The ancients and other extrahuman forces

Apart from the souls Parsons also talks of several other extrahuman forces about whom stories were still told in the 1930's. According to her by the 1930's these old gods lived only in such folktales, obscurely hidden under nicknames.

The only exception to this was the Rain deity Lightning as not only stories were still told directly about him but until some time before her fieldwork rituals involving him were also still performed. In the most famous story Lightning keeps clouds and hail in three jars that he can let loose on the world (Parsons

58Antiguos: the ancients.

1936:211). Flood on the other hand is caused by a water serpent with two horns falling from sky. Another horned serpent lived in the Lake of White Water, where she was the madre del agua⁵⁹, but she was killed and the lake went dry. Until that time a feast was held there every year with New Year's Eve (Parsons 1936:223). In Tlacolula they said that in the river at Mitla there lived a winged serpent which controlled the water. One year when there was a great drought people even threatened to go to Mitla to kill it so the water would flow again (Parsons 1936:223). Other nature related extrahuman forces are worshipped less directly as apparently there also is some theistic feeling for the earth as can be seen in the libations that will be discussed in more detail in chapter five and Parsons also heard from a pilgrim and some old people that they still prayed to the sun upon waking (Parsons 1936:215-216).

The ancient people that built the temples are said to have lived in a period of darkness before the first sunrise. When the sun finally rose they went underground where they turned to stone (Parsons 1936:216). In this way the antiguos, in Zapotec called rebengulal or rebentiem, meaning people of that time became the idols that are still found around Mitla today (Parsons 1936:216).

Marcus and Flannery relate how in Tehuantepec idols such as small pottery figurines in burial positions are called penigòlazaa, the old people of the clouds which was also their name for deified ancestors (Marcus & Flannery 1994:409). In Mitla ídolos may be called a saint or given a saint's name while going the other way around saints are seen as Mitleños who were turned to stone (Parsons 1936:217,521). Idols can whistle, especially on Monday, Wednesday or Friday or rattle to be found or so more will be found. One lady living close to the ruins told Parsons how her bed had been shaking, and after she moved it she heard noises coming from the corner and found some old bones (Parsons 1936:217) This same lady had an ídolo on her altar 'for safekeeping' as there was quite a trade in these (Parsons 1936:218). Parsons' good friend and clever trader Eligio even threatened to report a seller from Santo Domingo to the Inspector of Archaeology after the man had increased the price, saying that the item was milagroso⁶⁰. The old man knew of course that Eligio wanted to resell it with huge profit to tourists (Parsons 1936:218). It was of course illegal to dig in the ruins, but people did it secretly as there was no reward when finds were reported. Parsons herself even bought such a monito⁶¹ from San Baltazar that had red paint on green painted stone and was covered in yellow wax. She states that it clearly had had a long life both as ídolo and as santito⁶². Eligio however said that idols were never used to adore an altar as they were malos⁶³ (Parsons 1936:218).

One of the most famous stories told in Mitla about the ancient people who eventually turned into stone deals with Sus Ley, or Sacred old Woman who was the patroness of weaving and according to Parsons might have been the old

59Madre del agua: mother of the water

60Milagroso: miraculous

61Monito: literally little monkey, term for idols

62Santito: little saint. Used often to designate an idol that is used as a saint.

63Malos: evil or bad.

patroness of Mitla. She was married to Gol Gisâ', or Old Man Stone Cloud, who lay on his back all day (Parsons 1936:222-223). In the story she adopts two orphans, as she herself was barren, to bring food to her husband every day.

Resenting them the children kill Gol Gisâ' by taking out his heart and feeding it to Sus Ley. She plans to enact her revenge by suffocating them in her sweat bath, however they escape and prevent her pursuit by throwing her weaving sticks in her way. Eventually they are also attacked by her brother in the shape of a serpent but the little boy kills him and takes out his eyes. Cheating his sister out of the brighter eye he is turned into the sun by God while she is turned into the moon (Parsons 1936:222-223).

When the sun rose and the ancients went underground Sus Giber, whose name can not be translated but who was the patroness of cooking, did not. She was the cook of Montezuma who was the lord of the monuments, though he lived with the rest of them in the fortress west of Mitla. Her kitchen, her spring, her third ranch and she herself turned to stone on mount Girone where they can still be seen today (Parsons 1936:220). She was prayed to originally by woodchoppers, by merchants and for money and in the 1930's she was said to still reanimate on Wednesday and Friday to bathe in the river (Parsons 1936:221). Her son Etlakwatla⁶⁴ was a diviner who understood the stars and he was the one who warned them about the coming sun. He was also Montezuma's master carpenter, while Salomon was the master-mason who designed the mosaics and worked with stone blocks who were still light as husks and easily transportable in these times (Parsons 1936:221,289). When the sun rose Montezuma himself didn't remain stationary but moved to Mexico City from where, in the period that Parsons did her fieldwork, he was still said to return every year at New Year's Eve to dance the Conquista⁶⁵ (Parsons 1936:221). On this evening besides doing his dance, Montezuma also gave wealth to those that had the luck to see a shining cock that when caught and locked up turned to gold three days later (Parsons 1936:289). In other versions a man meets Montezuma himself who tells him to take offerings to his brother San Pablo at the church, in return he gains a sack which is later full of gold but also a snake who is the spiritual owner of the gold. The man returns to also ask a cat but gains a snake instead. Since he was not allowed to tell his wife she kills the snake out of fear and thus Montezuma takes everything back (Parsons 1936:290-293). That Montezuma was also used as a general title for the ancients can be seen in a story which tells how the monuments were built by the Montezumas, gulal or ídolos who eventually withdrew to the lake of Mexico.

Montezuma was also used as a name for the ruinas encantadas⁶⁶ (Parsons 1936:348,430). Parsons concludes that Montezuma figures as a deified priest that bestows blessings as well as a chiefly leader living in a fort (Parsons 1936:504).

In Yalalag ídolos are called yîg gwláse, which according to de la Fuente means 'stone of the heathens' though 'stone of the ancients' is probably a closer

64Etlakwatla: seems to be a degenerated form of Quetzalcoatl.

65Conquista: literally meaning conquest this is a folk dance depicting the dramatize events of Cortez at Montezuma's court.

66Ruinas encantadas: enchanted ruins

translation. (Fuente 1977:266). These idols then are either considered to be the ancients or to be of the ancients. They are not associated with a specific spirit but are either seen as curiosa or used ritually in a way that will be discussed in more detail in chapter five (Fuente 1977:266). Until some decades before de la Fuente's research special ceremonies were done for these gwláse on New Year's Eve just like they still were done by Yalaltecos for the souls in Mitla (Fuente 1977:306,275). De la Fuente also recorded a story regarding ancient heathens of gigantic stature who were also called be'ne'gwlase and lived when there was only darkness and cold (Fuente 1977:347). These people worshipped idols, trees, stones and wells and built houses of big stone blocks in the earth. When the sun came they hid in their houses some of which can still be found today deep in the earth, here you can still encounter them (Fuente 1977:347). With the sun came the cross and the true religion and the giants hid because of their false religion.

After the first sunrise other people came, also guláse, who were the direct predecessors of the Zapotecs and used hechicerias⁶⁷ to protect the 'Indians' against the Spaniards (Fuente 1977:347).