Zapotec
The
Zapotec are an
indigenous people of
Mexico. Their language group, also called
Zapotec, consists of more than fifteen languages.
The Zapotec people are centered in
Oaxaca, to the south of central Mexico. In
pre-Columbian times they were one of the major
Mesoamerican civilizations. Archaeological evidence shows their culture goes back at least 2500 years. They left archaelogical evidence at the ancient city of
Monte Albán in the form of buildings,
ball courts, magnificent tombs and grave goods including finely worked gold jewelry. Monte Albán was the first major city in the western hemisphere and the center of a Zapotec state that dominated much of what we know of as the current state of Oaxaca.
The Zapotecs developed a calendar and a logophonetic system of writing that used a separate glyph to represent each of the syllables of the language. This writing system is considered to be the basis of the other Mesoamerican writing systems developed by the
Maya,
Mixtec, and
Aztec civilizations. At the present time, there is some debate as to whether or not
Olmec symbols dated to 650 BC are actually a form of writing preceding the oldest Zapotec writing dated to about 500 BC. [
1]
In the Aztec capital of
Tenochtitlan, there were Zapotec and Mixtec artisans who fashioned jewelry for the Aztec rulers (
tlatoanis), including
Moctezuma II. Relations with central Mexico go back much further however, as attested by the archaeological remains of a Zapotec neighborhood within
Teotihuacan and a Teotihuacan style "guest house" in Monte Albán. Other important pre-Columbian Zapotec sites include Lambityeco, Dainzu,
Mitla,
Yagul, San Jose Mogote, and Zaachila.
They were a sedentary culture and well-advanced in civilization, living in large villages and towns, in houses constructed with stone and mortar. They recorded the principal events in their history by means of
hieroglyphics, and in warfare they made use of a
cotton armour. The well-known ruins of
Mitla have been attributed to them and were claimed to be the tombs of their ancestors.
The Zapotec call themselves always by some variant of the term "The People" (Be'ena'a). The implications of this term are many: 'The people of this place,' 'The true people,' 'Those who didn't come from another place,' 'Those who have always been here.' In fact, both scientific evidence and the origin myths about Zapotecs demonstrate a great antiquity in Oaxaca for the Zapotec and their precursors.
"The People" tell that their ancestors emerged from the earth, from caves, or that they turned from trees or jaguars into people, while the elite that governed them believed that they descended from supernatural beings that lived among the clouds, and that upon death they would return to such status. In fact, the name by which Zapotecs are known today resulted from this belief. In Central Valley Zapotec "The Cloud People' is "Be'ena' Za'a."
The Zapotecs had an elaborate religious system, they where very attached to their religious calendar cycle of 26 years. There is no proof that human sacrifices were offered. They were polytheistic people. Principal deities included the rain god
Cocijo, the equivalent of
Tlaloc of the Aztecs, and Coquihani, the god of light.
The last battle between the Aztecs and the Zapotecs occurred between 1497 and 1502, under the Aztec ruler
Ahuizotl. At the time of
Spanish conquest of Mexico, when news arrived that the Aztecs were defeated out by the Spaniards, King Cosijoeza ordered his people not to confront the Spaniards so they would avoid the same fate. They were defeated by the Spaniards only after several campaigns between 1522 and 1527. However, uprisings against colonial authorities occurred in 1550, 1560, and 1715.
There are approximately 300,000 to 400,000 Zapotec people living in Mexico today. Many of them still speak only their native language. Though they are now largely
Catholics, some of their ancient beliefs and practices, such as the burial of the dead with money, still survive. The first missionaries among the Zapotecs were
Bartolomé de Olmeda, a
Mercedarian, and
Juan Díaz, a
secular priest, who was martyred by the natives in
Quechula near
Tepeaca for having "overthrown their idols".
The most famous Zapotec person in modern times was
Benito Juárez, generally regarded as Mexico's greatest President.
Many people of Zapotec ancestry have emigrated to the United States over several decades, and they maintain their own social organizations in the
Los Angeles, California area and
Central Valley.
*Malinowski, Sharon; Sheets, Anna, ed. (1998); "Zapotec" in
The Gale Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes; Gale Research, Detroit, Michigan.
*
The Zapotecs*
Zapotec Culture (in English and Spanish)
*
Zapotec Language (including variants, in English and Spanish)
