and is founded in the Earth, see also Codex Yuta Tnoho, pages 47, 38 (Anders, Jansen & Pérez Jiménez 1992a: 95). In the Dzaha Dzaui translation of Fray Jerónimo Taix’s Rosario we find the expression sa isi ini andevui, sii sa caa ñoho ñayehui, literally “what stands in heaven and is contained in the earth,” for “universe” (Jansen 1998a).

12. The calendrical sign Flint (cusi) may have served as a phonetic complement—and semantic association—to express “white” (cuisi). The normal word for “flint” or “flint knife” is yuchi.

13. The codex calls the last individual 2 Dog, but we think 4 Dog is meant; both Lord 4 Dog and Lord 10 Death appear among the First Lords born from the Tree of the Sacred Valley (Codex Yuta Tnoho, 37). Lord 10 Death is also associated with the Old Shaman, Lord 2 Dog, in his function of Lord of the North (Codex Yuta Tnoho, 21).

14. Codex Yuta Tnoho (37-II, 36-I) mentions a Lord 10 Death and a Lady 8 Death among those who descended from the Sacred Mother Tree. Their marriage is registered by Codex Tonindeye, page 4. The analysis of events and dates on this page suggests that the reading order, at least on the left-hand side, is contrary to the general reading order of the codex; this section was likely copied from another document. Lord 7 Flower was not the father of the priest Lord 10 Rain ‘Jaguar,’ who played an important role in the marriage of Lord 12 Wind and Lady 3 Flint in Monte Albán (Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 38-I). The given name of Lord 4 Movement is quite different from that of his namesake, the ruler of Ñuu Niñe. who was the father of Lord 5 Wind and seems to have lived much earlier (Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 40-I).

15. Codex Tonindeye, page 4. The ball court is similar to that on Codex Tonindeye, page 3, which in turn is the same as the place of Lady 11 Serpent in Codex Tonindeye, page 3. Long Stone appears in Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 4, together with Long Jewelled Stone, which, on the basis of a gloss in Codex Ñuu Ñaña, page 31, can be identified as Tiyusi, that is, probably San Andrés Sabanillos in the Mixteca Baja (cf. Smith 1973a: 61–62; Jansen 1994: 117 ff, 191). The way the text has now been integrated in Codex Tonindeye would result in the statement that the dead Lords 4 Movement and 7 Flower were venerated in the Sacred Ball Courts, while the dead Ladies 8 Monkey and 7 Wind were venerated at the Sacred Stones in the marketplaces. Compare the Ball Court in the Sacred Plain in Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 20.

16. Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 10 ff. The reference to the Rain God on Codex Tonindeye, page 4, and Lady 8 Monkey’s association with Rain God Mountain in Codex Tonindeye, page 3, echo the earlier presentation of that place on Codex Tonindeye, page 2, where it appears in combination with a black hill—in this case probably the Yucu Noo (Yucu Tnoo) “Black Hill,” which forms part of the same archaeological zone (Jansen 1982: 269).

17. Codex Yuta Tnoho, pages 10–9. Compare Codex Tonindeye, page 22. The twin hill of Yucuñudahui is also called Yucu Tnoo, “Black Mountain” (cf. Codex Tonindeye, 3), but in the scene of Codex Yuta Tnoho (10–9) the Black Mountain is clearly represented as fairly distant from Rain God Mountain.

18. They are the nahuales of the primordial couple in the text of Fray Gregorio García and in Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 47. The emblematic use of both animals is also seen in the battle scene of Codex Tonindeye, page 69.

19. These are mentioned as two of the three places passed by groups before entering the Ñuu Dzaui region, crossing the frontier indicated by places that represent and mark the North and the West (Roll of the New Fire, Lienzo of Tlapiltepec).

20. Most of these places also appear in Codex Yuta Tnoho, pages 44–45 (cf. Jansen 1982: 270–272). The sign of Toavui (Chila) occurs in the beginning of the roll found in Yucu Nindavua (Huamelulpan) and has been deciphered by Smith (in Smith & Parmenter 1991: 30–33), discussed later. The Dzaha Dzaui name of Tehuacan is given by Antonio de los Reyes as Yucu Toñaña, “Mountain of the Jaguar Man,” The syllable to- is a contraction of toho, “principal, lord, person of respect.” In Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 39-IV, we find a Mountain of the Man combined with Mountain of the Jaguar close to Huahi Yaha, “Eagle House,” that is, Cuauhtinchan.

21. Fidelio Cruz Miguel from Ñuu Tnoo identified the spring as Ndute Ndee Coo, “Water of the Standing Serpent.” A relief of a serpent is located there. The unpublished work of Martínez Gracida (vol. 33: 80) contains a legend from Ñuu Tnoo, according to which the relief was sculpted in memory of a prince who had been bitten there by a snake (Jansen 1982: 494).

22. Codex Tonindeye, page 18, however, attributes this given name or title to another companion of Lord 12 Wind: Lord 5 Dog.

23. Lord 2 Dog and Lady 2 Jaguar are also mentioned in Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 22. Her given name seems to include a toponymic reference to their place of origin, Ñuu Ndaya.

24. Compare the story registered in nearby Ñuu Kahnu (San Miguel el Grande) by Dyk 1959: 3–5, 17.

25. Codex Yuta Tnoho lists Lord 9 Wind ‘Death Wind’ among the descendants of the Tree, as a close companion of a Lord 12 Wind (36-II) and other Death priests, and related to Lady 9 Grass of the Death Temple (cf. 15–14). For Lord 9 Wind ‘Stone Skull’ (e.g., Codex Tonindeye, 23), see Chapter 5 in this volume.

26. Codex Tonindeye, page 3. The reading order of the first scene seems to be boustrophedon.

27. Codex Tonindeye, page 20. The year 3 Reed became part of the sacred founding date of Añute (Codex Añute, 1) and was commemorated as a ceremonial year in Yucuñudahui (Codex Tonindeye, 2).

28. If our dating of the marriage of her parents in 878 is correct, Lady 8 Deer in the year 5 House (965) would have been approximately eighty years old. She and her husband appear in this scene as emblematic founders of the local dynasty (see also their representation in Codex Yuta Tnoho, 3).

29. Codex Tonindeye, page 19; cf. page 20. Another associated date is year 5 Reed (939), day 12 Alligator, which, if part of the chronological sequence, would have been the year before the marriage of Lady 1 Death in 6 Flint (Codex Yuta Tnoho reverse, I).

30. Codex Tonindeye, page 19. The same combination of persons and place is found in Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 1, where 13 Flower is a woman. We can explain this sex change in the same way as that of Lord/Lady 12 Vulture. In this case, the symbolic nature of the calendar names (first and last days of the 260-day cycle) is obvious.

31. Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 10; cf. Codex Tonindeye, page 3. For Lord 7 Movement see the Relación Geográfica of Yucu Yusi (Acatlan), published by Acuña 1984–1985, II: 27 ff.

32. The same body paint characterizes the first generation of primordial people mentioned in Codex Yuta Tnoho (51).

33. This was done in a specific ritual, also referred to in Codex Yoalli Ehecatl / Borgia, pages 18, 32.

34. See Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 3-III. Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 13, shows Lord 4 House together with Lord 4 Rain making offerings for Lord 4 Alligator and Lord 11 Alligator in Heaven (see also 36-II/III). Lord 4 Rain may be identical with one of the attendants of Lord 8 Wind (Codex Tonindeye, 2).

35. The Huahi Cahi cave in Ñuu Ndaya became the common sepulcher of the Ñuu Dzaui rulers (Burgoa 1934b, I: 337–341). The cult of the dead and the Ancestors in this place was associated with the period 1 Lizard–12 Eagle in the year 6 Reed (Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 4-III), the sequence of days in which the day 9 Grass also falls, the name day of the spiritual Owner or Guardian of the Cave.

36. The story is told in the codices Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 2/3-IV, Yuta Tnoho reverse, pages I/II, and Tonindeye, pages 21–22.

37. It is also possible that the date was first and that it became personified as a pair of parents. Note that the day 7 Flower is two days after the day 5 Flint. The same combination is found in Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 38-I. The first date mentioned in Codex Yuta Tnoho (50) is year 5 Flint day 5 Flint. The Temple of Pearls may also be related to the Mountain of Pearls, mentioned in Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 37-III, which may represent Nuu Siya (Tezoatlan). The Temple of Earthquakes appears in the Roll of the New Fire as a ceremonial center, where the primordial priests go to receive the Sacred Bundle. Compare the importance of the volcanic elements in Codex Tonindeye, page 15, and Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 50.

38. Codex Tonindeye, page 21 (note the reference to Lord 4 House and Lady 5 Serpent in Heaven, also mentioned on page 18). Lady 1 Death’s given name consists of a staff with quetzal feathers and a solar disk—we can read it as ‘Sun Fan,’ ‘Sun Staff,’ or ‘Quetzal Feathers (Noble) of Sun [Place].’ The name is similar to that of Lord/Lady 12 Vulture, who ruled before Lady 1 Death’s birth in Monte Albán. The association with the Sun is determined by the calendar name 1 Death, which is also the name of the Sun God, and at the same time by the association with Sun Mountain.

39. Compare the sign of the column that sustains the Heaven in Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 47 (Anders, Jansen & Pérez Jiménez 1992a: 95). Our reconstruction is based on an integrated reading of Codices Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, pages 1/2, Yuta Tnoho reverse, pages I/II, and Tonindeye, page 21.

40. If we are correct in our reconstruction, this is the year before the marriage, fourteen days before the pre-occurrence of the marriage day 7 Eagle.

41. In retrospect, we can interpret the listing of these Founding Couples as a founding ceremony in which Lady 1 Vulture was acclaimed as the future queen. Cf. Codex Añute, pages 3–4.

42. The day of the sacred date is the calendar name of the Lady; the year bearer is the day after that of her husband.

43. The same couple appears in Codex Añute, page 5-II, but there another origin is given for the Lady.

44. The Dark Altar may be identical with the Black Altar on the Monte Negro in Codex Tonindeye, page 22. The sign is combined with a small male figure that makes a signaling gesture with his hand; we read it as the verb naha, a possible phonetic writing of naha, “ancient.”

45. They may be identical with the couple of the same names in Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, pages 38/37-I, 37-IV, who ruled—among others—Mountain of the Plant and became the parents of the priest 10 Rain ‘Jaguar’ and of Lady 12 Serpent who later married Lord 7 (?) Movement ‘Earth Face.’

46. The day 1 Alligator is the beginning of the 260-day cycle, so it is a logical symbolic designation of a Founding Father. As such it also appears in Postclassic Zapotec manuscripts (cf. Oudijk’s study of the genealogy of Quiavini, in Jansen, Kröfges & Oudijk 1998: 123, and see Oudijk 2000, where it is linked with Tabaa).

47. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, pages 38-I, 36/34-I. The representation reminds us of a story about an underground passage that leads from ancient Yucu Yata (Huitepec) to the sacred mountain of Yucu Casa, a “Gateway to Heaven,” where one can consult dead ancestors or other deceased family members (Juan Julian Cabballero, pers. comm.).

48. We miss Lady 12 Serpent (sister of Lord 1 Rain) and Lady 10 Alligator (sister of Lord 2 Dog), who were mentioned in earlier pages.

49. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, pages 40–37. Much earlier, Lord 10 Rain had played an important role during the wedding ceremony of Lady 3 Flint and Lord 12 Wind in Monte Albán in the year 10 House (957), and Lord 2 Dog had been instrumental in founding the realm of Yucuñudahui.

50. Codex Yuta Tnoho reverse, page IV-1. The given name ‘Stone Skull’ may derive from his mother, a princess of Death Place (Dzandaya), but can also be understood as a commemorative name, referring to the ‘Death of the Stone Men.’

51. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, pages 36/35-IV, 3/4-I/II. The given name of Lord 12 Lizard, ‘Arrow Feet,’ is a double writing of the word Nduvua, which means “arrow” in normal Dzaha Dzaui and is a metaphor for “foot” in the language of the Iya. The given name of Lady 5 Jaguar, ‘Quetzal Fan,’ may be related to the Town of the Quetzal Temple, with which her husband was associated (Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 35-IV). Codex Añute, page 16-IV, also suggests a connection between Town of the Xipe Bundle and Mountain of the Quetzal.

52. Lord 11 Wind married in the year 10 House (1061) and married again in the year 13 Rabbit (1090). Children were born during both marriages (Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 36/34). According to Codex Iya Nacuaa (II, 11) he died as late as the year 11 House (1101).

NOTES to CHAPTER 5

1. We follow the story as given in Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 4-IV ff. See also the parallel scenes in Codices Yuta Tnoho reverse, page IV-1, and Tonindeye, page 23.

2. According to Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 36-II, the given name of the Lord 9 Wind who was born from the Sacred Tree was ‘Death Wind.’ See also Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 29-I, where his given name seems to be ‘Skull–Blood Eagle.’ The same individual appears associated with Lady 9 Grass in Codex Tonindeye, page 20.

3. Note how the founders of this lineage have the same nahuales as Lord 1 Deer and Lady 1 Deer in the origin story of Gregorio García. Describing the archaeological remains along the Yute Coo River, Byland and Pohl make a strong identification of the site (1994: 104, 116).

4. Codex Tonindeye, page 23.

5. See also Codex Tonindeye, page 25, where ‘Cloud’ appears together with ‘Chin with Palm Leaves.’ The latter, in turn, belongs to the “chin- or collar-titles” in Codex Yuta Tnoho, pages 50-II, 10. The elements in those titles (white paper, precious jewels, palm leaves) seem to symbolize specific offices or statuses. Paper and palm leaves are used in offerings and bloodletting. As “wearing as a collar” (ñoho dzuq) contains the word dzuq, “neck,” we can speculate that the dignitaries in question were called tay dzuq yuhu, a term that can be interpreted as “men of neck and mouth” but also as a combination of the words for “mysterious” (yuhu) and “giant” or “person of magic powers” (tay dzuq). Today in Ñuu Ndeya the corresponding term sucun yuu designates nahual balls of lightning, called yahui in the ancient sources.

6. Codex Yuta Tnoho, pages 37, 1-II; Codex Tonindeye, pages 37–39 (cf. Codex Yuta Tnoho, 42-I/II).

7. Codex Yuta Tnoho, pages 37, 10.

8. His birth date, year 8 Rabbit, is given by Codex Yuta Tnoho reverse, page IV-1.

9. The information on Lord 8 Wind is found in Codex Tonindeye, pages 1–7. Cf. Codices Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 6-V, Añute, page 5-III, and Yuta Tnoho, page 35. The stone ball court can also be read as a fortress, as in Dzaha Dzaui the same word (yuhua) is used for both.

10. Codices Tonindeye, page 1, and Añute, page 1-III.

11. Codex Añute, page 4-II.

12. Codices Yuta Tnoho, page 36-I, and Tonindeye, pages 37–39 (cf. Codex Yuta Tnoho, 42-I/II).

13. The Place of the Monkey or Stone of the Monkey with Flowers appears in later segments of Ñuu Dzaui history as a village-state whose ruling family intermarries with Ñuu Tnoo and Añute (e.g., Codices Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 13-III; Añute, 18-III). In a letter written in Dzaha Dzaui (Archivo General de la Nación [Mexico] Tierras 44:1, f 195), the complete name of San Juan Teita is given as yuhui tayu Ticodzo Teita, “the mat and throne of Monkey, Flower.”

14. The genealogical sequence in Codex Añute, page 5-III, suggests that Lady 10 Deer was the daughter of Lord 3 Rain, who earlier had celebrated the Bundle ritual at Añute, and of Lady 7 Death from Black Mountain–Spring (Tiltepec?).

15. Codex Tonindeye, page 5, actually gives year 9 House (which would be 969 or 1021), but the context suggests that this is an error.

16. The sacred date of this place is year 2 Reed day 2 Reed. The same day occurs with a place sign consisting of a mountain with red liquid and feet in the form of Xipe Bundles (Codex Yuta Tnoho, 41-I). Possibly, arrow and foot are equivalent writings for nduvua, which means “arrow” in Dzaha Dzaui and “foot” in the reverential language used in reference to nobles. In both cases we may be dealing with a phonetic (“rebus”) writing of nduhua, “valley.” The red liquid may be blood, red paint, or cochineal. Taking into account the geographic context, one might speculate that Nduhua Nduq or Anduq (original name of Atoco), “Valley or Place of Cochineal,” is meant, that is, Nochixtlan. On the other hand, a Mountain of Blood is directly associated with the Town of Red and White Bundle (e.g., Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 37-V, and Codex Añute, 8-II). Further research is necessary.

17. For a summary description see Spores 1967: 32–35.

18. The disconnection between page 2 and page 3 of Codex Tonindeye can be explained as a result of the information having been copied from a lienzo. The connecting element is the same place, Yucuñudahui. After describing moments of the biography of Lord 8 Wind, the painter registered events that must have occurred much earlier there.

19. Stone of the Xipe Bundle originally belonged to Ñuu Tnoo, according to Codices Yuta Tnoho, page 42-II, and Tonindeye, page 22. Later it appears annexed to Chiyo Yuhu (Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 17/18-I). Lord 4 Rain, the ruler of that place, had the given name ‘Quetzal Down’ (Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 1/2-II), while his namesake, the brother of Lord 2 Dog, was called ‘Pheasant Coyote’ (Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 36-I).

20. Codex Yuta Tnoho, pages 37, 21. Notice the black marking of his eye, which is also present on page 2 of Codex Tonindeye.

21. Codices Tonindeye, page 25, and Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 36-I. A Lord 2 Water is also mentioned among the descendants of the Tree (Codex Yuta Tnoho, 36-II).

22. A Lord 5 Flower appears as the Founder of Seven Hills–Stream–Temple of Quetzal Feathers in Codex Tonindeye, page 10, but at that occasion he is not painted as a Stone Man. The name of his son was Lord 2 Lizard, who married Lady 9 Monkey, daughter of Lord 8 Wind (Codex Tonindeye, 6-III). The family background of Lord 1 Wind, who headed the acclamation ceremony of Lord 5 Flower (Codex Tonindeye, 4), is given on page 11 of Codex Tonindeye.

23. There is a Lord 7 Wind, the Founder of Dark Stone Mountain among the Clouds (Codex Yuta Tnoho, 33-III, 2-I), but the given names do not coincide. Tocuii was the Dzaha Dzaui name for the Nguihua (Chochos), according to the grammar of Fray Antonio de los Reyes (1976: i).

24. This place is probably located in the Valley of Atoco (Nochixtlan), as its ruler participated in the founding of Añute (Codex Añute, 4-II).

25. See Codex Tonindeye, pages 19, 24.

26. See Codices Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 5-V ff, Yuta Tnoho reverse, page IV-2 ff, and Tonindeye, pages 23–24.

27. In Codex Ñuu Naha a given name appears similar to that of the Lady; a gloss reads it as Tecuvua dzisi Andevui, “Butterfly that filters the sky.” Yucu Quesi (Tataltepec) is represented as Mountain of Flames in the Codex Tlacotepec / Tlaçultepec (Smith 1973a: 237).

28. Codex Tonindeye, page 23, places the year 5 Reed (1043) next to this Lord 12 Lizard, but this seems very late for his birth, even if we consider that his mother officially married in 1013 but still needed to grow to maturity. A birth year of 6 Reed (1031) would be more plausible. It is also possible that 5 Reed was originally given in another context where it referred to his marriage or to his taking up specific ritual or political duties.

29. For the cult, see Codex Yoalli Ehecatl / Borgia, pages 29–38 (cf. Codex Cihuacoatl / Borbonicus, 34). The Huahi Andevui remained important until early colonial times and is also mentioned in the Relación Geográfica of Ñuu Tnoo (Tilantongo). See Acuña 1984, II: 284.

30. Codex Tonindeye, pages 22, 25; cf. Codices Yuta Tnoho, page 48, and Tonindeye, pages 18–19.

31. Cf. Codex Añute, page 3-IV. There may have been a conflation of the Fire Drill with the Sacred Arrow or Spirit of War, however, as nduvua ñuhu can mean “arrow of the deity,” “sun ray,” “arrow of fire” (fire drill?), and “war.” Buildings in the shape of arrowheads (e.g., Mound J in the plaza of Monte Albán) are suggestive of a cult for the Sacred Arrow.

32. Codex Tonindeye, page 25 (cf. page 2). In Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 6-I, this toponym is painted as “Mouth of the River, Black Mountain, Curved Jaguar Mountain.” This place does not occur as an important village-state; it was likely a lesser settlement in an area under the influence of Chiyo Yuhu and Ñuu Tnoo. Byland and Pohl 1994: 133 suggest that Ayuta, the reading of the “Mouth-River” part, is Atoyaquillo, mentioned as a neighboring town in the Relación Geográfica of Ñuu Tnoo or Tilantongo (Acuña 1984, II: 230). The drum could also be a reference to Añuu (Soyaltepec) or to a different place; a Drum Town, for example, appears among the founding communities of Ñuu Tnoo (Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 1/2-I).

