Chapter Four

FOUNDING MOTHERS

THE SEVEN CAVES OF HEAVEN ARE THE POINT OF DEPARTURE FOR AN INTRIGUing story about the events of a remote past recorded in the Ñuu Dzaui manuscripts (Codex Tonindeye, 14–21). Heaven, we now understand, is both the general sacred living space of the Gods and an actual sanctuary on a mountaintop near Yuta Tnoho. The seven caves (Chicomoztoc) are a metaphor for earthly origin. At the same time, they may refer to actual caves in the area with ceremonial functions. In this case, a pair emerges: Lady 3 Flint ‘Shell Quechquemitl, Plumed Serpent’ (“Power and Strength of the Plumed Serpent”) and Lord 5 Flower ‘Precious Prince.’ Note that their calendar names are in sequence, just two days apart (the day in between is 4 Rain).

Lady 3 Flint was clearly an important personage. Her name associates her directly with the powers of the Plumed Serpent, and she also has the attributes of female deities whom we know by their Nahuatl names: the spindle of Tlazolteotl and the jade skirt of Chalchiuhtlicue. The place of origin embeds her and her husband within the broad scale of sacred origin stories. Several other places are mentioned together with the Seven Caves of Heaven; apparently they are emblematic for other dynastic beginnings. These sites are home to four priests, who will accompany Lord 5 Flower and Lady 3 Flint on a long journey in the next scene, carrying the Tnucucua staff, the Xipe staff, and the Sacred Bundle—the most important symbols of power and authority.

The last two places in this series are clearly situated outside Ñuu Dzaui. Of these, the first—a valley between two volcanoes, dominated by the Rain God and a Woman with Blue Skirt—unmistakably refers to the Valley of Puebla between the different snow-covered volcanoes. The volcano of the Woman with Blue Skirt is obviously the Matlalcueye. The other may be Mount Tlaloc or another mountain with a shrine dedicated to the Rain God. Between the volcanoes we see Plant Men, probably representing a specific origin story. The second scene, situated on the Mountain of Words, may represent the Tzatzitepetl, close to Tula Xicocotitlan. The two associated personages are clearly identifiable. Lord 2 Reed is a manifestation of Tezcatlipoca.¹ In front of him stands Lord 4 Jaguar, whom we will later encounter as a Toltec ruler. The reference to a personage to be dated two centuries later shows that we are dealing here with a general picture of primordial places of origin in illo tempore, without precise chronological preoccupations.

LADY 3 FLINT MOTHER and DAUGHTER

At one stage of their wanderings, Lady 3 Flint changed into her nahual-animal, the Plumed Serpent, to visit and pay her respects to the Grandmother of the River (Sitna Yuta), Lady 1 Eagle, Patron of the West and of human procreation. During this visionary encounter, the Goddess gave her a jewel as a sign that she would become pregnant.

To honor the favors the Goddess bestowed upon them, the travelers built an important ceremonial center: a precious temple dedicated to the Plumed Serpent, that is, a temple of visions, situated on top of a cave. A nahual-altar at the entrance of a ball court, equally a place of mystery and trance, characterized the place of worship. Inside the temple they deposited the Sacred Bundle that contained the Flint from which Lord 9 Wind, the culture hero, had been born. The ceremonial center is very similar to the temple complex described in Codex Yoalli Ehecatl / Borgia (29 ff), where it is associated with the ecstatic worship of the Sacred Bundle.

4.1a. Lady 3 Flint ‘Shell Quechquemitl’ conceives a child (Codex Tonindeye, 15).

Lady 3 Flint made offerings at the foot of the Mountain of Ashes, that is, to the realm of the West, venerating Lady 1 Eagle. Meanwhile, her husband directed himself to the Mountain of Earthquakes and Fire and to the Town of the Throne and the Words. These places likely have a symbolic rather than a concrete geographic meaning. Earthquakes and fire clearly represent the volcanic powers, while throne and words are signs of authority and state formation. We identified the Mountain of Words that appeared one page earlier as the Tzatzitepetl near Tollan Xicocotitlan. The Mountain of the Throne, on the other hand, occurs as one of the main toponyms of the site of Monte Albán (in the Map of Xoxocotlan). In this respect it is interesting that the day for Lord 5 Flower’s rituals was 7 Rain, the day of the Flayed God (Xipe), Patron of the Beni Zaa dynasty of Zaachila.²

Soon the priests had to burn wood to heat the sweat bath. Lady 3 Flint ‘Shell Quechquemitl,’ that is, ‘Power and Strength of the Plumed Serpent,’ gave birth to a daughter, Lady 3 Flint ‘Jade Quechquemitl’ or ‘Beauty of Jade.’ Then, under the supervision of Lord 9 Wind ‘Quetzalcoatl,’ the young mother turned again into her nahual, the Plumed Serpent, and entered a cave where she became the Spirit of a large river. Among those present at the occasion was Lord 7 Flower, an important primordial ruler and manifestation of the solar deity.

4.1b. The birth of Lady 3 Flint ‘Jade Quechquemitl’ (Codex Tonindeye, 15).

The birth scene is dated in the year 3 Flint, but this date seems out of chronological sequence. This may be the result of confusion with the calendar names of the protagonists. Looking at the life of Lady 3 Flint ‘Jade Quechquemitl’ as history, we would place this event scene tentatively in the year 1 Flint (948).

Father 5 Flower went with his daughter to visit important personages in different places. Several of them are associated with Yuta Tnoho in another part of the Codex Tonindeye (36 ff). Apparently they represent the earlier generation, supposedly contemporaneous with Lady 9 Alligator and Lord 5 Wind.

The date given for this “introduction to society” of the child Lady 3 Flint is the year 7 Rabbit day 3 Flower. Again this might be a sacred date, but if taken historically it would correspond to 954. At the end of the journey, father and daughter returned to their palace, close to the Temple of the Plumed Serpent where the Sacred Bundle was kept. The Tnucucua staff and the Xipe staff were ceremonially deposited in front of the temple, and the priests engaged in a ritual that involved burning a large pile of wood on an altar.

4.2. The first arrival of Lord 12 Wind, coming down from the Place of Heaven (Codex Tonindeye, 18).

The culture hero 9 Wind ‘Quetzalcoatl’ arrived at the palace, accompanied by the Patrons of the Four Directions. They came to honor the Princess 3 Flint and to arrange a marriage between her and a priest who had come down from Heaven: Lord 12 Wind ‘Smoke Eye,’ whose given name indicates that he was a visionary priest. The venerable elders Lord 4 House and Lady 5 Serpent, who may have been his parents, had instructed him in Heaven.³

The first date associated with his coming down from Heaven on the down-ball cord, which symbolizes the magical flight, is the year 4 House, probably marking his initiation in serving the Sacred Bundle as a priest at age seven. The scene is connected with the place sign of Hand Holding Feathers, that is, Yuta Tnoho, confirming the idea that the Heaven represents the Cavua Caa Andevui. Taken historically, the year 4 House would correlate with 925. On his back Lord 12 Wind carried a temple bound with serpent cords (symbolizing the visionary character of the cult). His companions carried the Tnucucua staff, the Xipe staff, and a Sacred Arrow.

Lord 12 Wind carried out the same rituals in the Temple of the Plumed Serpent as Lord 5 Flower and Lady 3 Flint ‘Shell Quechquemitl’ had done before him. His companions made a nahual journey to see Lady 3 Flint ‘Plumed Serpent,’ seated in a cave next to the river. She was by now identified with the Grandmother of the River, Lady 1 Eagle. The purpose of this encounter must have been to ask for her daughter’s hand in marriage. When both parents had granted their permission, Lord 12 Wind again came down from Heaven, in the year 7 Rabbit (954), on his name day 12 Wind. That is twenty-two days after the day 3 Flower of the same year on which young Lady 3 Flint had been introduced to the Ancestors and Patrons of several places.

In Heaven, Lord 12 Wind ‘Smoke Eye’ had been instructed by the great nahuales Lord 4 Alligator ‘Coyote Serpent’ and Lord 11 Alligator ‘Jade Serpent.’ He had been put in charge of the worship (temple) and the founding of dynasties and kingdoms (the board and arrow to drill fire). His companions carried the Tnucucua staff and the Xipe staff. With these divine instructions and power objects he arrived at the foot of the Big Mountain, Yucu Cahnu (represented as a bent mountain), that is, Monte Albán.

The profile of this acropolis in Codex Tonindeye as a huge table mountain, standing on its own, is actually fairly realistic. The position of the toponymic elements corresponds well with the slopes as seen from the East (Xoxocotlan).⁴ On the northern side are the Yucu Yoo (Acatepec) and Tiyuqh (Sayultepec) slopes. In the center is the palace and site of the throne (Aniñe Iya). The southern part is represented as a big rock, with a cave (yavui), considered a place of lightning ball nahuales (yahui) and apparently dedicated to the visionary veneration of the Founding Ancestor, Lord 1 Alligator.⁵ Such details suggest that the Tonindeye painter—or the author of the work he was copying—knew this area from his own observation.

