Lord Eight Wind of Suchixtlan and the Heroes of Ancient Oaxaca: Reading History in the Codex Zouche-Nuttall

Chapter Five. Caves in Mesoamerican Iconography | Chalcatzingo and the Mixteca

6 9 Geographical Review As mentioned in the previous chapter, the geography of earth and sky, and of the forces of nature is generally personified as graphic toponyms in the Mixtec codices. This nomenclature has persisted among Mixtec people to this day, and frequently a place in their landscape—whether natural or manmade in ancient times—is recalled by a name descriptive of its corresponding toponym mentioned in one codex or another. The power or force of this custom reflects the way Mixtecs—or at least their elite—saw themselves. Since the kings and queens, princes and princesses among the pre-Columbian and post-Columbian Mixtec peoples of Oaxaca were descended from divine or semidivine ancestors originally born from the earth, then it is fair to say that these families were the landscape that gave them birth and the right to rule (Pohl and Byland 1990:116). Other progenitors were born from the trees at Apoala or Achiutla, or came down via cloud-ropes from cave openings in the sky. Some were born twice: first in the earth from a cave (Lords Eight Wind and Nine Wind Quetzalcoatl) and then from the trees (Eight Wind) or from a stone knife in the sky (Nine Wind). It is then also fair to say that for some royal Mixtec families, caves and things associated with them were an inherent part of their genesis. This chapter examines some of the earliest cave iconography (ca. 700 BC) at the Olmec outlier Chalcatzingo and analyzes it in relationship to elite empowerment. The discussion then turns to similar iconography as represented in the Postclassic Mixtec documents. The purpose is to demonstrate similitude of such iconographies in Mesoamerica for approximately 1,400 years between two cultures separated not merely by time but also by distance. Inasmuch as developed writing is unavailable in regard to early monumental iconography, the later Mixtec codices can be insightful aids in understanding the precise employment of cave ideology by royalty of any ijk L M nop 5 Caves in Mesoamerican Iconography Chalcatzingo and the Mixteca p a r t o n e 7 0 era, at least as it had been received and developed by the Postclassic Mixtecs themselves. The methodology for this study—at least for Olmec cultural representations —was established by Kent Reilly (1996:29c) in what he terms “the Middle Formative Ceremonial Complex Model.” This is an analysis of “artifacts, symbols, motifs, and architectural groupings” to ascertain the rituals, ideology, and political organization of various, diverse societies “forming the demographic and cultural landscape of Middle Formative period Mesoamerica .” Therefore, the contention that this paradigm can be used insightfully to some extent for understanding the transference of iconographic ideology from culture to culture in Mesoamerica through time is relevant. Caves as Icons of Empowerment The importance of caves and caverns (whether entirely natural, modified, or artificially constructed) cannot be overstated when considering Mesoamerican iconography. They appear in the earliest recorded monumental art and persist as viable components in contemporary life there today (Freidel, Schele, and Parker 1993:205; Manzanilla 2000:105). Relative to the three levels of Mesoamerican cosmos—underworld, terrestrial, and celestial—caves are underworld portals and form part of a paradigm that maintains the world in a complex of associations; specifically, rain, fertility, supernatural beings, birth, death, mountains, the establishment of sacred space, temples , and, as we shall see, the empowerment of the elite who manipulate these important things and qualities. Regarding the Mesoamerican cosmos, Carrasco (1990:51) remarks: “The Mesoamerican universe, in its various formulations, had a geometry consisting of three general levels: an over world or celestial space, the middle world or earthly level, and the underworld.” He states further that each realm was subdivided into smaller, powerful “units,” each saturated with supernatural power. This power moved through all cosmic levels. The lower levels, the terrestrial and aquatic underworlds, included mountains and were abundant with seeds, water, and precious stones upon which human life depended. Caves are represented in diverse ways in Mesoamerican iconography: either by direct depiction of a cavern portal as a reptilian earth monster’s maw, gaping jaguar mouth, or as a serpent’s mouth, vividly represented in c a v e s i n m e s o a m e r i c a n i c o n o g r a p h y 7 1 Postclassic Codex ZN page 36. These representations will be amplified later...