33. See Codex Tonindeye, page 23 (cf. Jansen 1982: 275). The Founding Couple of the Ñuu Ñañu dynasty is mentioned in the Relación Geográfica of Yahua or Tamazola (Acuña 1984, II: 244).

34. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 7/8-I; cf. Codices Yuta Tnoho, page VI-1, and Tonindeye, page 25.

35. Cf. Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 48. The copyist who painted Codex Yuta Tnoho reverse (VI-1) mistook the head of the Ñuhu (a figure possibly unfamiliar to him) for that of a jaguar.

36. This was a high priest who acted as the second in command in the empire (cf. Anders, Jansen & Reyes García 1991).

37. Cf. Codices Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 38-II, and Yuta Tnoho, page 27.

38. Codex Tonindeye (25) merges this meeting and the earlier one with the three priests, replacing the keeper of the Arrow with a Xolotl Venus priest wearing a black xicolli with white crosses, which among the Mexica characterize the Tlillan, the black temple of Cihuacoatl (cf. Codices Mendoza, 18, 46, 65, and Cihuacoatl / Borbonicus, 34, as well as Yoalli Ehecatl / Borgia, 37, 43). We encountered this motif (white crosses on a black square) painted on the wall of a niche in a funerary cave, still used for ceremonies in the Mixteca Baja.

39. Lord 7 Reed may be identical with the Lord of that name who belonged to the dynasty of Yucu Ñuu Yuhua (Icpantepec Nieves). He seems to have been the uncle of Lord 7 Monkey who was ceremonially greeted by Lord 3 Flower, Lord 8 Serpent, Lady 12 Jaguar, and Lady 2 Flower (Codex Tonindeye, 11). Of these attendants, Lady 12 Jaguar was the daughter of Lord 10 Flower of Ñuu Tnoo. These relationships imply that Lord 10 Flower and Lord 7 Reed of Yucu Ñuu Yuhua were contemporaneous.

40. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 7-III. Here both Codex Yuta Tnoho reverse and Codex Tonindeye (obverse and reverse) contradict Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu. We follow the version of these other two codices, which means we have to invert the sequence of the two wives as given in Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu. In Codex Tonindeye, page 42, Lady 9 Eagle is painted with the diagnostic colors of the Xipe dynasty of Zaachila, so she came from the Beni Zaa (Zapotec) area. According to Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu her parents were Lord 8 Rain ‘War Eagle’ and Lady 12 Flint ‘Quetzal Feathers,’ rulers of Island of Stone in the Water. Looking for a place that would fit the sign and the general location, we find Mini Yuu, “Lake with Stone,” that is, Teiticpac in the Valley of Oaxaca, as a possibility. Without a clear connection to other toponyms, however, this is only a guess.

41. His given name is mentioned in Codex Tonindeye, page 42. If his birth year were corrected to 11 House (1049), he would have been born directly after his two elder brothers. It is possible, however, that he was a “Benjamin.” If the birth year of 10 House is correct, it seems that Lady 9 Eagle died shortly thereafter—perhaps even in childbirth—as Lord 5 Alligator remarried that same year.

42. It appears as a separate place next to Mountain of the Tail in the list of places whose rulers acclaim Lady 11 Water’s son, Lord 8 Deer (Codex Tonindeye, 60). For its Relación Geográfica, see Acuña 1984, II: 269–275.

43. Codex Tonindeye, page 24, explains the ancestry of Lady 11 Water. For Lord 9 Flint, see Codex Yuta Tnoho, pages 36-II, 14.

44. He may be identical to the Lord 8 Flower ‘White Coyote Skin,’ associated with Mountain of the Eye (Codex Tonindeye, 59).

45. See Codices Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 8-III, and Tonindeye, pages 26, 42–43.

46. In Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu the year is badly damaged, but in Codices Tonindeye, page 26, and Yuta Tnoho reverse, page VII-2, it is quite clear. This detail illustrates that children are not always given in their chronological order of birth.

47. The place sign is Insect Hill and may as well refer to the nearby Tiyuqh (Sayultepec) in the Valley of Yodzo Cahi (Yanhuitlan). The given name ‘Smoke Eye,’ however, relates the man to visionary priests, such as Lord 12 Wind (Codex Tonindeye, 18–19), and points to a ceremonial center like that of Monte Albán.

48. The Dzaha Dzaui expression nuu ita nuu cuhu, “among the weeds,” is a metaphor for “poverty.” In Codex Xolotl the ancient ruins of Teotihuacan and other ceremonial centers are shown as overgrown with these grasses.

49. Cf. Codex Yoalli Ehecatl / Borgia, pages 12, 8, and 64, respectively (see also the commentary by Anders, Jansen & Reyes García 1993).

50. Codex Añute, pages 5/6. For the reconstruction of relations between the different protagonists, see also Codices Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, pages 5/6, Yuta Tnoho reverse, page V, and Tonindeye, pages 24, 5, 7/8.

51. According to Codex Tonindeye, page 2, Rock of the Eagle formed part of the kingdom of Yucuñudahui when Lord 8 Wind was recognized as a ruler there. Ñuu Tiyaha, “Town of Tecomates,” may have been understood as Yuu Tiyaha, “Stone of the Eagle” (cf. Codex Añute, 13-IV). A similar wordplay occurs in the representation of the toponym Yodzo Yaha (Tecomaxtlahuaca); see Jansen 1994: 37, 212.

52. A similar toponym (Stone–Crossed Legs) is mentioned in Codex Añute, page 10-I, as a place ruled by a dynasty with which Añute contracts a marital alliance. It is located in the direct vicinity, in the Yodzo Cahi–Atoco Valley. There may be a connection with Stone with Eye, a toponym connected with Ñuu Nduchi (Etla); cf. Codex Añute, page 10-III.

53. The white flowers on its slopes indicate that Valley of the Xipe Bundle was part of Chiyo Yuhu. We conclude that it is a variant of Stone of the Xipe Bundle, one of the founding communities of Ñuu Tnoo (Codices Yuta Tnoho, 42- II, and Tonindeye, 22), but that it later became a subject settlement of Chiyo Yuhu (Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 18-I). N.B. Stone or Valley of the Xipe Bundle is clearly distinct from Town of the Xipe Bundle.

54. Cf. Codices Yoalli Ehecatl / Borgia, page 47, and Tonindeye, page 51, as well as Ruiz de Alarcón 1953, II: ch. 9. In Codex Tezcatlipoca / Fejérváry-Mayer, page 17, the day 9 Reed is dedicated to a Tlazolteotl-like Goddess. In the mirror connected to the boy’s first birth scene a sign of crossed beams is placed, to be read as ndisi, “to lay crosswise” and “to become visible.” One is reminded of the use of magic mirrors (nahualtezcatl) among the Nahuas for divining purposes (Ruiz de Alarcón 1953, V: chs. 2 and 3; cf. González Obregón 1912: 180, Garibay 1979: 114–115, and Sahagún 1950–1978, book XII: ch. 1).

55. Codex Tonindeye, page 24, shows the birth of Lord 2 Rain in Chiyo Yuhu and the fire arrow destroying the house of his parents. The ceremonial salute is mentioned in the Map of Teozacualco, where we see him sitting on the mat as the successor to his parents in the Ñuu Tnoo dynasty. A relatively extensive description of his birth and death is given in Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 5-II/I (cf. Codices Añute, 6-II, and Tonindeye, 8).

56. See Codex Tonindeye, pages 4, 21. In retrospective, the day 8 Wind may have been seen as announcing the rule of Lord 8 Wind.

57. Codex Tonindeye, page 13. This place is different from the Town of Blood, which we identify as Ñuu Niñe (Tonalá), in Tonindeye, page 3. The Town of Sacrifice is similar to the Stone of Sacrifice in Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 49, which we think is a reference to Ñuu Ndecu (Achiutla). If this connection is correct, we would be dealing here with a prince of the lineage of one of the temples or settlements (apparently dedicated to the cult of the Sun God) later integrated in the Ñuu Ndecu village-state.

58. Codices Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 9-V ff, Tonindeye, page 44, and Iya Nacuaa I, page 1.

59. Compare the dark speckled material in Codex Iya Nacuaa I, page 1-III, with the gravel in the place sign of Yuhua Cuchi (Codex Yuta Tnoho, 3). Dark Speckled Mountain continued to be important in the genealogical history of the Mixteca Alta (Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu reverse), which is consistent with the historical importance attributed to Sosola by Burgoa. The hypothetical identification of this place as Acuchi coincides well with our suggestion that the Town of the Pointed Objects is Yucu Ndeque (Huauclilla); they are neighboring towns and shown to be closely related in Codices Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu and Iya Nacuaa I.

60. On the valley sign, between the legs of Lady 4 Rabbit, a sign is painted that looks like a leg (saha) or hand (ndaha). As hand it may represent both the act of “giving” and tribute (ndaha). Hand and foot together stand for “human resources” and “services” (ndaha saha).

61. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 10-V. The reading is not clear, but the sign is very similar to dzoco ñuhu signs elsewhere. In Codex Iya Nacuaa I, page 1-III, the different toponymic signs are conflated into “Mountain of the Pointed Objects and Spines, Mouth of Dark Dots, with Cradle (dzoco) and Cave,” at the foot of which the Heaven Temple was located.

62. Codex Iya Nacuaa I, page 2-III; cf. Codex Tonindeye, page 13.

63. Cf. Jansen 1998c.

64. Lord 1 Death appears in Codex Iya Nacuaa I, page 2-II, and Lord 1 Movement in Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 10-IV. As a pair they are mentioned in the creation scene in the beginning of Codex Añute, page 1. Lord 1 Movement, Venus, has the “flaming foot,” which stands for nduvua ndecu, “war” (Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 10-IV). During the ball game the protagonists have taken off the sandals they normally wear.

65. In Codex Tonindeye, page 15, she gives a jade bead to a young woman as a sign of pregnancy. In the case of Lord 8 Deer’s conquest, the context is more militaristic in character. One is reminded of the big jade signs in the central chapter of Codex Yoalli Ehecatl / Borgia (dealing with the cult around the Heaven Temple), which mark ritual focus points inside the sanctuary (30, 44), particularly the spot for fire drilling (34, 46), the “heart of the deity” (44), and the place of origin of the Cihuateteo, the Spirits of the Women who died in childbirth, Patrons of sexual life and war (47).

66. Codex Añute, page 6-II. Lord 3 Lizard’s younger brother, Lord 6 Movement ‘Precious Bones,’ would marry a princess of the Ñuu Tnoo dynasty, Lady 1 Flint, and become the new ruler of Chiyo Yuhu (Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 6-II; cf. Codex Tonindeye, 6-II). The reading proposed by Byland and Pohl 1994: 123 is quite different: “after consultation with 8 Wind the youthful 2 Rain attacks Jaltepec in the Selden, with 8 Wind’s son 3 Lizard Jeweled Hair acting as his champion.”