The same can be said about his rendering of the Valley of Yuta Tnoho (36) as an enclosure of steep rocks with its two rivers down below, its holy cave (Yavui Coo Maa, “Deep Cave of the Serpent”) on one side and its Tree of Origin with the impressive waterfall on the other. Although this form of landscape painting remains fundamentally pictographic, that is, it renders toponyms through hieroglyphic signs, the way in which the signs are combined in these cases takes into account the spatial relations between the named places and so succeeds in giving the impression of space. The painting permits the coherent visual representation of the landscape, conceived as a structure of toponyms. This concept—also present in the painting of mountain ranges and lists of conquered places or neighboring towns—was the point of departure for developing indigenous cartography, first in the precolonial tradition of the lienzos and later in syncretism with the European tradition that resulted in the maps for the Relaciones Geográficas and the títulos.⁶

4.3a. Lord 12 Wind arriving at Monte Albán (Codex Tonindeye, 19a).

CRISIS CULT at MONTE ALBÁN

There, at the foot of the huge acropolis that held the ruined temples and palaces of what had been the capital of the Classic Beni Zaa empire, the local rulers and two priests who had accompanied and assisted Lord 5 Flower and Lady 3 Flint welcomed Lord 12 Wind with respect. At that time the ancient center of Monte Albán appears to have been governed by a dual rulership. The two power holders were Lord 12 Lizard ‘Standing Firm on Big Mountain’ and Lord 12 Vulture ‘Quetzal Feather from Sun Mountain.’ They are also represented as a couple, Lord 12 Lizard and Lady 12 Vulture, seated on the mat of marriage and rulership and the parents of four sons. That alternative representation of the two as a couple is understandable in view of the title “father-mother” for “shaman” and “authority.”⁷ Thus we take the couple with four children as a metaphorical expression for the rulership of two kings assisted by a council of four governors. The sons/governors were Lord 4 House ‘Staff of Strokes,’ Lord 3 Monkey ‘Burner of the Pyramids,’ Lord 10 Alligator ‘Eagle,’ and Lord 10 Eagle ‘Coyote.’⁸ The combination of Big Mountain (Monte Albán) and Sun Mountain suggests that the dual government was built on an alliance between these two places or between the lineages associated with them. Wherever located, the Sun Place may have referred back to the First Sunrise. A vague recollection of the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan and its ideological importance may have still been present in Ñuu Dzaui, as it was among the Aztecs. The reliefs of the South Platform of Monte Albán demonstrate the political-economic-ideological link between Monte Albán and Teotihuacan but, obviously, date from several centuries before the time referred to in the codices. We wonder if a late echo of that crucial Classic alliance might have been present in the statement that connects Monte Albán with Sun Mountain or in the origin claims of certain dynasties.⁹

4.3b. The marriage of Lord 12 Wind and Lady 3 Flint at Monte Albán (Codex Tonindeye, 19b).

Returning to the persons associated with Monte Albán, we notice that they are represented with normal given names and without special ethnic markers. It seems they all belonged to the Ñuu Dzaui people. The archaeological data suggest that at this time, in the tenth century A.D., Monte Albán had already lost its function as the capital of an imperial state dominated by the Beni Zaa. Thus the scenes situated in Monte Albán are to be understood as references to a society in disarray: at Monte Albán there were still people living, and its name echoed memories of a great past, but the imperial structure existed only in name and was rapidly giving way to all kinds of local conflicts.

It was in this confusing time of the demise of Monte Albán that Lord 12 Wind came down from Heaven. He arrived after fulfilling his priesthood in the sanctuary on the Cavua Caa Andevui of Yuta Tnoho, carrying a temple with the Sacred Bundle of the culture hero Lord 9 Wind ‘Quetzalcoatl.’ Given the context, we interpret this action as the introduction of a specific set of rituals related to the tense time of social upheaval, that is, a “millenarian movement” or “crisis cult.”¹⁰

Lord 12 Wind brought this form of worship and religious experience from the Place of Heaven. In the early period of Ñuu Dzaui history we have seen repeated references to men associated with this important sanctuary. The first example is that of Lord 9 Wind ‘Quetzalcoatl’ himself; his role—also in view of his cognates in the Nahuatl world—can be interpreted as that of the culture hero, the divine Founder of the devotional community and the political power structure. As a true deity he does not marry but initiates dynasties through instruction and ritual. Lord 5 Wind ‘Rain’ apparently followed in his footsteps; stemming from a classic dynasty of Ñuu Niñe (Tonalá), he went to the Heaven sanctuary in Yuta Tnoho to serve as a priest. Lord 9 Wind ‘Quetzalcoatl’ instructed him to descend from Heaven and marry a local Lady. Now, much later, Lord 12 Wind repeats this pattern; his black body paint clearly identifies him as a priest, and his name suggests that he was a man of visions. His descent from Heaven is explicitly identified with the original act of Lord 9 Wind, the culture hero. Lord 12 Wind carries the temple, that is, introduces the cult, and his followers carry the sacred symbols of power. He married the daughter of still another man associated with the Place of Heaven, Lord 5 Flower, and his wife, the numen of the Yuta Tnoho River.

The hypothesis that these events represent the introduction of a crisis cult and the formation of a spiritual community helps us understand the version given by Codex Yuta Tnoho. The origin story in this codex begins with a reference to Heaven and then depicts a large group of individuals, most of whom are important characters in early Ñuu Dzaui history, associated with Yuta Tnoho. These primordial personages are qualified as born from the Mother Tree in the Sacred Valley (37–35), presumably in Yuta Tnoho itself, while others participate in an important meeting in that same place (33–32). Several of the personages born from the Sacred Mother Tree, however, do have parents and grandparents in Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu. Recall that both Codex Yuta Tnoho and Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu once belonged to the same royal couple of Ñuu Tnoo. This suggests that they are not telling different stories but that they give the same account in different terms. Codex Yuta Tnoho emphasizes religious symbolism and metaphorical statements, whereas Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu gives a straightforward genealogical register.

Seeking a historical reality behind the metaphorical and ideological representation (which lumps together personages from different times and belonging to different noble houses), we get the impression that the codices transmit the notion of a tight group or “spiritual family” of priests and nobles, associated with Yuta Tnoho to such an extent that they became known as “those who were born from the Tree” or “those who came down from Heaven.”

A specific symbol for this alliance or spiritual bond is the knot. It is repeatedly mentioned in a statement that connects the list of the primordial places with the scene in which Lord 9 Wind calls upon the Spirits of Nature to release the First Lords and Ladies from the Tree (Codex Yuta Tnoho, 38). The landscape with its sacred dates becomes an expression of a group’s identity. We read:

This is the thirteen-fold knot of unity,

that represents the alliance of all the mentioned places:

the bond of blood and hearts,

the bond of jade and gold,

the bond of the four colors—red, white, green and yellow—

i.e. the bond of the four directions,

the bond of offerings of rubber and blood on paper,

the bond of the life force (tonalli) and the sacred enclosures,

the bond of the precious mountains and the lordly valleys,

of all that has the roof of heaven above it

and earth as its fundament.¹¹

“Blood and heart,” neñe ini, is one of the metaphors for “child.” The pictorial statement, therefore, refers to the interconnectedness of the generations and the precious link of people to the land and the cosmos, which inspires pious and respectful behavior. Fray Antonio de los Reyes described the “first Lords from Apoala” as yya (= Iya), “divine Lords,” who were in charge of (sa ndidzo, sa nai), had received, and were carrying (nisai, nisidzo) the authoritative words, the doctrine, the law (huidzo sahu). This formulation confirms our suspicion that we are dealing with a devotional community, connected through ties of religious conviction and ritual. The emphasis on personages coming down from Heaven, carrying a temple, and going to other places to realize foundation rituals suggests that the cult they introduced was a new one, perceived as different from already existing, that is, Classic, practices and concepts. The religious complex is identified by its main element, the Sacred Bundle, which seems to have contained a part of the flint stone from which Lord 9 Wind had been born. If we are correct in relating that sacred story to the ceremonial center of Ñuu Ndecu, we can identify the cult with that of the “Corazón del Pueblo,” the “Heart of the Ñuu Dzaui People,” venerated as a jade image of Quetzalcoatl wrapped in a Bundle and kept in a cave in Ñuu Ndecu, from where its oracles directed the ways of the Ñuu Dzaui rulers and their people (Burgoa 1934b, I: 332 ff).

Scenes of the rites for the Sacred Bundle have been preserved in Codex Yoalli Ehecatl / Borgia (29–38), which shows shrines very similar to those depicted in Codex Tonindeye (15, 17, 18). The religious complex clearly was visionary and ecstatic in character. The climax was the opening of the Bundle, after bloodletting and other ritual preparations. It contained mysterious divine forces, “night and wind” serpents, capable of engulfing or swallowing the participants, carrying them off, swimming, flying in magic and mystery.

