DEITIES AND RELIGIOUS CONCEPTIONS OF THE 



ZAPOTECS 



The Zapotec dictionary, by Father Juan de Cordova, already fre- 

 quently mentioned, forms a eliief source of information concernino- 

 the immediate religious conceptions of the Zapotecs, the forms of 

 the gods which were worshiped by them and to which they turned in 

 every need and for the satisfaction of all their desires. Among the 

 different names and designations, which, generally speaking, are 

 rather designations of activities than true names, the most prominent 

 of all are those pertaining to a creative deity. In their meaning and 

 application these designations were very likely similar to the Mexican 

 Totecuyo, Tloque Nauaque, Ilhuicaua, Tlaticpaque, Youalli ehecatl, 

 and the like, that is, they were, like these, used to a certain extent as 

 a general appellation of the deity, and probably also in addressing 

 the diiferent deities, or as attributes to name them by. Their con- 

 struction and their etymology, however, furnish a clue to the lines 

 along which speculative thought moved among the Zapotecs in refer- 

 ence to the origin of all things. 1 give here the names and the Span- 

 ish expression of which they are supj^osed to be a translation, accord- 

 ing to the dictionary of Father Juan de Cordova. They are as fol- 

 low: 



Coqiii-XC'e, Coqui-Cilla, 

 Xee-Tilo, Pixee-Tt\o, Cilla-Tao, 

 Nixee-TJlo, Nl-Cilla-Tao, 

 Pije-Tao, Pij-Xoo, Pije-Xoo, 



" God without end and without heginning, so they called him with- 

 out Icnowing whom" (Dlos infinito y sin principio, llamavanle, sin 

 saber a quien). 

 Coqui-Cilla, Xee-Tao, Piyee-Xao, Chilla-Tao, 



"The unci'eated lord, who has no beginning and no end" (el Senor 

 increado, el que no tiene principio y fin). 

 Piye-Tao, Piye-Xoo, 

 Coqui-Xee, Coqui-Cilla, Coqui-Nij, 



" God, of whom they said that he was the creator of all things and 

 was himself uncreated " (Dios que decian que era creador del todo y el 

 increado). 



As to the elements which are contained in these ai3pellations, coqui 

 simply means "" lord '\ '' leader '\ '' cacique ", '• king " ; tao and xoo are 

 adjectives; tao (too, or roo) means "great". With the prefix for 

 animate beings, the word forms the customary expression for " god " 

 (Pitiio, Bitoo, that is, " the great one "). Xoo is a synonym of the 

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