67. Codex Tonindeye, page 8; cf. Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 17. Within the red interior of the mountain we see the day 2 Flint, which might be the actual day on which Lord 2 Rain was interned in the temple, but it could also indicate that the place belonged to Lady 2 Flint ‘Blood Feathers of Red Town’ (originally ‘Blood of Town of Flames, Ñuu Ndecu’?), who was either a daughter or one of the wives of Lord 8 Wind (Codex Tonindeye, 6-II).

68. Codex Añute, page 6-II. The cave of the “Corazón del Pueblo” is described by Fray Francisco de Burgoa 1934, I: 319, 332–333. Codex Vaticanus A, page 4V, explains the concept of the Heart of the People (altepeyollotl in Nahuatl) as a relic of the Founder of the community (see also Romero Frizzi 1994: 237). Quetzalcoatl was the “father of the Mixtecs” according to Sahagún 1950–1978, book X: ch. 29.

69. Cf. Sahagún 1950–1978, book IV: ch. 31.

NOTES to CHAPTER 6

1. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 9-IV; cf. Codex Iya Nacuaa I, page 1-II, where the two types of shells are mentioned. The same event was situated somewhat later in time in Codex Tonindeye (44-IV), probably as a consequence of misunderstandings in copying the reading order of a now lost original (cf. Troike 1974b). There is a Mountain of Heaven in Yuta Tnoho (Cavua Caa Andevui), but there are several other places with such a name—see, for example, Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 42-I.

2. Cf. Codices Yuta Tnoho, pages 30–27, and Añute, page 8-III.

3. The document was published by Jansen 1982, appendix 2. If one took tani to be the local variant of Alvarado’s tnani (or tnahni), one might choose from meanings as distinct as “bundle of cloth,” “to incense,” “to smell,” “belt,” “lover,” “prudent,” and “industrious.” Referring to females, the term ñaha nee ñaha yoco means “virgin.”

4. The S-shaped tortillas are depicted in Codex Magliabechi, page 81. The constellation is said to be “las estrellas que están en la boca de la bocina” (“the stars that are in the mouth of the Lesser Bear”) (Sahagún 1950–1978, book VII: ch. 4) and in the southern sky: “la encomienda de Santiago, que es la que está por parte del Sur hácia las Indias y chinos” (Tezozomoc 1975: 574).

5. Prayer texts from Guerrero, registered by Chantal van Liere and Martijn Schuth (2001). The similarity of the onomastic sign to the Nahuatl title Citlalcueye, “She with the Skirt of Stars,” is obvious. We interpret ichi ñuu (“road of the night”) as synonymous with sichi ñuu (“furrow of the night”), Alvarado’s translation for the Milky Way (“Camino de Santiago”). Today in Ñuu Ndeya the term for the Milky Way is ichi yuyu, “road of dew.” Compare the iconography of Cihuacoatl in Codex Yoalli Ehecatl / Borgia (29 ff).

6. Possibly, this is a parallel to his earlier visit to the territory of Tiyuqh and Big Mountain (Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 8/9-V), which also resulted in its ruler, Lord 3 Reed, marrying a sister of Lord 8 Deer.

7. See Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 36-I: the visit of several priests and their families to the buried Lords of Monte Albán.

8. Lord 6 Vulture has the head of a Ñuhu, which qualifies him as a spirit. The given name of the Ñuhu is ‘Bone–Digging Stick.’ The digging stick (coa), yata in Dzaha Dzaui, can be used as a phonetic homonym of yata, “ancient, past.” The day 6 Vulture represents the eve of the important day 7 Movement and is part of the ritual sequence of days related to ecstasy and “diving into the ground,” that is, entering a cave (cf. Jansen 1997a). Good Eshelman comments on the helping function of bones among the Nahuas (Broda & Báez-Jorge 2001: 274 ff).

9. The closed eyes also indicate ecstasy in Codex Yoalli Ehecatl / Borgia, page 36.

10. Cf. Codices Añute, page 6-IV, and Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 35-IV.

11. The death shield and arrow were used in taking possession of Yucu Dzaa (Tututepec) and later Ñuu Tnoo; they also were carried on the journey to Cholula (Codex Iya Nacuaa I, 6-II, 14-III, 19-III). The golden fish was placed in front of the temple of Yucu Dzaa; it appeared together with the conch in the great water Lord 8 Deer was to cross (Codex Tonindeye, 80). The cuauhxicalli served its purpose during the execution of the children of Lord 11 Wind (Codex Iya Nacuaa II, 10).

12. Codices Tonindeye, page 44, and Iya Nacuaa I, page 3-III. The same symbolism is found in Palenque (the tomb of Lord Pakal; the Group of the Cross).

13. The motif and color of the frieze have been completely obliterated in Codex Iya Nacuaa I, page 4-III.

14. In Ñuu Yucu (San Miguel Cuevas), the idea survives of four trees situated around the village toward the four directions (Bonnie Bade, pers. comm.).

15. Codices Iya Nacuaa I, page 5, and Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 9-III. M. E. Smith 1973a identified the toponyms of Ñuu Sitoho (Juquila) and Yucu Dzaa (Tututepec). The sign of Tututepec occurs also in Codex Telleriano-Remensis, page 43. Arthur Joyce, Andrew Workinger, and Byron Hamann have situated Lord 8 Deer’s rule in Yucu Dzaa within an archaeological context (cited in Robles García 2004). They suggest that the ball court associated with the place sign is the one found at San Francisco de Arriba, one of the outer wards of the Late Postclassic town of Yucu Dzaa.

16. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 9-III/II. In Codex Tonindeye, page 45, the Water of the Rubber Ball (or Mirror) is represented as Cradle (dzoco) of the Rubber Ball (or Mirror). From these alternative signs we reconstruct the name Source (dzoco) of the Rubber Ball (or Mirror). Codex Iya Nacuaa (6-I) shows that this battle initiated a long list of conquests (Codices Iya Nacuaa I, 7/8, and Tonindeye, 46–49), which, given the context, must have taken place in the coastal area. Logically, the coastal historiographic tradition (Codex Iya Nacuaa and possibly the corresponding part of Codex Tonindeye) gives prominence to these toponyms. The view from the Alta, as represented by Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, pays no attention to them.

17. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 7-IV; cf. Codex Tonindeye, page 44-IV. The place sign might also refer to a similarly named town on the coast, in which case the two brothers would have followed Lord 8 Deer and lost their lives during this first campaign.

18. This identification was first suggested by Mary Elizabeth Smith 1973a and was further elaborated by Jansen 1998b.

19. Codex Tonindeye, pages 33–35, 61; Codex Añute, page 13-I. See Jansen 1989, as well as Oudijk & Jansen 2000.

20. The identification of the latter town, proposed already by Mary Elizabeth Smith, is fairly certain.

21. See Smith 1973a: 68.

22. Codex Tonindeye, page 49-III. See Smith 1988.

23. Cf. Codex Yoalli Ehecatl / Borgia, page 47.

24. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 5-II. Cf. Codex Tonindeye, page 13, Codex Iya Nacuaa I, page 4-II, and the Map of Chiyo Cahnu (Teozacualco).

25. Compare the similar scene in Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, pages 7/8-I.

26. We recall the primordial importance of the Spring of the Serpent River during the foundation of the village-state of Ñuu Tnoo. See Codices Tonindeye, page 45, Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 4-IV, and Tonindeye, page 22. The scene can also be compared with the offering made to the tree in the cave (serpent mouth–water), represented on the famous vessel of Nochixtlan (Seler 1960–1961, III: 522 ff; cf. Jansen & Pérez Jiménez 2000: 210–211).

27. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 6-I. Compare the representations of trance roads in Codex Yoalli Ehecatl / Borgia (29 ff) and in the Roll of the New Fire.

28. Codex Tonindeye, page 50. For the representation of the Goddess as Itzcueye and Yollotlicue, see also Codices Yuta Tnoho, page 28, Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 30-V, and Yoalli Ehecatl / Borgia, pages 47, 66. Her character as the divine power of the arrowhead is made clear in Ruiz de Alarcón 1953, II: ch. 9. Her calendar name Quehuiyo is mentioned in the Proceso inquisitorial contra caciques de Yanhuitlan (Jiménez Moreno & Mateos Higuera 1940: 40).

29. The term “Toltec” in itself stands for the core of Mesoamerican civilization as given form by the tradition of Teotihuacan. It is generally assumed that tribes globally termed “Chichimecs,” which invaded the area from the north after the fall of Teotihuacan, spoke the Nahuatl language. The blackened eye (sahmi nuu) is a diagnostic of the hunter God Mixcoatl, Patron of the Chichimecs (Lehmann 1938: 53).

30. Ixtlilxochitl 1975–1977, I: 283 refers to this connection when he describes the use of copper axes, very similar to the tumi used in the Chimú culture in northern Peru.

31. This event is also described in a central Mexican chronicle, the Annals of Cuauhtitlan, which names the new monarch of Coixtlahuaca as Atonal, a Lord whose name contained the sign ‘Water’; see the Lienzo of Tlapiltepec (Caso 1961: 259; cf. Van Doesburg & Van Buren 1997) and the Annals of Cuauhtitlan (Velázquez 1975, §§ 67, 187). For the Toltec character of the macuahuitl, see Byland and Pohl 1994: 141 and Hassig 1992: 112–113. Also, the victorious Toltec Lord who founded the lineage of the rulers of Yucu Ita Ino (Xochitepec) in the Mixteca Baja swayed this weapon (see the Map published by Caso 1958); although his name is not given, the context suggests that he is the same historical figure.

32. Abundant literature exists about Quetzalcoatl, both as a historical figure and as a deity. We mention here only the crucial contributions by Lehmann 1922, Jiménez Moreno 1941, Nicholson 1957, López Austin 1973, and Feldman 1974. The sources have been synthesized and analyzed by Davies 1977, 1980; Stenzel 1980; Carrasco 1982; Van Zantwijk 1986; Graulich 1988; and Florescano 1995. The Christian reinterpretation of this complex figure has been the object of a profound study by Lafaye 1977.

33. See Caso 1967: 173.

34. Mendieta 1971, book II: ch. 11. For the general background, see Phelan 1970.

35. Ruiz de Alarcón and the Chilam Balam of Chumayel have documented this form of discourse (Jansen 1985).

36. Codex Tonindeye, page 14, shows an interesting image of Lord 4 Jaguar (with Quetzalcoatl face painting) in front of Lord 2 Reed, a manifestation of Tezcatlipoca (Ome Acatl), on the Mountain of Words. The latter, we suggest, is the Tzatzitepetl near Tula, where the priest-kings used to do their bloodletting rites and give instructions to their people (Codex Vaticanus 3738 [A], 8r; Sahagún 1950–1978, book III: ch. 3).