The importance given to this worship in the tenth century—precisely the period of the demise of the Classic metropolitan centers—suggests that it was a response to a widespread social crisis. This religious answer was embraced by the ruling families of Monte Albán itself—the associated year is 7 Rabbit (954). It was logical, therefore, that Monte Albán was selected as the scenario for the marriage of its main priest and prophet, Lord 12 Wind, once he had given up his priesthood in Heaven, on the day 2 Eagle of the year 10 House (957). Many priests and nobles were present when the bride, Lady 3 Flint, was carried, as custom prescribed, to meet her future husband. The procession started at the big temple on the North Acropolis, now dedicated to the Plumed Serpent and the Sacred Bundle, and went downhill to the foot of the Big Mountain. That was the territory of the White Flint Mountain (Tocuisi = Zaachila or Ñuu Cuisi = Tlalistac?), where the same form of worship had taken root.¹² There was a rock shelter situated in the central gorge on the eastern slopes of Monte Albán, where the small stream originates that runs down toward Xoxo.

The image of the young couple in the cave reminds us of similar configurations that appear in scenes of the passages from one era or “Sun” to another painted in Codex Vaticanus A, pages 4v–6r (Anders & Jansen 1996: 54 ff). There it is said that after each destruction of the world, one couple survived, hidden in a hollow tree, a stone, or a cave. The composition of the couple in the cavity located centrally on the baseline of the scene is the same in both cases, which makes us suspect that an intertextual relationship exists between them. Perhaps the marriage at Monte Albán is painted this way to evoke the hope of new generations in the passage from one socio-political system to the next, from what we now call the Classic to the Postclassic.

After Lord 12 Wind and Lady 3 Flint were properly bathed in that gorge at the foot of the mountain, they consummated their marriage in the big palace in the center of Monte Albán, known as the Place of Rulership (Aniñe Iya). There they became the rulers and parents of the rulers, deified after death, or, as Codex Tonindeye, page 20, formulates it, “of all those that since have entered the earth and have transformed themselves into plants.”

The marriage scene of Lady 3 Flint and Lord 12 Wind is connected with a birth: between the reeds or maize stalks of the toponym Yucu Yoo (Acatepec of Monte Albán) and in front of the main temple (the North Platform), a Lady 1 Death was born. In a continuation of the scene, she was welcomed or greeted by a number of Lords and Ladies in what seems to have been a ritual of acclamation and bestowing of royal status.

According to another version, Lady 1 Death, whose given name was ‘Sun Fan,’ had been born from the sacred pochote—the tree is clearly identified by its spines, while its sacredness (ñuhu) is expressed by flames (ñuhu) painted above it (Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu, 1-V). This Sacred Mother Tree is probably that of Yuta Tnoho, although it could also be the Tree of the Town of Flames, Ñuu Ndecu (Achiutla). What is clear now is that Lady 1 Death belonged to the “Yuta Tnoho spiritual family or alliance.” Three year dates are associated with this event, all badly damaged. The first seems to have been a year Reed; the day is difficult to distinguish. One would suspect 1 Reed 1 Alligator, the general date of a new beginning, but a vague series of lines and dots may also suggest the day 7 Flower. The second year is House with a large number of dots. If it were 10 House 2 Eagle, it would have referred to the marriage of Lady 3 Flint and Lord 12 Wind. The vague red spot where the day sign must have been is, however, suggestive of the day sign Wind, perhaps 12 Wind, which would also be a reference to Lord 12 Wind. The third date was a year Reed with several dots, possibly 5 Reed (939). This may have represented the birth year of Lady 1 Death or the beginning of a series of events leading to her wedding.

4.4. Lady 1 Death associated with Sun Mountain (Codex Tonindeye, 21).

Codex Yuta Tnoho reverse documents that Lady 1 Death was married in the year 6 Flint (940). Chronological calculations for the marriages of her grandchildren suggest that her daughter was born around 960. This would mean Lady 1 Death was fairly young at the time of her marriage; it could even have been an official ceremony of marital alliance when she was still a baby. In any case, Lady 1 Death cannot have been the daughter of Lady 3 Flint and Lord 12 Wind, who reportedly married in the year 10 House (957)—and indeed she is not explicitly connected with that couple. On the other hand, the combination of the marriage with the birth scene seems significant. Without further data, we speculate that Lady 1 Death may have functioned as the “daughter” of Lady 3 Flint and Lord 12 Wind, perhaps as an adopted child or a local princess strongly supported by that couple. In another scene (Codex Tonindeye, 21) she appears associated with Sun Mountain, so she may have been related to Lord/Lady 12 Vulture, one of the two rulers of Monte Albán.

SUMMARY: SEQUENCE OF RULERS AT MONTE ALBÁN

1. Lord 12 Lizard + Lord 12 Vulture (“father-mother”) with four “children”: Lord 4 House, Lord 3 Monkey, Lord 10 Alligator, Lord 10 Eagle

2. Lord 12 Wind (priest from Heaven) + Lady 3 Flint (daughter of Lord 5 Flower and Lady 3 Flint)

3. Lady 1 Death, locally born and acclaimed princess

THE CREATION OF ÑUU DZAUI

It was likely shortly after the marriage of Lady 3 Flint to Lord 12 Wind and their entering the palace at Monte Albán that a “province” was created in the Ñuu Dzaui region. The initiative was taken by a council of four, consisting of two Monte Albán governors—Lord 3 Monkey and Lord 10 Eagle—together with two men who belonged to “those born from the Tree,” that is, to the Yuta Tnoho alliance or devotional community: Lord 10 Death and Lord 4 Dog.¹³ The associated date was year 1 Reed day 1 Alligator, marking the beginning of a new era.

At more or less the same time, one of these men, Lord 10 Death, married Lady 8 Monkey, who also belonged to the Yuta Tnoho alliance. Lord 7 Flower and Lord 4 Movement, who both belonged to the Yuta Tnoho devotional community, made the arrangements.¹⁴ They were seated at a Sacred Place of the Stone Ball Court, possibly Yuhua Cuchi (Guaxolotitlan) in the Mixteca Baja. From there they gave counsel to Lady 8 Monkey ‘Jade Bowl’ and Lady 7 Wind ‘Green Parrot,’ seated in the market in another sacred place called Long Stone (Ayuu?) in the same area.¹⁵

The outcome of these consultations was that Lady 8 Monkey married Lord 10 Death, one of the council of four in charge of the new “province.” A great shaman, Lord 2 Dog, sat down before the region’s Patron, the Rain God, asked for permission and blessing, and then led the marriage ceremony. More than simply the Patron, Ñuhu Dzaui was also the God who gave his name to the realm. The old priest Lord 2 Dog performed a ceremonial cleansing and inaugurated Ñuu Dzaui’s extensive territory, establishing Yucuñudahui (Yucu Ñuhu Dzavui), “Mountain of the Rain God,” an important site in Late Classic times, as its first place and capital.¹⁶

The center of the mountain range of the newly founded realm was Black Mountain, which has to be the famous Monte Negro of Ñuu Tnoo (Tilantongo).¹⁷ The fact that Black Mountain (Yucu Tnoo) is referred to instead of Black Town (Ñuu Tnoo) is archaeologically correct. The site of Ñuu Tnoo (today the center of Tilantongo) seems to be a Postclassic settlement. In earlier times, the temple complex on top of Monte Negro was the most important site.

In that huge landscape, Black Mountain is surrounded by signs that appear to be toponyms but may also represent honorific names or literary descriptions. For example, the Mountain of the Rain God is followed by two mountains that express “looking to both sides,” that is, being wise and alert. The coyote and a jaguar that follow seem to refer to primordial strength and courage.¹⁸ Of course, these toponyms may also refer to real places. The same holds true for Hill of the Precious Jade Mask immediately next to Black Mountain. At first sight it might express the region’s precious and rich character, but later it appears in a historical context.

Behind Black Mountain in the range of glyphs we find—in a somewhat garbled and inverted fashion—the statement “that what is founded in the earth, that what supports the heaven,” a general reference to the created and ordered Earth. At the end of the range, Mountain of the Jaguar and Mountain of the Guacamaya are mentioned as places situated beyond the northwestern frontier of Ñuu Dzaui.¹⁹

Among the many places within this realm were some close to Ñuu Tnoo, such as the Enclosure of Flames (Ñuu Ndecu, Achiutla?) and House of the Place of Flints (Ñuu Yuchi, Mogote del Cacique). Others were situated farther away in the adjacent Mixteca Baja, including Yucu Ndaa Yee (the Blue Mountain of the Shell, Tequixtepec), Toavui (River of the Seated Lord, Chila), and, even farther away, Yucu Toñaña (Stone of the Jaguar Man, Tehuacan).²⁰

In a list that occupies several pages (Codex Yuta Tnoho, 8–7) we also find Flower Hill and Broken Hill, possibly an early reference to Ñuu Cahnu (Teozacualco). Normally this town is represented as a Frieze with Flowers or a Broken Frieze, but it is possible that the same substitution took place here as in the case of Ñuu Tnoo; given the shift of settlements at the end of the Classic, the Postclassic ñuu was considered to have been preceded by an earlier yucu.

