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4. MIXTECA

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Estimated Foundation Year: 1500 BC

Location of the Mixteca territory: La Mixteca, a mountainous region that is located between the current states of Guerrero, Oaxaca and Puebla, in Mexico.

Key Mixtec books:

Mixtec culture used a type of writing based on symbols and images, with which they recorded various historical events (such as battles, wars, and alliances) and pre-Columbian myths.

These manuscripts performed on skin of deer or tree bark, they were called "codices". The most recognized are:

  • The Bodley Codex. It contains genealogical writings recent to the arrival of the Spanish. He is currently at the University of Oxford.

  • The codex Zouche Nuttal. It expresses both the genealogies and the Mixtec military alliances. It is currently in the British Library of the United Kingdom .

  • The Codex Vindobonensis Mexicanus. It is also known as the Vienna Codex. Its creation dates from around the 11th century and is a genealogical record of various Mixtec rituals.

Reference: https://www.caracteristicas.co/cultura-mixteca/#ixzz6bcLxSgA7

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Main deities of the Mixtecos:

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They worshiped deities equivalent to others present in different Mesoamerican cultures:

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Description of the Mixtec religion.

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They shared with other Mesomerican religions the original dual principle that gave rise to the world as it is known. "The creator of all things" was an entity that was located in the upper part of the last of the heavens, the Place of Duality. It constituted a unit, which in order to manifest itself was unfolded and differentiated into its male and female versions, by means of two couples that represented the creative energies, one would have to start the other gods, the other would be in charge of preserving what was created. ( see Mixtec Origin Myths )

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In charge of the cult were the Yaha Yahui (priests or shamans), of high social status, respected for their supposed ability to transmute into animals and for their supernatural powers.

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They had their temples to worship the gods, the offerings generally consisted of copal and the sacrifice of some animals, along with different forms of self-sacrifice, human sacrifices were also performed.

In addition to the temples in the ceremonial centers, hills and caves were sacred places, places of pilgrimage of the Mixtecs.

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The main ceremonies of Mixtec mythology are related to water; cults in adoration of Dzahui, the God of Rain. The rituals "Yavi kee yuku" to ask for rain have lasted over time, every May 3 - coinciding with the Catholic celebration of the Day of the Cross - Mixtecs go to the caves, and in some cases to the swamps, carrying animals, sweets, candles, flowers, etc. as offerings.

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The cult of the sacred bundle was an important manifestation of Mixtec religiosity in various areas of the community. The worship of the gods through images kept in wrappers, came to be a common practice within the Mixtec religious phenomenon. ( see Mixtec Sacred Lumps ).

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Reference:

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https://pueblosoriginario.com/meso/oaxaca/mixteca/religion.html#:~:text=La%20religi%C3%B3n%20mixteca%20se%20caracteriz%C3%B3,vida%20despu%C3%A9s%20de % 20the% 20death.

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