37. Chimalpahin 1998, I: 108 tells how Nacxitl Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl attacked Teotenanco and tried to conquer and destroy it, in vain.

38. See M. E. Smith 1973a: 203. In this period the term tay sahmi nuu had to refer to the Toltecs, that is, the people associated with the archaeological culture of Tollan-Xicocotitlan (Tula, Hidalgo) and Tollan-Cholollan (Cholula). Nancy Troike has commented on this section of Codex Iya Nacuaa in detail, both in her Ph.D. dissertation (1974b) and in several congress papers.

39. The day sign in his calendar name is damaged but could be deciphered by Nancy Troike 1974b in the original. The Historia de los Mexicanos por sus pinturas, ch. 2, mentions the sacrifice of a hunchback to the Rain God in a cave (Garibay 1979: 26). Regarding the presence of hunchbacks at the Toltec court, see Sahagún 1975, book VI: ch. 41, 406. The Mexica rulers continued the Toltec tradition (Motolinía 1969: 149).

40. Compare the gestures in Codex Tezcatlipoca / Fejérváry-Mayer, page 43, and on the stucco reliefs of Tomb 1 in Zaachila.

41. Codex Iya Nacuaa I, page 10-I. A similar scene is found in Codex Añute, page 7-IV. A pictorial text of such a war ritual is preserved in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris as Fonds Mexicain 20/21, renamed by us as Codex Yecu.

42. Information given by Maribel Alvarado during the Mixtec Gateway in 2000. The local word for “devil,” timiaha, corresponds to Alvarado’s teñumi ñaha, “owl person.” A description of the site, with drawings of the rock paintings, is given in the unpublished work of Martínez Gracida, vol. 29. Antonia Montague presented slides of the same paintings during the Mixtec Gateway of 1999. Thanks to the initiative of Manuel Barragán Rojas (Museo Regional de Huajuapan) and Antelmo Sánchez Gómez, and with the help of the Consejo Municipal de Vigilancia de Flora y Fauna of Tonala, we were able to visit the caves in January 2003.

43. Codex Vaticanus 3738 (A), page 7r, documents the contact the Toltec ruler had with the female deity Chalchiutlicue. The context is different, but the text illustrates the influence of the deities on daily politics.

44. “Por tradición se sabe que esta cueva servía como de casa consistorial a los primeros pobladores” (“According to local tradition this cave was used as a town hall by the first inhabitants”) (Martínez Gracida 1883, n.p.).

45. Codices Iya Nacuaa I, page 12-II, Tonindeye, pages 45–46, and Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 10-III. A member of the Toltec delegation later present at Lord 4 Wind’s enthronement carried the same instrument (Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 32-III). Alvarado gives the name cutu yeque, “bone flute,” to a flute used during dances (flauta de los bailes de indios).

46. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 10-III. Codex Tonindeye, page 45, also shows the eagle coming down on the quail but in a less explicit way, so that it also could represent the name (something like ‘Cuauhtemoc’) of the Toltec standing in front of Lord 8 Deer.

47. “Que conforme era el tlaxtli con cuatro géneros de piedras preciosas, y todas cuatro tan estimadas y puestas en igualdad, que así, ni más ni menos, todos cuatro [señores] de aquí adelante gobernarían sus reinos y señoríos con grandísima paz y conformidad, y que el carbunclo era uno solo y de tanta virtud para el efecto de tirar y jugar con él en lugar de pelota entre los cuatro al primero que le cupiese, que así sería en su mando al que primero mandase una cosa, que los otros tres lo tendrían por muy bien hecho y lo mismo ellos, viviendo siempre en conformidad y paz ellos y sus descendientes” (Ixtlilxochitl 1975–1977, I: 279).

48. Codices Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 9-III, and Tonindeye, page 45 (cf. Codex Yuta Tnoho, 35). Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu also mentions a red rodent that approached him with something in its paw. This enigmatic “gift of the red rodent” seems to have played an important part in the tradition. Codex Tonindeye (45) presents this story as part of Lord 8 Deer’s enthronement in Yucu Dzaa, which is illogical. Comparing this with the much more consistent version in Codex Iya Nacuaa, it is possible to reconstruct the original order (see Troike 1974b). The day of the event in Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu was added later and is not clear (8 or 9 Jaguar?).

49. Codices Iya Nacuaa I, page 13-III, and Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 10-II. For discussion of the appearances of Monte Albán in the codices, see Jansen 1998b. Mountain of the Moon has been interpreted as Acatlan de Osorio in the Mixteca Baja by Ojeda 2002: 66. In Dzaha Dzaui that place is called Yucu Yusi or Yucu Tisaha, however, and its sign has been identified convincingly by Smith 1973a as Mountain of the Jewel.

50. Codices Tonindeye, page 51, and Iya Nacuaa I, page 14-III.

51. Codices Iya Nacuaa, page 14, and Tonindeye, page 52-I. A similar sequence of place signs is found in Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 39-I. Stone Valley is followed by four volcanos, a reference to the Cave of Origin (Chicomoztoc), and a series of place signs, which we interpret as references to Cholula: Quetzal-Breast Mountain (Yucu Ndodzo) as a translation of the name of the main sanctuary of Cholula Chichiualtepec (“Man Made Mountain,” interpreted as “Breast Mountain”), Valley of Cattail Reeds (Ñuu Cohyo, Tollan), and Place where the Toltec Rulers were seated (compare also the Toltec Quetzal Mountain mentioned in the Roll of the New Fire as the place where the central ceremony of drilling fire was carried out). Another piece of geographical evidence is given later, when Lord 4 Wind went to the same place to undergo the same nose piercing ceremony (Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 34-II). To get there, he had to cross the River of the Hummingbird, which is clearly the Yuta Ndeyoho or Huitzilapan, the river that gave its name to Puebla (see also the Lienzo of Cuauhquechollan).

52. The Título de Totonicapan (f 8v) tells how the founders of the Quiché ruling lineages went to Cholula to receive a Sacred Bundle (Pizom Cacal) from the Toltec king Nacxitl.

53. Several other authors have considered this possibility but did not reach a definitive identification. Smith 1973a proposed Tulixtlahuaca as near Jicayán or—as a less likely candidate—Tulancingo near Coixtlahuaca. Byland and Pohl 1994 prefer the latter. After a detailed study, we find compelling evidence for saying that this Town of the Cattail Reeds is Cholula (Jansen 1996, 1997b; Jansen & Pérez Jiménez 2000). The same idea is advocated by Ojeda 2002 without referring to earlier publications.

54. According to Durán 1967, I: 9, 14: “los discípulos que trajo el Papa [Topiltzin], a los cuales llamaban toltecas e hijos del sol . . . tuvieron su principal asiento en Cholula” (“The disciples of the Priest [Topiltzin] were called Toltecs and children of the sun; their main town was Cholula”). Mendieta is among the chroniclers who document the special relationship of Cholula to the Toltec ruler (Mendieta 1971, book II: ch. 11).

55. Cf. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 12-V.

56. The Mexica historian Tezozomoc 1975: 439 registers a similar Toltec origin and ideological base for Mexica rulership. References to Nacxitl are also found in other sources, such as the Annals of the Cakchiquels and the Título de Totonicapan (Recinos, Chonay & Goetz 1967: 64, 176).

57. The conquest of Town and Mountain of the Eagle took place on the consecutive days 7 Rabbit and 8 Water, only six and seven days after the nose piercing ceremony in Cholula; the conquest of Cliff with Waterfall took place on 4 Flint. Together they form a logical sequence. Codex Tonindeye, page 53, adds the conquests of Mountain of the Black Drops and Mountain of the Spines with the days 7 Flower and 9 Alligator, which are out of place with the others. Either there is an error in these dates and they should be 6 Flower and 7 Alligator, or these conquests should not have been included here. Indeed, Codex Iya Nacuaa (II, 13-II) mentions them in another context.

58. Codex Iya Nacuaa I, page 17-I. The following scene with the praying to the trees occupies band II in Codex Iya Nacuaa I, pages 17–15 (notice that page 16 was placed in between them later and is out of sequence). The gesture of Lord 8 Deer on this occasion is the same as that of the Gods of the Night that flank the world direction trees in Codex Tezcatlipoca / Fejérváry-Mayer, page 1.

59. We take the two types of leaves as a difrasismo to encompass the different trees. In view of the terms for leaves given by Alvarado, they can be read as yutnu ndaha and yutnu vuisi, respectively. Three kinds of leaves are used in the cleansing ceremonies in Codex Yuta Tnoho.

60. Codex Tonindeye, page 4; cf. Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 33.

61. The scene in Codex Iya Nacuaa I, page 15-II, has been badly damaged, leaving little more than the diagnostic war band (yecu). Codex Tonindeye, page 53-IV, mentions the days 1 Alligator and 9 Wind as marking the period of rituals in Ñuu Tnoo.

62. See the arrangement in the Map of Chiyo Cahnu (Teozacualco). Codex Iya Nacuaa I, page 15-III, also lists seven nobles. A full account of all assistants is given in Codex Tonindeye, pages 54–68, which shows that these seven were only a first group, associated with the Temple of Death.

63. Nancy Troike 1974b has carefully examined the badly damaged original and compared the fragmentary data to Codex Tonindeye, pages 54–55. Both sequences start with Lord 12 Vulture ‘Jewel.’ The second person in Codex Iya Nacuaa is Lord 7 Movement ‘Speaking Rain God,’ who is probably identical to Lord 7 Grass with the same given name in Codex Tonindeye. The numbers 3 and 4 are too damaged to be identified; we can only speculate that they were Lord 9 Vulture ‘Vapor-Rain’ and Lord 10 Alligator ‘Flowered Stone Man.’ Then follow Lord 6 (Serpent) ‘Death (with Jaguar Claw),’ Lord 9 Monkey ‘Precious Fish (?),’ Lord 4 Movement ‘Fatal Dark Brazier,’ and Lord 1 (Death) ‘Bundle of Leaves.’

64. The second group is associated with a round ball of soft fur with eyes in it, a necklace and gold ornament in the center, and quetzal feathers encircling it (Codex Tonindeye, 56-III). The same sign occurs in Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 47, as a rather general characterization of the Ñuu Dzaui world as soft, delicate, and sacred (cf. the modern expression vii ndaa vii nene, “in harmony and peace”). The presence of precious stones, gold, and feathers suggests that we are dealing here with persons of fame and wealth, that is, the nobility, the privileged.

