MIXTEC RELIGION: CHARACTERISTICS, BELIEFS AND GODS - HISTORY - 2025

The Mixtec religion was characterized by being polytheistic and animist; They believed in various gods that represented the forces of nature and believed that people possessed spirit, which is why they believed in life after death and honored their ancestors.

The priests or shamans called Yaha Yahui had a high social status in Mixtec society and were deeply respected for their supposed ability to transmute into animals and for their supernatural powers.

Mixtec gods

Dzahui was the god of rain and the patron of the Mixtecs. Below Dzahui, were other deities such as Cohuy, god of corn; Huehuetéotl, god of fire; Yozotoyua, god of merchants; Nitoayuta, god of generation; Tonatiuh Sun god; Mictlantecuhtli, god of death and Qhuav, god of hunters.

The Mixtecs were a Mesoamerican indigenous people that inhabited the current states of Oaxaca, Guerrero and Puebla forming a region called "La Mixteca."

They flourished between the 15th century BC to the 2nd century BC (Cultural History, 2017) and were exterminated shortly after the arrival of the Spanish in America. Its peak period was between 692 AD and 1519 AD (Historia de México, 2017).

The Mixtecos were divided into 3 geographical groups of manors that were in constant war and political instability: Mixteca Alta, Mixteca Baja and Mixteca de la Costa. They founded the cities of Teozacoacoalco, Tilantongo, Coixtlahuaca and Yanhuitlan (History of Mexico, 2017).

Common beliefs among Mixtecs and other Mesoamerican religions

The Olmecs are considered the first Mesoamerican culture that culturally permeated other pre-Hispanic groups in the region, such as the Zapotecs, Mixtecs, Toltecs, Mayans and Aztecs.

Consequently, Central American cultures are strongly connected to each other (Gale Group, 2017) and share some religious attributes that we will mention below:

1-They believed in various gods that represented the forces of nature such as the Sun, fire, the Moon, rain, etc.

2-They had two calendars, one sacred of 260 days, used for the prediction of numerous natural and social phenomena; and the 365-day Solar used to measure agricultural cycles (Delgado de Cantú, 1993, p. 131) (Gale Group, 2017).

3-They believed that man came from corn and considered it a sacred food.

4-They were animists, they believed that all things in nature had a spirit and therefore they venerated their ancestors.

5-They believed in life after death, a kind of underground paradise and worshiped death as their own god.

6-They raised temples to worship their gods and the ceremonies were presided over by shamans or priests of high respect and authority who interceded between men and the gods.

7-They regularly made human and animal sacrifices as well as self-immolations.

Codex Vindobonensis Mexicanus and the creation of the Mixtec people

Also known as the Vindobonensis Code, it is a pre-Hispanic manuscript found in the Mixteca Alta that recounts the genealogy of the gods, the origin of the world, the religious calendar, their rulers and priests of the Mixtec people. It has 52 pages, is divided into 10 main sections and its dimensions are 22 x 26 cm.

According to the manuscript, the Mixtecs were not the first people created by their deities but rather the world had already passed through a series of creations and destructions by the time of their gestation.

The divinities Ometecuhtli and Omecíhuatl, protagonists of the duality of the universe in which they believe, in addition to separating the light from the darkness, the earth and the water, the above and the below, had 4 god children. One of them, Nueve Vientos (one of the names of Quetzacoált), copulated with a tree that became pregnant and gave birth to who would later challenge the Sun.

The man who was born from the tree fought against the sun by shooting arrows while the star king counterattacked with its rays. At dusk, one of the man's spears is threaded into the sun, wounding him to death and forcing him to hide behind the mountains and staining him orange forever every afternoon.

Fearing that the next day the sun would reclaim his lands, the Flechador del Sol hurried to bring men to cultivate corn fields and the next day, when the shining star came out of the east, he could do nothing because the corn had grown and the Mixtecos were left with the divine right to rule the region.

Gods of the Mixtec religion

The Mixtecs had a god for practically every natural phenomenon, so now we will mention the most important ones.

1-Dzahui: God of rain and patron of the Mixtec people. It shares characteristics with Tláloc, which is its equivalent for the Teotihuacans, Toltecs and Mexica.

2-Huehuetéotl: god of fire.

3-Cohuy: god of corn, took care of the crops of this sacred food.

4-Yozotoyua: god of merchants, he helped them in trade.

5-Nitoayuta: god of generation or fertility. It ensured the offspring.

6-Tonatiuh: Sun god, it was owed to him that agriculture existed.

7-Mictlantecuhtli: god of death and master of the Underworld.

8-Qhuav: god of hunters

9-Totec: creator god of man, animals and plants

References

1. Delgado de Cantú, GM (1993). Chapter 3. Mesoamerica. Classical period. In GM Delgado de Cantú, History of Mexico. Volume I. The gestation process of a town. (pp. 79-137). Mexico City: Editorial Alhambra Mexicana.
2. Encyclopedia. (28 of 7 of 2017). Mesoamerican religions: Pre-Columbian Religions. Retrieved from Encylopedia.com: encyclopedia.com.
3. Every Culture. (28 of 7 of 2017). Mixtec-Religion and Expressive Culture. Obtained from Countries and their cultures: everyculture.com.
4. Gale Group. (2017, June 15). Zapotecs and Monte Albán. Retrieved from Gale Group: ic.galegroup.com.
5. Cultural History. (28 of 7 of 2017). Mixtec culture. Obtained from Cultural History: historiacultural.com.
6. Mexico history. (28 of 7 of 2017). Mixtec culture. Obtained from History of Mexico: historiademexicobreve.com.
7. National Autonomous University of Mexico. (28 of 7 of 2017). Gods and religious cult in Mesoamerica. Obtained from the UNAM Academic Portal: portalacademico.cch.unam.mx.