Other places mentioned are Mountain of the Standing Arrows, which has to be Ndaa Nduvua (Miltepec) in the Mixteca Baja, and Valley of the Spiderweb, which we identify as Andua in the Valley of Yodzo Cahi (Yanhuitlan).

Encompassing at least large parts of the Mixteca Alta and Baja, this realm seems to have been created as an intermediate “buffer” between the Monte Albán sphere of influence and Central Mexico. The emphasis on Yucuñudahui, indeed an important center in the Late Classic, suggests that that acropolis may even have been the origin of the general name for this area: Ñuu Dzaui, the Land of the Rain God.

We interpret these scenes as indications of the Epiclassic formation of a Ñuu Dzaui “province” or “realm,” still under the influence of Monte Albán. In this area the ancient mountaintop sites Yucuñudahui (controlling the Valley of Yodzo Cahi, Yanhuitlan) and Monte Negro (controlling the central mountainous area) were of primary importance. That would mean Monte Albán was still considered a site of considerable influence at the time of the Classic-Postclassic transition. Archaeological evidence, however, indicates that the real waning of Monte Albán’s power had set in as early as A.D. 800. This seems not to have been a punctuated collapse, however, but a relatively slow and gradual process in which the site’s ideological importance may have continued for some time. Obviously, the codices refer—in retrospect—to that emblematic value in a general way without chronological precision.

The prominence of Monte Negro in this epoch is also attested by a large scene in Codex Tonindeye (22) in which Lord 12 Wind himself installed the crisis cult in the area of Ñuu Tnoo. The later capital is indicated as an Altar with a Black Frieze, incorporated together with other toponyms in the Black Mountain. The ancient site is portrayed as two pyramids with water between them. The configuration is suggestive of the presence of some sort of reservoir but likely just indicates a sanctuary dedicated to the cult of water. In those days nobles were still residing on top of Monte Negro, where the main constructions date from Late Preclassic and Early Classic times. The local Lord 4 Lizard ‘Rain,’ painted black and seated on a stone as a rain priest, and Lady 8 House ‘Jaguar’ had a son, Lord 7 Death ‘Jaguar.’ The coming of Lord 12 Wind with the Bundle cult seems to have coincided with the marriage of this son to Lady 1 Serpent ‘Plumed Serpent.’ Her name clearly indicates the popularity of the spreading cult. She is shown kneeling in front of a local sanctuary at the spring of the Serpent River. The sign probably refers to the Yute Coo (Yuta Coo according to Alvarado), “Serpent River,” which originates in the lands of Ñuu Tnoo and then flows south through an impressive gorge, passing between Dzandaya (Mitlatongo) and Yahua (Tamazola) to enter the territory of Chiyo Cahnu as the River of Atoco (Nochixtlan).²¹

The sacred date associated with Lady 1 Serpent’s presence at the Serpent’s spring, year 7 Flint day 7 Flint, later became the sacred date of Ñuu Tnoo. Several other couples are distributed in the landscape that later integrated the kingdom of Ñuu Tnoo; they were probably the Ancestors of other noble houses, associated with smaller communities or specific sites.

4.5. The landscape of Monte Negro (Codex Tonindeye, 22).

Lord 12 Wind and his companions, Lord 3 Flint and Lord 6 Dog, arrived in this area with the new form of religious worship and the objects of power (the staffs, the instrument to make the new fire, the Sacred Arrow); they planted the Tnucucua staff in front of Monte Negro, declaring that it was a new sovereign center. A special sanctuary was founded: the Temple of Heaven, dedicated to the Sacred Bundle. The Bundle contained the manifestation of Lord 9 Wind in the form of the Flint from which he had been born. Between the marriage on Monte Negro and the planting of the Tnucucua staff in front of the Temple of Heaven, the general founding date, year 1 Reed day 1 Alligator, is given, indicating that a new order was put in place.

This Temple of Heaven (Huahi Andevui) became the main ceremonial center of Postclassic Ñuu Tnoo. In this context the name is probably derived from the Place of Heaven, where the cult originated, but it was a generic term; there were other Temples of Heaven in different village-states. The central chapter of Codex Yoalli Ehecatl / Borgia (especially 33–34) shows that the associated religious practice involved sacrifice and bloodletting to the cosmic forces and visionary experiences when the Sacred Bundle was opened. With this background, we can explain the many references to priests and rituals in early Ñuu Dzaui history. All these scenes tell us that the kingdoms were founded because of the spread of a specific ecstatic cult, namely, that for the Sacred Bundle of Lord 9 Wind, the Plumed Serpent. The planting of the staffs and the drilling of new fire, which symbolize the foundation of a new rule, were connected with the depositing of the Bundle in the main sanctuary of a site that was to become a new capital.

Lord 12 Wind, as spiritual leader or prophet, imitated the ways of Lord 9 Wind. As the God had distributed the seasons to each place in primordial times, his spokesman descended from Heaven and distributed the objects of power among new political units.

This impressive scene is followed in Codex Tonindeye (23) by the genealogy of the dynasty of Ñuu Tnoo, initiated by Lord 10 House and Lady 1 Grass and leading up to the seating of Lord 9 Wind ‘Stone Skull,’ to whom we return later. The context suggests that this dynasty succeeded Lady 1 Serpent and Lord 7 Death, the ancient rulers of Monte Negro.

Lord 12 Wind was not the only important priest in those days. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu reverse (40/36-I) contains specific notes about several of those holy men. The first note is about Lord 5 Wind from Ñuu Niñe (Tonalá).

The second note tells us about Lord 3 Flint, born from the Earth in the Town of the Xipe Bundle, related to the Mountain of the Fire Serpent, a Toltec site. It is tempting to interpret his name ‘Arrow’ as a priestly title ‘Keeper of the Sacred Arrow,’ and indeed this man may have been identical to the Lord 3 Flint who was the main companion of Lord 12 Wind.²² No date of birth is given, and his parents are not mentioned. The genealogical record apparently was not preserved or was deemed unimportant. After him were born Lady 12 Flower ‘Precious Seed,’ Lord 9 Wind ‘Serpent,’ and Lady 9 Rabbit ‘Jade with Ribbon.’

The next important priest was Lord 10 Rain ‘Jaguar.’ He lived at Mountain of the Turkey and was the son of Lord 7 Flower ‘Quetzal Jewel’ and Lady 5 Flint ‘Flaming Heads from Heaven.’ As we saw earlier, this Lord 10 Rain ‘Jaguar’ intervened in the life of Lady 3 Flint and directed her wedding with Lord 12 Wind. Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu clarifies that he had three sisters and one brother: Lady 12 Movement ‘Jade Alligator,’ Lady 12 Serpent ‘Blood Knife,’ Lord 1 Dog ‘Feather Ornament–Earth,’ and Lady 11 Serpent ‘Who Hits the Maize.’ Of these, Lady 12 Serpent would marry Lord 7 Movement (born in 938 as a descendant of Lord 5 Wind of Yuta Tnoho) and thus found the dynasty of Town of the Xipe Bundle.

The fourth priest mentioned in Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu’s notes, Lord 2 Dog, became very important. He came from Altar of the Feathers in the Valley of the Feathers, belonging to the Town of Death, Ñuu Ndaya (Chalcatongo). The associated date is badly damaged: it appears to be a day 2 (?) Dog in a year Reed. Lord 2 Dog’s parents are not mentioned, only his brother and sisters: Lady 2 Jaguar ‘Flower of (Town of) Death,’²³ Lord 4 Rain ‘Quetzal Jaguar,’ Lady 4 House ‘Quetzal Flower Fan,’ and Lady 10 Alligator ‘Jade, Gold.’

These genealogical notes help us understand that the primordial priests were concrete people, coming from specific places and belonging to specific families, who constituted the elite of those days. Their kin intermarried with future rulers.

SUMMARY: PRIMORDIAL PRIESTS

• Lord 5 Wind (Ñuu Niñe, Yuta Tnoho)

• Lord 12 Wind (Sanctuary of Heaven at Yuta Tnoho, later in Monte Albán and Ñuu Tnoo)

• Lord 3 Flint (Town of the Xipe Bundle, companion of Lord 12 Wind)

• Lord 10 Rain (Mountain of the Turkey, present at marriage of Lord 12 Wind)

• Lord 2 Dog (Ñuu Ndaya, Yucuñudahui)

THE STONE MEN

The establishment of the crisis-cult prophet Lord 12 Wind in Monte Albán had to have provoked angry reactions among all those who had been part of the Classic ancien régime. The Yuta Tnoho spiritual alliance seemed to have taken over the power structure of the former empire completely. In accordance with Mesoamerican metaphors, the people associated with that earlier sociopolitical organization and cultural system were represented as the “people of the dark age,” the prehistoric “Stone Men.” Later historiographers knew that those men were to be turned into stone when the sun of the new era rose for the first time and created the light for the history of the new group in power. The metaphor is very clearly expressed in the Popol Vuh but also forms part of Ñuu Dzaui oral tradition. We already referred to the legend told in Yuta Tnoho about the king who left his wife there and later came back to rescue her, but when the sun rose all protagonists of the story were turned into stone and became Ñuhu. Similarly, a big turtle that lived during primordial times in a river in the Mixteca Baja was petrified when the sun rose for the first time. It gave its name to Yutatio, “River of the Turtle(s).” A boulder in the shape of a turtle is still respected there as an emblem of the community.