65. The community of Ñuu Tnoo is likely meant; cf. the use of this sign in Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 48.

66. This place is also close to Spider Web Valley (Andua) in Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 42-II. Perhaps Amaa, “Deep Place,” is meant, that is, Almoloyas, later a subject town of Yodzo Cahi (Yanhuitlan).

67. Cf. Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 42-III.

68. The identification of the object is problematic. It might represent a knot. In that case Tlapiltepec, Hill of the Knot, could be meant. Shortly afterward this place became a subject of Lord 8 Deer’s realm (Codex Iya Nacuaa I, 18-I).

69. This may be a reference to the cave passage represented in the Roll of the New Fire (Selden Roll), which has been identified as the Puente Colosal on the Ndaxagua River, the entrance to the Coixtlahuaca Valley (Rincón 1999: ch. 4).

70. This place, too, became a subject of Lord 8 Deer’s realm (Codex Tonindeye, 69-IV).

71. Cf. Van Doesburg & Van Buren 1997. Both Lords of Feather Place have bezotes (lip plugs), a common trait for certain towns in the Valley of Puebla, and the first one wears the characteristic headband of the Tlaxcalteca (Nicholson 1967).

72. This place, too, became a subject of Lord 8 Deer’s realm (Codex Tonindeye, 69-III).

73. Cf. Codex Yuta Tnoho, pages 44-IV, 43-I.

74. The rulers of this place were related to the first dynasty of Ñuu Tnoo (cf. Codex Tonindeye, 12).

75. The place sign has not been completed. Given the area, we suspect a reference to Gravel Ball Court, Yuhua Cuchi (Guaxolotitlan), in the Mixteca Baja was meant (cf. Codex Yuta Tnoho, 3). In this composition the Toinindeye painter included the Plain of Feathers and the Place of the Jaguar but left them without color. In the next two pages these places appear again, but there with the correct information.

76. This is the same toponym as a place conquered earlier by Lord 8 Deer (Codex Tonindeye, 44-I). In that case we suspected it referred to the border area between Ñuu Tnoo and Chiyo Yuhu in the Valley of Yodzo Cahi (Yanhuitlan). Here the context suggests a locality in the Mixteca Baja. Compare Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 39-III.

77. See also Codex Tonindeye, page 3-III. The central element also shows some similarity to one of the two place signs that refer to Yucu Yusi (Acatlan); cf. Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 4. Plain is yodzo and green is cuii. Given the context, we suggest that this may be a partial rendering of Yodzo Cuiya, which, however, means “Plain of the Year” and is depicted as such in Codex Cochi (Becker II), page 3.

78. The sign resembles that of the Nahuatl toponym Tecamachalco (Codex Mendoza, 42). The context suggests a place in the Mixteca Baja, however. Notice that some of the associated nobles have “stone” (yuu) in their given names.

79. Compare the sign of Tecamachalco in the Lienzo of Tlapiltepec (Jansen 1992). Place-names with trees in them are widespread, however, and therefore difficult to identify.

80. Codex Iya Nacuaa I, pages 17/18-III.

81. Codex Tonindeye, page 68-III. See also Codex Tonindeye, pages 53-IV, 19, 22, as well as Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 48.

82. Codex Iya Nacuaa I, page 19-III; cf. page 4-I.

83. The central church on this page of Codex Yodzo Cahi is glossed in alphabetic script as that of Yucu Ndaa (Tepozcolula). Friar Antonio de los Reyes suggests that this capital was controlled by Ñuu Tnoo, at least sometime during the Postclassic. So if we follow the gloss, we might be dealing either with the frontier between Ñuu Tnoo and Yucu Ndaa or with the frontier between Yucu Ndaa—as part of the realm of Ñuu Tnoo—and some outside village-state. In that line of thought, one might even speculate that the Valley of the Column could represent Huamelulpan (Yucu Nuu Ndavua, “Mountain of the Beam or Post,” also interpreted as Yucu Nindavua, “Mountain that flew away”). In Codex Yodzo Cahi (Yanhuitlan), plate xiii, however, the central toponymic sign (White Blanket), where the church is standing, clearly represents Yodzo Cahi itself, so the most logical conclusion is that the cited places represent the boundary between Yodzo Cahi and Ñuu Tnoo.

84. Codex Tonindeye, page 70, gives the day 9 Alligator, but that is out of the chronological sequence; a correction to 10 or 11 Alligator seems justified—both possibilities would fit the damaged date associated with Mountain of the Eagle in Codex Iya Nacuaa I, page 19-I. We opt for the latter possibility, as 11 Alligator is known for its ritual significance: it is the calendar name of one of the primordial lords who forms a pair with Lord 4 Alligator, a name day twenty days later (Codex Yuta Tnoho, 51). Apparently, both days mark the beginning and the end of a twenty-day period with special significance (within it fall the days 13 House and 9 Grass). In two important scenes where these lords are mentioned, a White Mountain also occurs (Codex Tonindeye, 19, 21). Because of the context, one is tempted to identify it with a “white place” in the Valley of Oaxaca, such as Ñuu Cuisi (Tlalistac), but it is represented rather differently at that occasion, so we cannot be sure.

85. Codices Iya Nacuaa I, page 19-I, and Tonindeye, page 70.

86. See Sahagún 1950–1978, book VI: ch. 4, 21, 33.

87. Codex Iya Nacuaa I, page 19-I. An abbreviated image of a similar preparation for war is seen in Codex Añute, page 11-IV.

88. Codex Tonindeye, page 71; cf. page 54. The mountains are marked with red openings, which suggests that holes were made in the ground to deposit the bowls.

89. Byland and Pohl 1994 suggest that the places depicted in this chapter of the codices are stations on a spiritual journey from Ñuu Tnoo (Tilantongo) to neighboring Ñuu Ndecu (Achiutla). This is contradicted by the fact that the places are marked as “conquered” (perforated by darts) and that there are no volcanoes or lagoons with alligators in the Mixteca Alta.

90. The naming of towns is described by Durán 1967, I: 12. See Schultze Jena 1957: 138 ff for the famous elegy on Quetzalcoatl’s disappearance (cf. Lehmann 1922) and Sahagún 1950–1978, book III: ch. 3 ff. for the identification of this trip with the voyage of the Creator (cf. Stenzel 1980: 46).

91. For a detailed study of the geography and history of this area, see Scholes & Roys 1968, Thompson 1970, and Gerhard 1991. The “Place of the Water House” (Acalan?) is represented in Codices Iya Nacuaa I, page 21-III, and Tonindeye, page 74-I.

92. Lehmann 1938: 90. Cf. Codex Vaticanus 3738 (A), page 9v; Durán 1967, I: 12; Acuña 1984–1985, I: 131.

93. Codices Tonindeye, page 75, and Iya Nacuaa I, pages 22/23. See also Jansen 1996. The identification was already suggested by Lehmann 1938: 372 and Caso 1977–1979, II: 175.

94. Codex Iya Nacuaa I, page 24, followed by Codex Iya Nacuaa II, pages 1–2; Codex Tonindeye, page 76.

95. Codex Tonindeye, page 76-II, confirmed by Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 9-I.

96. Codices Tonindeye, page 76-III/IV, and Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 12-I/II.

97. In Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 14, a Mountain of Stone forms part of the landscape belonging to the Huahi Cahi. Possibly this is Yucu Yuu, the impressive and sacred mountain behind San Mateo Peñasco. The place-name in Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, however, clearly contains seven stones. This sign Seven Stones also appears in the Map of Chiyo Cahnu (Teozacualco), at the confluence of the Río Hondo with the river that comes from Cahua Cuaha (Anders, Jansen & Pérez Jiménez 1992b: 46). There it represents the toponym “River of Stone 7,” the boundary between the kingdom of Chiyo Cahnu and Yuu Usha (Yuxia) as a community pertaining to Ñuu Ndaya (Chalcatongo).

98. Codices Tonindeye, page 77, and Iya Nacuaa II, page 2-III. Among those mentioned in Codex Tonindeye we recognize Lord 7 Flower, presented as a precious twin, and Lord 4 Movement, important ancient Lords of the Yuta Tnoho alliance, killed in the war against the Stone Men. In Codex Iya Nacuaa a Lord 4 Grass appears, possibly one of the shamanic priests who guided Lord 8 Deer and Lady 6 Monkey to the Huahi Cahi.

99. For the identification of Old Coyote, see Codices Telleriano-Remensis, page 10v, and Vaticanus 3738 (A), page 16v. Cf. Codex Yoalli Ehecatl / Borgia, pages 10, 64.

100. Codices Tonindeye, page 78, and Iya Nacuaa II, page 3-III. Cf. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, pages 8-II, 5-I.

101. The representation in Codex Tonindeye, page 78, is similar to that of the East Temple in Codex Yoalli Ehecatl / Borgia, page 49. Notice the roof decoration with the yacaxiuitl in Codex Iya Nacuaa II, page 3.

102. The entire sequence of events is synthesized in one scene in Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 9-I, in which Lord 8 Deer goes on the warpath, arrives in Heaven, the abode of Lord 1 Death, and enters his sanctuary.

103. Tedlock 1985: 203–204; cf. Recinos, Chonay & Goetz 1967: 64, 176.

104. Seler 1960–1961, I: 683; cf. Schele & Freidel 1990: ch. 9. Lord Sun also plays a prominent role in the frescoes (Kutscher 1971, Miller 1977). An alternative reading would be that the meeting of Quetzalcoatl and the Sun God was a recurrent theme and that its commemoration in Chichén Itzá actually referred to an earlier arrival of a “Toltec,” that is, late Teotihuacan, leader. Erik Boot explores this possibility in his dissertation on the Maya hieroglyphic inscriptions of Chichén Itzá (2005). If we considered that the dates given in the mantic historiography of the so-called Books of Chilam Balam for the arrival of Kukulkan actually refer to an earlier, similar event as the symbolic prototype for later occurrences, it would resolve the contradiction between the Maya and Ñuu Dzaui chronologies on this point. The Maya prophecies would then be based on the incursion of a Teotihuacan leader during the final epoch of that capital, while the Ñuu Dzaui codices deal with the Early Postclassic king of Cholula.

105. Cf. Landa 1996: ch. 7, 14; Tozzer 1941: 27.

106. See Jansen 1997b; Ringle, Gallerta & Bey 1999; Carrasco, Jones & Sessions 2000 (especially the contribution by López Austin and López Luján).

