Storm-God Impersonators From Ancient Oaxaca

Abstract

This paper analyses the imagery on two different Zapotec ceramic forms: an open-ended cylinder and an effigy vessel, both from the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. In this study, I propose that the figures on these objects represent impersonators of the Zapotec storm god Cocijo. The impersonators would probably have been rulers playing the role of this god and are carrying out a ritual associated with the agricultural cycle of corn. A comparative method that combines historical archaeology, ethnography, and iconographic analysis reveals clues to the function and significance of the vessels. The study leads to the conjecture that these objects were used in connection with blood offerings during corn-harvest rituals. These conclusions address the nature of ancient Zapotec religion and cosmology and provide evidence that the Zapotec performed rain and fertility rituals associated with the corn harvest similar to those of other cultural groups in Mesoamerica.

Advances in the Household Archaeology of Highland Mesoamerica

“…It is likely that certain anthropomorphic effigy vessels represent the ancestors of a particular household, although others, especially in highland states, depict powerful social roles within the bureaucracy of a society, including priests, soldiers, and rulers (Cowgill 2002;Flannery and Marcus 2005;González Licón 2003, pp. 256-259;Manzanilla 1996Manzanilla , 2002aMarcus 1998Marcus , 1999Marcus , 2008Marcus and Flannery 1994;Sellen 2002;Smith et al 2003;Sugiyama 1998). Zoomorphic effigy burners depict a variety of highland fauna, but the prevalence of opossums appears to relate to the deep history of native myths associating the animal with fire (e.g., López Austin 1993; Ramírez 2008).…”

Constituting Animacy and Community in a Terminal Formative Bundled Offering from the Coast of Oaxaca, Mexico

“…Adam Sellen (2011) and Javier Urcid (2005) have proposed that the effigies are idealized representations of noble ancestors impersonating deities related to the Mesoamerican ritual calendar. The variability in deity masks and costumes found on the vessels, and the fact that the mask types are actually interchangeable, supports the view that they represented real-life ritual attire (Sellen 2002).…”

“…Based on iconographic similarities between the rain deity depicted in D-F24-Ob1, as well as the lack of evidence for local manufacture of carved stone objects such as those in D-F24 at other Formative sites in the lower Verde, we suggest that the mask was made in the highlands of Oaxaca and acquired by people at Cerro de la Virgen through trade networks. Though not identical to Zapotec Cociyo masks from the Late Formative, the rain deity mask from Cerro de la Virgen shares a remarkable number of stylistic similarities to these objects, as well as depictions of rain deities from the Mixteca Alta (Sellen 2002;Urcid 2005). The miniature thrones were made from locally available sandstone and granodiorite, but their value may originate from the manner in which they were iconic of powerful, geographically distant polities from southeastern Mesoamerica and elsewhere.…”

“…Glyph C appeared commonly on Zapotec media depicting Cociyo, particularly on the finely carved stone masks during the Formative and on Classic Period (ad 250-800) urns and effigy vessels (Fig. 10;Boos 1966;Caso & Bernal 1952;Sellen 2002;.…”

“…San Lorenzo Monument 4 (redrawn from Lytle & Reilly 2014, fig. 11.11). individuals 'impersonating' the rain deity Cociyo, holding in their hands maize plants at various stages of maturation and engaging in bloodletting as a sacrificial offering to ensure an abundant harvest (Sellen 2002;. Adam Sellen (2011) and Javier Urcid (2005) have proposed that the effigies are idealized representations of noble ancestors impersonating deities related to the Mesoamerican ritual calendar.…”