4.6. The war against the Stone Men (Codex Tonindeye, 20).

In Ñuu Ndeya this story was told to us:

This idea may be related to a passage in the prologue of Fray Antonio de los Reyes (1976: ii), which tells us that before the Lords from Yuta Tnoho (Apoala) brought the “laws,” that is, installed the specific social-political organization of the Postclassic kingdoms, other people, also speakers of Dzaha Dzaui, had proceeded from the profound depths of the Earth (Anuhu). Thus the ancient Ñuu Dzaui distinguished between the native “men of the earth” (tay nuhu, ña nuhu) and the later Lords of Yuta Tnoho (iya sa ndizo sa nai, iya nisainsidzo huidzo sahu). The Dzaha Dzaui terms underline that the men of the first group were considered commoners, tay, and those of the second group nobles, Iya. The conflict between the two groups occupies a specific chapter in the codices. Logically, the dates associated with the victory over the Stone Men are the same as those of the new fire ceremonies; both acts symbolize the foundation of the new political units, with their ceremonial life and ruling dynasties.

The conflict seems to have been provoked when suddenly, on the day 1 Lizard of the year 3 Reed (963), the two rulers of Monte Albán, Lord 12 Lizard and Lord/Lady 12 Vulture, died. Their attire (with white banners) suggests that they were killed in sacrifice, probably as prisoners of war (Codex Tonindeye, 20). The fact that both died on the same date also indicates that their death was not natural. It is not made clear, however, who killed them. Their mummy bundles were brought to the Cave Temple of Death, the Huahi Cahi, the emblematic place of the South, and put under the protection of Lady 9 Grass, its Spirit Guardian. The priest who brought her the bodies was Lord 9 Wind ‘Skull,’ possibly identical to Lord 9 Wind ‘Stone Skull,’ who later ruled Ñuu Tnoo.²⁵ Apparently, two children of Lord 12 Wind and Lady 3 Flint died at the same time: Lord 13 Jaguar and Lord 13 Grass.

Upset by the introduction of the new cult and the political influence of the Yuta Tnoho alliance, the Stone Men began to take action. On the day 6 Dog of the year 3 Reed (963), they marched from their base area, the Town of Feet, that is, Ñuu Saha (Icxitlan) in the Mixteca Baja, and launched an attack on the main center of the Ñuu Dzaui province, Yucuñudahui, where Lord 10 Death and Lady 8 Monkey had founded their kingdom and had a son, Lord 5 Flower.

4.7. Lady 9 Grass and the burial of Lords 12 Lizard and 12 Vulture (Codex Ñuu Tnoo– Ndisi Nuu, 4-III).

The rebellious Stone Men subdued the ruling Lady 8 Monkey.²⁶ We do not hear about her husband, Lord 10 Death, or about the other members of the council of four that ruled the province. Likely in commemoration of these events, the son of Lady 8 Monkey, Lord 5 Flower, was given the name ‘Stone Man.’

The retaliation of the Yuta Tnoho alliance followed on the day 8 Movement of that same year, 3 Reed. The followers of the culture hero Lord 9 Wind came forward under his divine leadership in an assault on the Stone Men. Many were wounded, and Lord 4 House and Lord 3 Monkey, two of the Monte Albán governors, were killed.²⁷ The priests Lord 10 Grass and Lord 10 Rain buried them. Two years later, in the year 5 House (965), the Stone Men attacked Lady 6 Eagle ‘Flower Jewel,’ the great-granddaughter of Lord 5 Wind and Lady 9 Alligator of Yuta Tnoho. She stood firm and defended herself successfully with the help of the divine Lord 7 Serpent (Iya Sayo), who assisted her with his nahual powers.

The war raged in a series of towns, which we also find associated with one another in Codex Yuta Tnoho (44–43 and 4–3). Assuming that they are located in the same geographic area, we propose these identifications:

• Mountain of the Jewel and the Quetzal Feather Tail is Yucu Yusi (Acatlan) in the Mixteca Baja.

• Next to this is Mountain of the Standing Arrows, that is, Ndaa Nduvua (Miltepec), in combination with Mountain of Fire, probably Yucu Ihni (Tetaltepec).

4.8a. The landscape Mountain of the Rain God, with Yucu Tnoo as a central place (Codex Yuta Tnoho, 9–10, left-hand side).

Other places in this region are:

• Mountain of Blood, Ñuu Niñe (Tonalá)

• Green and White Plain, Yodzo Cuii Yaa, which might represent Yodzo Cuiya (Juxtlahuaca)

• Mountain of the Ball Court in Flames and of the Ball Court of Gravel, Yuhua Cuchi (Guaxolotitlan)

Clearly, we are looking at important towns in the Mixteca Baja. This, then, was the main area of conflict between the Stone Men and the Tree-born Lords in Codex Tonindeye (3). The same village-states are represented with prominence at the end of Codex Yuta Tnoho (5–3). Here, too, Stone Circle is located, the place associated with the First Sunrise (Codex Yuta Tnoho, 23) and identified by us as Ñuu Dzai (Huajuapan). All these references point to a collective memory of a great ancient civilization in the Mixteca Baja in the time before the Postclassic period treated by the codices. Archaeology shows that this area was indeed particularly important in the Late Classic (600–900); impressive ceremonial centers were built, with characteristic ceramic urns and stone reliefs carved in what is now called the Ñuiñe style.

4.8b. New Fire ceremony for the landscape of Mountain of the Rain God (Codex Yuta Tnoho, 9–10, right-hand side).

This was also the area from which Lord 5 Wind, the first priest of Lord 9 Wind in Yuta Tnoho, had come. It was here that the “ancient order” rebelled against the Yuta Tnoho alliance and where it was definitively overcome. The Stone Men were true Ñuu Dzaui people too, earth-born but an early phase of development doomed to disappear; their magnificent ancient civilization would become a mere antecedent of the later splendor of the Postclassic village-states.

In that primordial conflict Lady 8 Deer, the daughter of Lord 5 Wind and Lady 9 Alligator of Yuta Tnoho, who had gone back to her father’s place of origin and now ruled Ñuu Niñe (Tonalá) together with her husband, Lord 7 Wind ‘Eagle,’ was one of the victorious protagonists.²⁸

It must have been in those days that Lord 12 Wind and Lady 3 Flint, who had lost their two sons, appointed Lady 1 Death as a successor to the realm of Monte Albán. Several dates are given in this important scene. We find the year 8 Flint day 8 Movement to be the best historical fit; it would correspond to 968 and be a commemoration of the victory over the Stone Men on the day 8 Movement in the year 3 Reed (963).²⁹ Among those celebrating the acclamation ceremony we find the pair Lord 1 Alligator and Lord (elsewhere Lady) 13 Flower mentioned twice. They likely represent the emblematic Founding Ancestors of Monte Albán.³⁰ Such a statement should be understood not as saying that the primordial couple was physically present but as a reference to their “house” of descendants and followers. Among those who greeted and recognized the rights of the girl was Lord 10 Alligator ‘Eagle,’ one of the “sons,” that is, assisting governors, of Lord 12 Lizard and Lord/Lady 12 Vulture. The latter two were not mentioned in this scene, as they had died several years before. Lord ‘Double-Headed Eagle’ (i.e., ‘Eagle that Knows the Past and the Future’), here named 12 Alligator (but in an earlier scene 10 Alligator), who had acted previously as a spiritual guide of Lady 3 Flint, now guided Lord 10 Alligator ‘Eagle.’