NOTES to CHAPTER 7

1. Codex Tonindeye, page 79, gives day 11 Grass, which falls out of the chronological sequence. In Codex Iya Nacuaa II, page 4, the number is 10 (+ ?), but the day sign is obliterated. If the number was 10, we should reconstruct 10 Grass, which is forty days after the last mentioned day (9 Grass) and eighteen days before the next (2 Dog). We prefer to maintain the number 11 and to reconstruct 11 Death, supposing that in the copying process the sign Death was confused with the similar sign Grass (which is probable, as the last day mentioned had been 9 Grass). This reconstruction ties the vision closer to the immediately following acts: 2 Dog is only four days after 11 Death. It also would establish a dramatic relationship with the killing of Lord 12 Movement the following year.

2. Codex Tonindeye, page 80; cf. pages 71-I, 72-II.

3. Mendieta 1971, book II: ch. 11: Quetzalcoatl came from Yucatan to Cholula and stayed there for twenty years.

4. Codex Iya Nacuaa II, page 5; cf. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 10-I. No mention is made of Lady 4 Rabbit and Lord 10 Flower of Dark Speckled Mountain, who used to control that area. Actually, we are not sure if this is the same site. In the list of primordial places in Codex Yuta Tnoho there are two Mountains of the Pointed Objects. The first (42-II) is named and is presumably situated between Town of the Quetzal (Huitzo) and Valley of the Spiderweb (Andua), which speaks for its identification as Yucu Ndeque (Huauclilla). The second (40-III) is mentioned in a section of the list where we have no clues as to the area it refers to: it is inserted somewhere between the Ñuu Tnoo–Añute area (42) and the Valley of Cholula (39). This latter place is mentioned in conjunction with a Mountain of the Eagle. As we saw before, there was also a Town and Mountain of the Eagle close to Dark Speckled Mountain and Mountain of Spines (Codex Tonindeye, 53), which are in the same area as Mountain of the Pointed Objects (Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 10-V). So we are dealing with a cluster of names that repeats itself. We are not sure which exact place is referred to in the codices. It is possible that Lord 8 Deer was confused too, at a loss as to how to identify the place shown in his vision.

5. See the depiction in Codex Iya Nacuaa II, page 5. For the solar disk as emblem of the Ñuu Dzaui version of Panquetzaliztli, see the four feasts in Codex Yodzo Cahi / Yanhuitlan; Sepúlveda & Herrera 1994: plates X–XI.

6. Codices Tonindeye, page 81, and Iya Nacuaa II, page 5.

7. Codex Iya Nacuaa II, page 6-I. This mortuary practice is also documented on reliefs from Zautla in the regional museum of Oaxaca (Seler 1960–1961, II: 369; Anders, Jansen & Pérez Jiménez 1992b: 236).

8. The day 7 Flower is barely visible above the temple (Codex Iya Nacuaa II, 7, upper left-hand corner) and was deciphered in the original by Nancy Troike 1974b.

9. See Codex Tonindeye, page 19 (Jansen 1998b).

10. Cf. Codex Tonindeye, page 4. Codex Tonindeye, page 62, mentions celebrations on the day 2 Flint and the day 6 Jaguar in year 11 House (1101).

11. This symbolism went back to Teotihuacan; cf. Sahagún 1950–1978, book X: ch. 29 § 12.

12. Codices Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, pages 35-V, 34-III, and Añute, page 8-IV.

13. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 11-I. His name sign is that of a jaguar or puma head with small lines around his body. Caso translated this sign as “tigre resplandeciente,” but we think the small lines can be read as “markings” (tnuni) in the sense of “orders.” The given name then would be “Puma that gives orders.”

14. Codices Tonindeye, page 83, Iya Nacuaa II, page 8-III, Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 34-V; and Iya Nacuaa II, page 11. According to Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 34-IV, Lord 11 Wind had already died in what seems to be the year 9 Reed (1099), but this is improbable in view of the fact that his son Lord 4 Wind chose the day for killing Lord 8 Deer in commemoration of his father, which strongly suggests that Lord 11 Wind was killed by Lord 8 Deer.

15. Codices Tonindeye, page 83, and Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 33-V; cf. Codex Tonindeye, page 19.

16. Codices Iya Nacuaa II, page 11-II, and Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 10-I; cf. Codex Tonindeye, page 55. The enthronement scene (Codex Iya Nacuaa II, 12) includes several standing vessels and a bowl with a quetzal, which in mantic codices indicate prosperity (e.g., they are among the symbols that accompany the fifty-two columns of day signs in Codex Yoalli Ehecatl / Borgia, 1–8). For the pulque ceremony, compare Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 25.

17. Codices Tonindeye (83–84) and Iya Nacuaa (II, 10) differ as to the sequence and the way in which both princes were killed. For the round blue stone, see also Codex Iya Nacuaa I, page 4-I.

18. Codices Tonindeye, page 84, and Iya Nacuaa II, page 12.

19. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 11-I. In Codex Tonindeye, page 26, the day 12 Serpent is given for the marriage, which is less significant and therefore seems less likely.

20. In Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 23, the day 2 Deer is specifically associated with the First Sunrise.

21. We feel tempted to see one of the wards (Stone) of Coixtlahuaca in this place (cf. Van Doesburg & Van Buren 1997), but that realm is not qualified by a Fire Serpent (yahui).

22. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 12-I; cf. Codex Tonindeye, page 76.

23. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 12-IV; cf. page 5-IV.

24. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, pages 12/13-IV/V. A similar Place of Bird with Arrow–Pointed Beak occurs in Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 19-III, but there we know it represents the mat and throne of Yodzo Cahi (Yanhuitlan), the refoundation of Andua and Suchixtlan after their destruction during a Mexica attack at the end of the fifteenth century. The earlier occurrence of Place of Bird with Arrow–Pointed Beak here may refer to another place. The context suggests it is situated in the Mixteca Baja, in the sphere of influence of Ñuu Niñe and Cholula. A place that fits this criterion is Ñuu Dzaa, “Town of Birds,” called Totomihuacan, “Place of Possessors of Bird Arrows,” in Nahuatl. In Codex Mendoza, page 39, its hieroglyph effectively contains both the arrow and the bird.

25. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 12-II; cf. Codex Tonindeye, page 67-I. The other birth year is given by Codices Tonindeye, page 27, and Yuta Tnoho reverse, page VIII-3.

26. Codices Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, pages 11/12-III, and Tonindeye, pages 26–27.

27. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, pages 12/13-V. Lord 8 Deer’s children and their daughters seem to have had the status of Toltec nobility but are not portrayed as rulers of Tollan-Cholollan. The princes who marry those two daughters are not characterized as Toltecs.

28. Codices Iya Nacuaa II, page 13-II, and Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 12-V.

29. Codex Iya Nacuaa II, page 14-III. His given name suggests that Lord 10 Jaguar was a priest; cf. Codex Yoalli Ehecatl / Borgia, page 30.

30. Ixtlilxochitl 1975–1977, I: 269–270.

31. On Lord 8 Deer’s arrow, aiming at the precious bird (Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 14-V), we see the checkerboard sign, meaning naa, “dark” (Jansen 1982). We feel tempted to take this as a leftover from a more extensive version in which the entire hunting expedition was qualified as a dark intrigue by the second wife. The expression for treacherous murder, yosani naa ini ñahandi, “kill somebody with dark heart,” comes to mind. The story told by the Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu obverse, however, is positively oriented toward Lady 6 Eagle, her son being the one through whom the Ñuu Tnoo dynasty continues. In line with these considerations, we probably should interpret the naa sign as referring to the actual hunting. The scene in its present form, then, would only be telling us that Lord 8 Deer was shooting the birds for his wife from a hidden spot.

32. Codices Iya Nacuaa I, page 16, and Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 14-IV.

33. Compare the combination stone, stick, and ax in Codex Yoalli Ehecatl / Borgia, pages 50, 52; cf. Anders, Jansen & Loo 1994: 39–42. The expression “grab a stone and a stick” (cay yuu cay yutnu) was used as an explicit call to murder someone in an early colonial document in Dzaha Dzaui (Archivo del Juzgado de Tepozcolula 15: 7; Jansen & Pérez Jiménez 2000: 56–62). Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 14-V, also mentions the presence of Lord 10 Jaguar but names the killer as Lord 9 Wind, who is not mentioned anywhere else. We suggest that this name is actually a composite of the names 4 Wind and 5 Flint. In the list of Lord 4 Wind’s companions who assisted at his enthronement (Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 31–32), Lord 10 Jaguar appears with the knife in his hand, that is, as a hired assassin. Several other men in the group are qualified in the same way: an anonymous carrier of a knife, a man with blood on his hands, and Lord 8 Vulture who holds a bloody knife.

34. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 14-IV.

35. Codex Iya Nacuaa II, page 14-II.

36. Codex Tonindeye, pages 27–28; cf. Codex Ñuu Ñaña / Egerton, page 6, where Lady 6 Wind ‘Quetzal Feather of Royal Blood’ is associated with Huahi Andevui, the name for the ceremonial center of Ñuu Tnoo.

37. The successive events are stated by Codices Iya Nacuaa II, page 14-I, Iya Nacuaa I, page 16-I, and Iya Nacuaa II, pages 15/16-I; cf. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, pages 34/33-III.

38. The designation “Lord of the Banners” also occurs among the titles of the Quiché ruler Tecum Umam (Freidel, Schele & Parker 1993: 328). Lord 4 Reed ‘Rain’ is mentioned as one of the primordial Lords and a Founder of the kingdom of Black Rock (Codex Yuta Tnoho, 35, 2). The lizard appears as a symbol of a quick and skillful opponent that one cannot catch in Codex Tezcatlipoca / Fejérváry-Mayer (Anders, Jansen & Pérez Jiménez 1994: 245). In Dzaha Dzaui a lizard is called tiyechi, which points toward a wordplay, as yosiniyechindi means “to make a mock[ery] of someone” (Alvarado: burlar de alguno, riéndose de él). The hiding scenes suggest the expression yotetendi ita yucu yutnu, “to hide or cover [oneself behind] plants, bushes, and trees” (Alvarado: esconderse entre matas o árboles para espiar).

39. In Smith 1998: 93 ff.

40. According to Codex Iya Nacuaa II, page 16-II, it was in the area of the Ñuhu 4 Reed that Lord 4 Jaguar started to invoke the help of the Sun God as the introduction to a number of ritual and political meetings with Lord 4 Wind.

41. Codices Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 34-I, and Iya Nacuaa II, page 15-II.

42. The knife is combined with a fish and a serpent, possibly a specific title denoting the right to kill in sacrifice. Perhaps yaca, “fish,” is used as a phonetic writing for the word yaca in tay nisacodzo yoo yaca, “valiente señalado.” See also the combination fish–jaguar warrior in the given name of Lord 3 Wind in Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 8-III.

43. This may be a reference to the arrow of flowery warfare, the arrow of ceremonial execution, or a form of Sacred Arrow. Given its location between piciete and the white flower, it is also possible that we have to read this sign as Arrow Flower, which would be a powerful plant. Avarado lists ita nduvua nduhu castilla as “manzanilla.”

44. A similar series of objects is given to a new ruler in Codex Añute, page 3-III/IV. That list clearly refers to priestly and warrior powers. It documents that the lizard head is part of a bag filled with down balls. The war brazier is shown in function in Codex Iya Nacuaa II, page 7-I; the temalacatl on page 10. Compare the objects the Quiché Lords received from Nacxitl in the Popol Vuh (Tedlock 1985: 203–204).

45. Compare the caves in the liminal zone between Ñuu Dzaui and the Toltec realm, which had to be passed to establish the contact between Lord 8 Deer and Lord 4 Jaguar (Codex Iya Nacuaa I, 9-II, 12-II).

46. A man carrying a drum also appears in Codex Ixtlilxochitl, page 106. The drawing is explained by Mendieta 1971, book II, ch. 26, as a device used in war.

47. Compare the depiction of the acxoyatemaliztli ritual in the work of Sahagún (León-Portilla 1958: 58).

48. We suspect that the four serpent men belong together and represent Lords 4 Alligator and 11 Alligator, 4 Serpent and 7 Serpent. Cf. Yuta Tnoho, page 51, and the text of Gregorio García, which attributes the nahual names ‘Jaguar Serpent’ and ‘Puma Serpent’ to the primordial couple Lord 1 Deer and Lady 1 Deer.

49. These two, together with a Stone Man, were also among the Ancient Dead Lord 8 Deer encountered when he entered the House of the Sun (Codex Tonindeye, 76; see also 6). The word for monkey (codzo) makes a wordplay with a term for rich man: tay quicodzo maa. To Ina is also mentioned among the primordial beings in Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 49.

50. This War Lord may be identical to Lord 13 Jaguar (Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 10-I). The double-headed eagle seems to have been a title inherited from the ancient Monte Albán realm (cf. Codex Tonindeye, 19); later it became associated with another foreign power structure, that of the Spanish colonial administration, the double-headed eagle being the heraldic emblem of the royal house of Habsburg.

51. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 31-III; cf. Codex Añute, page 1-I. In the following scenes in Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu there is a “chronological break,” which may be the consequence of a connection between data copied from different codices. To follow the chronological order we have to proceed to Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 32-V.

52. The identification of Flint Town as Ñuu Yuchi is based on the comparison of the signs Flint Town–Flint Mountain (Codex Yuta Tnoho, 42-III) with a Flint Mountain on a stone relief found in Mogote del Cacique (Jansen 1982: 276; cf. Jansen & Winter 1980). It was corroborated by archaeological research in the area by Byland & Pohl 1994.

53. Codices Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 31-IV, and Iya Nacuaa II, page 15-III.

54. This is the last scene in the preserved fragments of Codex Iya Nacuaa II, page 16-III; cf. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 5-II.

55. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 31-V. Lord 7 Flower is mentioned as the Founder of the dynasty of Mountain of the Turkey in Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, pages 38/37-I. He is the father of the primordial priest Lord 10 Rain. A person with the same calendar name is important in Codex Yuta Tnoho (18).

56. Here this town is mentioned for the first time in the reverse of Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu; its dynastic history is presented later. For the identification of Ndisi Nuu, see the analysis by Smith 1973a: 58–60 and the additional explanation of the place sign by Jansen & Pérez Jiménez 1983.

57. The days 2 Flower and 3 Alligator refer to the primordial Ladies who initiated the pulque ritual (Codex Yuta Tnoho, 25). Lord 6 Death and Lord 10 Rain may have been chosen for their calendar names; both names recall important priests who assisted at the marriage scene of Lady 3 Flint and Lord 12 Wind (Codex Tonindeye, 19).

58. Codices Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 29-V ff, and Añute, page 9-II; cf. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 12-III.

59. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 29-IV; cf. page 11-III and Codex Tonindeye, page 27.

60. “After staying twenty years in Cholula, Quetzalcoatl returned to where he had come from [Yucatan]” (Mendieta 1971, book II, ch. 11).

61. Lehmann 1938: 91; cf. Codex Yoalli Ehecatl / Borgia, page 36.

62. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, pages 13-V, 14-II.

63. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 30-IV. Given the identical names, it is also possible that it was the same lady who married a second time, leaving her earlier husband, Lord 12 Dog. A Lord 12 Dog is named as the son of Lord 8 Deer and his third wife, Lady 10 Vulture (Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 12-IV), but he had another given name and must have been quite young at the time.

64. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 11-IV.

65. Smith 1973a: fig. 85 ff; cf. page 110 ff. These toponyms also occur in the successive scenes of Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu. The Lienzo of Zacatepec associates the Temple of the Fallen Bird with Ndisi Nuu, but Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 29-V, places it in the ceremonial center of Ñuu Yuchi and situates a Temple of Blood and Cacao in Ndisi Nuu. Both temples form part of the basic canon of four sanctuaries that seems to have been reproduced in many Ñuu Dzaui communities (Codex Yuta Tnoho, 21 ff).

66. Smith 1973a: 110 ff noted that the Relación Geográfica of Zacatepec (Acuña 1984, I) explicitly mentions the same individual. The Lienzo indicates that Lord 11 Jaguar was related to Lord 4 Wind through a Lady 10 ? (the calendar sign was read as Vulture by Caso but could also be Dog), who may have been his mother. Her given name ‘Cloud of Tree with Face’ can be reconstructed as Yoco Yutnu Nuu, “Spirit of the Ceiba.” The precise nature of the relationship between her and Lord 4 Wind (a connecting line) is not clear. Caso 1977–1979 II: 367 suggested that she was one of Lord 4 Wind’s secondary wives.

67. Both are mentioned in Codex Yuta Tnoho, page 4, and appear in the opening scene of the Roll of Huamelulpan (Smith & Parmenter 1991). Yucu Iti and Nuu Yoo are close neighbors in the lower, warmer slopes immediately under the steep cliffs of Ñuu Dzaui Ñuhu, the Mixteca Alta. Nuu Yoo seems to have been a subject town of Ñuu Ndaya (Chalcatongo), which is still referred to locally as shini ñuu, “the capital.” The name of Yucu Iti suggests that it was related to Ocotepec, its neighbor in the Highlands.

68. The well-known ceremony in which men, dressed as birds (voladores) and tied to a rotating rack on top of a pole, come “flying” down in circles also appears as part of enthronement rituals in the Codex Yada or Tututepetongo (Van Doesburg 1996).

69. River of 11 Wind, yuta siichi (which would be pronounced yucha jichi in the present-day local dialectal variant), may be a toponym derived from the name of Lord 4 Wind’s father, but it is also a phonetic writing of sichi, “ditch,” “to bathe,” or “to be thirsty.”

70. The reproduction of a temple cult has its parallel in the Heaven Temple of Yucu Dzaa, which seems to have been brought there from Ñuu Tnoo by Lord 8 Deer.

71. Caso 1961: 266; cf. Van Doesburg & Van Buren 1997.

72. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, page 31/2-IV. The scene is mentioned before the start of the genealogical information, but chronologically it should be interpolated here. A Lord 4 Serpent is mentioned as one of the nobles who assisted, together with Lord 11 Jaguar, Founder of the Yucu Satuta dynasty, at Lord 4 Wind’s enthronement in Ñuu Yuchi (Lienzo of Zacatepec), but that was probably a different person.

73. For a description see Spores 1967: 44 and Byland & Pohl 1994: 90–93.

74. The relief was analyzed by Jansen & Winter 1980 and was instrumental in the identification of Flint Town as Ñuu Yuchi, Mogote del Cacique (Jansen 1982: 276). The relief is still in the Museo Regional del INAH in the former Santo Domingo convent in Oaxaca. The beginning of the Roll of the New Fire shows a similar scene (Jansen 1997a: 87–89).

75. In Codex Telleriano-Remensis (8) this sign is read as ilhuitl, “feast (day),” which explains why in Codex Mendoza it can mean both “day” (57) and “twenty-day period” (19).

76. In Dzaha Dzaui the verb “to see,” yondito, has the connotation “to care for, to look after.” There are several alternative translations. Expressions for “to consider and to think” (aconsejarse consigo mismo, mirar y considerar bien algún negocio), according to Alvarado, are yonana chihi tnuni inindi (“thoughts come up in me”) or yonadza-nana inindi (“I let something come up in me”). The verbal stem nana may mean “to come up” and “face.”

77. In Dzaha Dzaui saha can mean “foot” and is also the stem of the verb “to go.” Alvarado registers “bowing the knee” (sanu site) as an expression for “reverence.”

78. The depiction of a person “entering into earth” can be read as the combination of saha (“to go”) and ini (“heart,” “inside”), which is an expression for ecstasy.

79. The foot stone is a constant element in the foundation rituals of Codex Yuta Tnoho, where it is depicted as a “walking, arriving block of stone.”

80. In the variant of Ñuu Ndeya one would read Nuu kiu qhcuii (Kuun Tijii), nuu kuia Simaa (Ushi Uni Tiñuu, Ushi Uni Vehe), nijaniya ninditoya, nitahuya tiun. Nijahanya, nijani jitiya, ninduuya yaha, ninduuya sukunyuu, nindiuya ini yau, nikeeya kuahanya chii ñuhu Tinduu Ñuu Yuchi, nijaniya ndekuun shiko kiu. Te suan nijainya yuu jaha yaha, nisamaya chiyo vehe ñuhu.

NOTES to CHAPTER 8

1. See Rappaport 1999: ch. 7. Compare Weber’s observations on the role of the prophet (1993: ch. 4, 5).

2. For the concept of “rebounding violence,” see the work of Maurice Bloch 1997. We do not think this phenomenon occurs in all rituals, but it is clearly the case in some.

3. The story told in Sinicahua was written down in Spanish by Martijn Wijnhoven, a student at Leiden University, during fieldwork for his M.A. thesis.

4. The cross as a Mesoamerican symbol of life force, related to tree symbolism, maize, and similar elements, is documented, for example, in the reliefs of the “group of the cross” temples in Palenque (cf. Jansen & Pérez Jiménez 2000: ch. 6). See also the analysis of the feast of the Holy Cross by Broda (Broda & Báez-Jorge 2001: 165 ff), as well as the studies of the symbolism of the cross by Sánchez Vázquez and Santacruz Vargas (in Barba de Piña Chan 2002). The cult of the Cruz Verde is well-known among the Beni Zaa (cf. Cruz & Winter 2002: 305; Barabas 2003, I: 84).

NOTE to CHAPTER 9

1. See Anders et al. 1996: 43–47; Anders 2001.