With the defeat of the Stone Men, devotion to Lord 9 Wind spread definitively over the Ñuu Dzaui region. The main priest in that area was Lord 2 Dog, the great shaman and carrier of the piciete gourd. He participated in the inauguration of the new country, with the Mountain of the Rain God as its first and foremost toponym and with Black Mountain (Monte Negro of Ñuu Tnoo) as its central place (Codex Yuta Tnoho, 10 ff). The year 7 Reed with days 4 Movement and 6 Eagle appears as the sacred date; the first day symbolized the beginning of a new era or “Sun,” and the second became the day for dynastic marriages in the Ñuu Tnoo dynasty. This was the reconfirmation of the earlier defined realm, which had been set up by two Monte Albán governors together with two members of the Yuta Tnoho alliance. The Great Founder, Lord 9 Wind, was present—at least in spirit—and drilled the new fire, while the old priest, Lord 2 Dog, realized the ceremonial cleansing (limpia) of the region. Lord 7 Movement of Yucu Yusi (Acatlán) and Lord 7 Wind of Ñuu Niñe (Tonalá), who had played a major role in the victory over the Stone Men, assisted them.³¹

The war was not yet over, however. In the year 12 Flint (972), Star Warriors came down from Heaven. Throwing stones and darkness, they threatened the world, apparently trying to restore the order of the primordial time, before the sunrise. They explicitly attacked (the cult of) Lord 9 Wind, born from the huge flint. The red-and-white stripes over their bodies give them the appearance of the Venus deity or the Great Hunter Mixcoatl, the “Cloud Serpent.”³² We therefore can compare them to the centzon mimixcoa, the “400 Cloud Serpents” who appear in Mexica sacred history as the beings of primordial darkness, the stars, who were defeated by the tribal God Huitzilopochtli when he rose as the Sun. That would make the Striped Men a conceptual equivalent to the Stone Men: representatives of an earlier order, overcome by the light of history, that is, by the takeover of new historical protagonists. The association with Heaven, however, suggests that the later Star Warriors were different from the earth-born Stone Men and were apparently related to the religious center of the Yuta Tnoho alliance. But they too were subdued. Lord 4 Serpent and Lord 7 Movement, later venerated as Patron deities in Ñuu Tnoo and Yucu Yusi, respectively, took them prisoner and had them sacrificed and decapitated.³³

Shortly thereafter, in the year 12 Flint (972), on the day 4 Movement, the day of the “new sun” or “new era,” the kings and governors (“sons”) of the realm of Monte Albán were officially buried. Lord 4 House and Lord 3 Monkey, who had been slain in battle, went to the Place of Heaven (Andevui), the East, the House of the Sun.³⁴ The mummy bundle of Lord 10 Eagle was deposited in the River of Ashes (Yaa Yuta), the emblematic site of the West. The mummy bundle of Lord 10 Alligator was put to rest in the North (Yucu Naa). The remains of Lord 12 Lizard and Lord 12 Vulture were buried in the South (Andaya). Thus the burial sites of the members of the ruling family of Monte Albán were qualified as the four directions, an indication that these persons had been associated with different directional provinces of the Monte Albán world. At the same time their remains were buried in symbolic locations as a dedicatory act (Bauopfer) to mark the extension of the “new order.” The signs used for the four directions are those specific to the Ñuu Dzaui region: Heaven (Cavua Caa Andevui in Yuta Tnoho) is the reference point for the East, Yucu Naa (in the Tepeji area) represents the North, Yaa Yuta (the Nejapan River) marks the western boundary, and the feared Huahi Cahi, the Sepulchral Cave of Ñuu Ndaya (Chalcatongo), is the emblem of the South. The area of the ancient Monte Albán power structure defined in this way comprises the Mixteca Alta and Baja.³⁵

The burials and mortuary celebrations of the last representatives of the Classic political structure reaffirmed the traditional definition of the ancient Ñuu Dzaui territory. According to the codices, it was the Stone Men who, in their resistance and aggression, killed the Monte Albán governors and so destroyed the last remnants of Monte Albán regional control. Retaliating against them, the Yuta Tnoho alliance won and brought about a major social change. The new order was a legitimate continuation of the same territorial concept but was guided by a religious revival: the cult of the Sacred Bundle. The four parts of the Ñuu Dzaui territory were ritually cleansed, temples were constructed, and dynasties were inaugurated. The ancient imperial province was subdivided into a large number of peer polities, but the notion of a special spiritual bond as the base of ethnic identity was preserved.

The FEMALE LINE of DESCENDANTS

One of the participants in that war of the year 12 Flint (972) was Lord 4 Alligator ‘Blood Eagle’ (Yaha neñe); he appears together with (the followers of) Lord 9 Wind ‘Quetzalcoatl’ and (the followers of) Lord 1 Alligator (Founder of the Monte Albán dynasty). According to the Relación Geográfica of Ñuu Tnoo (Tilantongo), this Lord 4 Alligator had been born from the mountain of Ñuu Tnoo, from the earth itself, that is, as a native of that region. The codices express the same idea, picturing him as born in the Land of the Rain God, Ñuu Dzaui.³⁶

His parents were Lord 5 Flint ‘Jaguar of the Tree’ and Lady 7 Flower ‘White Flower.’ Their names have symbolic aspects: the first is associated with the Earth, the second with the Sun. This couple was born from the Temple of Pearls, the Temple of Earthquakes. As the word “pearl” (sii) is homonymous with “grandfather” in Dzaha Dzaui, the Temple of Pearls can be read as an “ancestral place.” The Temple of Earthquakes may be a symbol for the Earth, as a seat of its interior forces. The temple is associated with year 5 Flint day 7 Flower. This sacred date is the combination of the calendar names.³⁷ Next to this date we see the opened jaws of an alligator, the sign for “earth,” from which comes an umbilical cord connected to the day Alligator. In other words, the day Alligator is born. As it is the first of the twenty day signs and is called quevui, “day,” in the calendar vocabulary, we can interpret this scene as a reference to “the birth of time.” All this leads us to understand that Lord 4 Alligator’s “parents” were the primordial forces of the Earth, associated with the beginning of time.

The famous visionary priest and leader of the cult, Lord 12 Wind, had put Lord 4 Alligator in charge of the Sacred Bundle of Lord 9 Wind in the Precinct of the Rain God, that is, Ñuu Dzaui, and selected him as a husband for Lady 1 Death ‘Sun Fan,’ the heir princess of Monte Albán, belonging to the Sun dynasty.³⁸ The marriage was arranged by Lord 4 Alligator ‘Coyote Serpent’ and Lord 11 Alligator ‘Jaguar Serpent’: Lady 1 Death was taken to the Place of Heaven, the shrine on Cavua Caa Andevui. An ax is painted next to the shrine, probably representing the word caa, which means “ax” but also “to be” or “to rise,” the verb in the toponym Cavua Caa Andevui. Here was the foundation of Heaven and Earth, symbolized by a column. Here the two houses or families were to be united in an everlasting marital alliance.³⁹

The two ambassadors offered precious gifts to a priest of Lord 4 Serpent (Qhyo) and Lord 7 Serpent (Sayo), the Patrons of Ñuu Tnoo, who in turn spoke to them and gave them tobacco, a priest’s tunic, jade, and quetzal feathers. With this exchange of gifts the marriage was arranged. In the year 5 Reed (939), on the day 6 Alligator, Lord 4 Alligator ‘Coyote Serpent’ and Lord 11 Alligator ‘Jaguar Serpent’ gave their instructions to Lady 1 Death. She should leave the Place of Heaven and marry Lord 4 Alligator, the son of Lord 5 Flint and Lady 7 Flower.⁴⁰

The priest of Lord 4 Serpent and Lord 7 Serpent was acting as marriage ambassador, while Lord 4 Alligator ‘Coyote Serpent’ and Lord 11 Alligator ‘Jaguar Serpent’ functioned as the bride’s tutors or guardians. The marriage took place on the ritual day 7 Eagle of the year 6 Flint (940). The source for this date is Codex Yuta Tnoho reverse (I-3), which receives confirmation from Codex Ñuu Tnoo–Ndisi Nuu (1-II/III). This seems rather early when compared with the other events in this couple’s lifetime; Lady 1 Death must still have been a young child.

It was likely not until after the war against the Stone Men that Lady 1 Death ‘Sun Staff’ accompanied her husband to live in his hometown, Ñuu Tnoo, where Lord 12 Wind had introduced the veneration of the Sacred Bundle and planted the Tnucucua staff of rulership. It was an area where different noble families lived, each at its own site. The archaeology of the regions confirms this image: many shrines and residences have been found in the immediate vicinity of Ñuu Tnoo. Through the coalition of these families, represented in the codices as Founding Couples, the “mat and throne” or village-state was formed. The interaction of Monte Negro and the Serpent River, both prominent landmarks, was decisive. Here Lady 1 Death and Lord 4 Alligator established themselves. Their daughter, Lady 1 Vulture ‘Cloud Jewel,’ was recognized as their legitimate heir.⁴¹

The couples from which the different local lineages of Ñuu Tnoo originated are recorded in detail:

• Lord 5 Serpent ‘Who does the Bloodletting Ritual for the Earth’ and Lady 8 Flower ‘Blood of the Town of Darkness’ ruled the Place of Ceremonies in Ñuu Tnoo (Tilantongo).

• Lord 10 Dog ‘Nduvua Yecu’ (“War”) and Lady 8 Grass ‘Cloud of Ñuu Dzaui’ ruled the Place where the Sacred Arrow is Kept, a “hand” (ndaha) of (Place of) Sand, that is, a tributary settlement of neighboring Añute (Jaltepec),

• Lord 6 Movement ‘Arrow’ and Lady 9 House ‘Sacred Seed of the Cave’ were seated in the Cave of Clouds or the Cave of the Spring and the Tree; its sacred date was year 7 Flint day 9 House.⁴²

• Lord 4 Rain ‘Down-ball Quetzal’ and Lady 7 Flower ‘Eagle Wing’ ruled Stone of the Xipe Bundle. Their daughter, Lady 1 Flint ‘Fire Serpent Jewel,’ married the son of Lord 6 Movement and Lady 9 House of Place where the Sacred Arrow is Kept, Lord 5 Reed ‘Born in War (?).’ The daughter of Lord 5 Reed and Lady 1 Flint was Lady 7 Death ‘Fire Fan,’ who married Lord 3 Rain ‘Staff of Marks in the Ball Court,’ ruler of Añute (Jaltepec).⁴³

• Lord 10 Flint ‘Skull’ from the ancient Dark Altar married Lady 8 Death ‘Quetzal, Who does the Bloodletting Ritual for the Earth.’⁴⁴

• Lord 7 Flower ‘Jaguar, Mountain Bird’ and Lady 5 Flint ‘Cave Lady’ ruled Temple of the Plant.⁴⁵

• Lord 10 Movement ‘Flower Shield’ and Lady 1 Movement ‘Quetzal’ ruled Valley of Mud (probably present-day Yuta Ndayu).

• Lord 4 Lizard ‘Serpent that Carries the Sky’ and Lady 8 House ‘Visible on Earth’ ruled Town of the Drum (Ñuu Ñuu). This toponym is homonymous with its cognate in Codex Tonindeye, page 22: Place of Palms (Ñuu Ñuu) on Monte Negro. Their son, Lord 7 Death, was the one who married Lady 1 Serpent from the sacred spring of the Serpent River; they ruled at the ancient site on top of Monte Negro of Ñuu Tnoo.

The person who took the initiative for bringing the lineages of these Founding Couples together and integrating the power base of what later became the mat and throne of Ñuu Tnoo was Lord 4 Alligator. His origins are given in metaphorical terms, but he may indeed, as the Relación Geográfica suggests, have been of local Ñuu Tnoo origin. Without doubt he owed his prestige largely to his wife, who belonged to the Yuta Tnoho alliance and was born in Monte Albán, and to his personal relationship with Lord 12 Wind, the visionary priest of the Sacred Bundle.

4.9a. Beginning of the Ñuu Tnoo dynasty (Codex Yuta Tnoho, verso, I).

Some time after the death of Lord 12 Lizard and Lord/Lady 12 Vulture (963), a new ruling couple had established itself in the ruined ancient acropolis of Monte Albán: Lord 10 Movement ‘Arrow’ and Lady 1 Rabbit ‘Shield.’ Their given names form the difrasismo for “valiant warrior,” which suggests that the couple belonged to a military leadership that now controlled the site. They had a son, Lord 4 Rabbit ‘Jaguar, Who Carries 1 Alligator in his Breast.’ The boy’s given name implies that he was dedicated to the veneration of Lord 1 Alligator, who together with his wife, Lady 13 Flower, had been the emblematic Founding Ancestor of the ancient Monte Albán dynasty. This ceremonial reference to the Founder in the prince’s name was probably meant to compensate for the lack of a real dynastic connection. It is also interesting that Lady 1 Rabbit’s calendar name coincides with the sacred date of Monte Albán: year 1 Rabbit day 1 Rabbit. Perhaps the sacred date was modeled on the name of this ruling lady and projected back into the past.⁴⁶

4.9b. Beginning of the Ñuu Tnoo dynasty (Codex Yuta Tnoho, verso, II).

Lord 10 Movement and Lady 1 Rabbit went to see Lady 1 Death (apparently Lord 4 Alligator had already died) to ask for the hand of her daughter, Lady 1 Vulture ‘Cloud Jewel,’ for their son, Lord 4 Rabbit. The mother accepted. The marriage of Lady 1 Vulture and Lord 4 Rabbit was blessed with three daughters: Lady 5 Reed ‘Rain Quechquemitl (Dzico Dzavui, “Power of the Rain or Virtue of Ñuu Dzaui”) from Monte Albán,’ Lady 10 Alligator ‘War Jewel,’ and Lady 4/5 Jaguar ‘Quetzal Fan.’

Recall that until now the narrative has focused on a genealogical sequence of important women: Lady 3 Flint ‘Virtue and Strength of the Plumed Serpent,’ Lady 3 Flint ‘Jade Beauty,’ Lady 1 Death ‘Sun Staff,’ Lady 1 Vulture ‘Cloud Jewel,’ Lady 5 Reed, Lady 10 Alligator, and Lady 4/5 Jaguar. Together they established the bond between the Mixteca Alta and the prestigious ancient Beni Zaa (Zapotec) capital, Monte Albán. The first in the sequence, Lady 3 Flint, had come from Heaven with her husband. Their daughter then married another priest from Heaven in Monte Albán. The third woman in this line of descendance, Lady 1 Death, was born in Monte Albán and married a Ñuu Dzaui prince from the Ñuu Tnoo area, Lord 4 Alligator. Thereby she forged an alliance and a dynasty of enormous political importance. Her daughter, Lady 1 Vulture, married a son of the warrior elite that then controlled Monte Albán.

This pattern appears to indicate that during the late Classic there was an emphasis on the passing of power through the female line. One might interpret this as the presence of a matrilineal structure, similar to what can be observed today in Beni Zaa communities. Another compelling reason for local houses in Ñuu Dzaui to marry princesses from Monte Albán would be the wish to achieve prestige and power by linking themselves to the ancient capital. Marital alliances and the agency of women were crucial to this policy. Also noteworthy is the fact that in the first three cases the husbands seem to have been priests before they married.

The three daughters of Lady 1 Vulture ‘Cloud Jewel’ and Lord 4 Rabbit ‘Jaguar, Who Carries 1 Alligator in his Breast’ would determine the formalization of two important village-states with their corresponding dynasties: Ñuu Tnoo and Town of the Xipe Bundle.

The Town of the Xipe Bundle has not yet been identified, but we suspect it was located in the Valley of Oaxaca. The first reference to it is that of the birth of Lord 3 Flint, who was probably an important priest. Before a dynasty of rulers took power there, this priest celebrated an important ritual in commemoration of the death of the ancient rulers of Monte Albán. In the nine-day period between 1 Lizard and 9 Grass of the year 6 Reed, he made a visit to Lady 9 Grass ‘Cihuacoatl,’ the awe-inspiring Spiritual Guardian of the Huahi Cahi, the Cave of Death in Ñuu Ndaya (Chalcatongo). Obviously, these were days especially dedicated to this divine personage.

In the Place of the White Flower, probably a site within the territory of Town of the Xipe Bundle, Lord 3 Flint entered a subterranean passage followed by his next of kin: his sister Lady 12 Flower, his brother Lord 9 Wind, and his sister Lady 9 Rabbit.⁴⁷ He was assisted on that occasion by the two other important priests: Lord 10 Rain ‘Jaguar’ from Mountain of the Turkey and Lord 2 Dog from Ñuu Ndaya (Chalcatongo), who were also accompanied by members of their families. All came in male-female pairs.

Lord 10 Rain ‘Jaguar’ brought his parents, Lord 7 Flower and Lady 5 Flint, as well as his brother, Lord 1 Dog, and two of his sisters, Lady 12 Movement and Lady 11 Serpent. Similarly, the priest Lord 2 Dog brought his brother, Lord 4 Rain, and two of his sisters, Lady 2 Jaguar and Lady 4 House.⁴⁸

After having passed through the subterranean passage, Lord 3 Flint arrived in front of the mummy bundles of Lord 12 Lizard and Lord/Lady 12 Vulture, venerated on altars. The meaning of this visit is not made explicit, but, given the context, we think he and the other priests sought an oracle for how to continue some form of centralized government in the Valley of Oaxaca after the demise of Monte Albán.

This contextualization depends on the associated dates. The year 6 Reed was a sacred date, associated with Lady 9 Grass (cf. Codex Yuta Tnoho, 15), but if we take it as a chronological marker it would correspond to A.D. 979. This would be after the marriage of Lady 12 Serpent ‘Blood Knife,’ sister of the priest Lord 10 Rain ‘Jaguar’ from Mountain of the Turkey, to Lord 7 Movement ‘Earth Face,’ who, through the female line, descended from the son of Lord 5 Wind and Lady 9 Alligator, the ancient couple of Yuta Tnoho.⁴⁹

During this assembly, in front of the mummies of the ancient rulers of Monte Albán, Lady 12 Serpent ‘Blood Knife’ and Lord 7 Movement ‘Face of the Earth’ appear to have been declared the rulers of the Town of the Xipe Bundle. At the same time, marital arrangements may have been made for their son and grandson. As a result, an alliance was forged among their dynasty, that of Monte Albán, and that of Ñuu Tnoo.

The crucial persons in this political project were the three daughters of Lady 1 Vulture ‘Cloud Jewel’ and Lord 4 Rabbit ‘Jaguar, Who Carries 1 Alligator in his Breast,’ established at Tiyuqh Mountain of Monte Albán:

• The firstborn daughter, Lady 5 Reed ‘Rain Quechquemitl (“Power of the Rain or Virtue of Ñuu Dzaui”) from Monte Albán,’ was to marry a nobleman from the land of her grandfather. The groom, Lord 9 Wind ‘Stone Skull,’ had been born in the year 8 Rabbit (942) and may have descended from the ancient rulers of Monte Negro.⁵⁰ The marriage took place in the year 4 Rabbit (990). Lord 9 Wind and Lady 5 Reed thus became the first rulers of the mat and throne of Ñuu Tnoo, unifying two important local noble houses.

• The second daughter, Lady 10 Alligator ‘War Jewel,’ was sent to the Mountain of Pearls, probably Nuu Siya (Tezoatlan), where she married Lord 9 Deer ‘Jade Bone, Flute,’ the son of Lord 7 Movement ‘Face of the Earth’ and Lady 12 Serpent ‘Blood Knife,’ rulers of Town of the Xipe Bundle. Lord 9 Deer’s great-grandfather had been ruler of Mountain of Pearls. Because of this bond, Lady 10 Alligator received the honorific title ‘Skirt of Pearls’ (Huatu Sii), that is, ‘Grace or Glory of (Mountain of) Pearls.’

• The third daughter, Lady 4/5 Jaguar ‘Quetzal Fan,’ apparently much younger, was to marry the son of her sister, Lord 12 Lizard ‘Nduvua’ (‘Arrow Feet’), the son of Lady 10 Alligator and Lord 9 Deer. He succeeded his grandparents at the Town of the Xipe Bundle and ruled at the Town of the Quetzal Temple, possibly Ñuu Ndodzo (Huitzo).⁵¹

The marriage of Lady 4/5 Jaguar and Lord 12 Lizard produced a son, Lord 11 Wind, who would play an important role in the most dramatic episode of Ñuu Dzaui history. His birth must have occurred approximately between the years 1025 and 1030.⁵²

SYNTHESIS and EVALUATION

The first chapter of Ñuu Dzaui historiography deals with the way in which the Whirlwind, the Plumed Serpent, with the calendar name Lord 9 Wind, acted as culture hero and brought the symbols of power to the Earth. The divine Ancestors, Lady 1 Deer and Lord 1 Deer, instructed him in the Place of Heaven, the sanctuary of Cavua Caa Andevui, close to Yuta Tnoho (Apoala). The flint from which he was born later became an object of worship, wrapped in a bundle and venerated in several places. Finally, it became known as the Heart of the Ñuu Dzaui people, kept in a cave in Ñuu Ndecu (San Miguel Achiutla). The Plumed Serpent, Lord 9 Wind, brought to each place the water of Heaven and indicated its sacred dates for commemorating ceremonies.

This action prefigures the spread of his cult throughout Ñuu Dzaui. The Place of Heaven in Yuta Tnoho seems to have been the center of that spiritual movement. It all began when a priest from Ñuu Niñe (Tonalá), Lord 5 Wind, came to serve there in the mountaintop sanctuary. After his service as a priest was completed, he married a local Lady and founded an important noble house. Later, another priest of the same devotion, Lord 12 Wind, similarly married the daughter of a local Lord and Lady, who had become the numen of the River of Yuta Tnoho. Their wedding was celebrated on Monte Albán, where the rulers and nobility received them.

As the introduced religious complex was well received, the priests together with Lords and Ladies from the Ñuu Dzaui region set up a new order. In the codices we see founders of dynasties coming out of rivers, caves, and trees. This seems to indicate their divine origin, intimately related to the Earth, and to convey upon them the status of Iya, “Sacred Lords and Ladies.” The participants in the “cult that came from Heaven” became known as the Yuta Tnoho alliance and were represented as having been born from one huge tree (pochote) in that Sacred Valley. They were engaged in carrying and venerating the Sacred Bundle, which we identify as an emblem of the huidzo sahu, the social and religious order of the Postclassic era.

The spreading of the devotion and its recognition by the rulers of Monte Albán, a ruinous but still very prestigious and magical site, provoked a violent reaction; the partisans of the ancien régime attacked the followers of the Plumed Serpent but were defeated. These Stone Men are presented as an anonymous collective, without given names. The war mainly affected towns in the Mixteca Baja, where the Ñuiñe style had been developed. The victorious Iya group, associated with Yuta Tnoho, with the Tree and the Place of Heaven, then took possession of the entire Mixteca Alta and Baja, where they founded kingdoms and dynasties, ceremonially cleansing the places, giving them new names, and kindling a new fire. A new political map of the mats and thrones of Ñuu Dzaui had thus been drawn by A.D. 1000. Problems in the register of these traditions and the presence of many sacred dates make it impossible to provide a secure chronology for the early history before that year.

All of these events—real or symbolic—are commemorated to explain the birth of the Ñuu Tnoo dynasty, which had its roots in the ancient nobility of Monte Albán and was founded by priests who were protagonists in the cult of the Sacred Bundle. We interpret this religious movement as a crisis cult, which developed as a result of the demise of Monte Albán. The disintegration of the Classic period empire probably resulted from a complex interaction of several causes, in which a sequence of ecological disasters (e.g., progressive erosion and desertification as a result of the overuse of wood for cooking, lime ovens, and similar factors) may have played a decisive role. Incapable of managing the resulting famine and economic problems, the Classic period aristocracy rapidly lost its prestige and political credibility. This process must have brought about a general feeling of uncertainty and a crisis of values.

In this context, the devotion to the Plumed Serpent, originally centered in the Sacred Valley of Yuta Tnoho, seemed to offer new hope. The deity is known as Quetzalcoatl in Nahuatl and as Coo Dzavui, the “Rain Serpent,” to the Ñuu Dzaui people. His name symbolizes the whirlwind that distributes water to the communities. As a powerful nahual, he is manifest in visionary experiences. As the emblem of nobility and state authority, developed in Teotihuacan, he also stands for order, kingship, and civilization. The codices suggest that the flint from which he was born, wrapped in a Bundle, became the actual object that inspired the ecstatic cult, both among the nobles and their vassals.

The Teotihuacan antecedents of the Quetzalcoatl symbol and the Classic Maya depictions of the Sacred Bundle and the vision serpent demonstrate that this crisis cult was nothing new. On the contrary, it reinvoked profound concepts and ritual practices that were the core of the Mesoamerican religious heritage. The opening scene of the rituals of the Temple of Heaven and the Bundle ceremonies in Codex Yoalli Ehecatl / Borgia (29) seems to have an antecedent as old as a Late Preclassic set of ceramic pieces, buried in an adobe offering box under a temple (structure 35) in San José Mogote (Marcus & Flannery 1995). The pieces form a miniature tomb; inside, a noble is kneeling in a bowl. Red pigments on his face and arms may represent blood. The scene is similar to that of the priest doing the bloodletting for the spirit bowl in which the hallucinogenic ointment is prepared in Codex Yoalli Ehecatl / Borgia, page 29; the tomb corresponds to the Death Temple of Cihuacoatl. On top of the miniature tomb a Beni Zaa version of the yahui or fire serpent is represented, flying through the air (as in the stucco reliefs of the Postclassic Tomb I of Zaachila), probably referring to the trance induced by these rituals, like the “night and wind” serpents in Codex Borgia.

A similar scene is depicted on an urn from Tomb 5 of Cerro de las Minas, Ñuu Dzai (Huajuapan). The vessel is modeled to show a seated ruler transforming into a yahui by using the hallucinogenic piciete (cf. Jansen 1998d).

Given these antecedents, it is clear that the spiritual movement of the early Postclassic did not pretend to change the existing cosmovision but aimed at a return to its very roots. The stories about priests moving around with the Sacred Bundle suggest, however, that the crisis cult was much more inclusive than the existing hierarchy. While Classic carved stones and frescoes show only rulers involved in such ceremonies, the Early Postclassic spiritual movement seems to have involved much broader groups of nobles and probably also common people.

As is usual in such situations, a new sense of communitas was formed, carried at first by an egalitarian group of believers and participants in the rituals (Turner 1995: 111). Local Lords and priests from the Ñuu Dzaui region formed a new alliance, emphasizing their equality and their link to the land as “those born from the Sacred Mother Tree.” That community, obviously, respected the ancient ceremonial centers such as Monte Albán but separated itself radically from Classic history and social structure. The fact that this alliance broke with the traditional ruling lineages is probably the reason the codices do not contain genealogical information about Monte Albán going further back in history. At Monte Albán itself, numerous reliefs with genealogical texts from the Late Classic have been found, but the Ñuu Dzaui codices only mention a few persons who seem to have been in power during the period in which this social drama unfolded. In this anti-temporal and anti-structural renewal movement, no attention is given to the genealogical background of those ancient rulers, only to the religious prestige of ancient places.

As the earlier social structure (the Stone Men) was definitively overcome, a new political landscape came into being: that of the Postclassic village-states. Hierarchies were established once more. The participants in the cult, the “First Lords of Yuta Tnoho,” became the founders of future dynasties. A new time was set.