A couple of days earlier, the young princess 6 Mono Ñu Ñuu, accompanied by a couple of priests, had left the kingdom of Añute, or Xaltepec, to go to the oracle of the Temple of Death in Mictlantongo.
There she stayed to reside with her protector, the great priestess 9 Hierba Q Cuañe, who initiated her into the art of tossing the corn kernels to read destiny and thus becoming a fortune teller or priestess of luck, a dzehe dzutu noño. He also taught him to observe the signs in the stars and the operation of calendars, the relationship between time and space, and the way in which the divine energies of the gods are distributed in them. He did it through a scheme that separates the world above, the sky or Andevui, from the intermediate plane, the earth or Andayu, where men live, and the level below, the underworld or Andaya.
Thus, the land formed by mountains and hills, valleys and plains, was imagined in the shape of a painting, in which each corner was one of the four directions of the universe, with one more point in the center, the Añuhu, in which there was the axis that supported the three spaces.
These directions were represented by five places that delimited the Mixtec nation: to the east was the Cerro del Sol Yucu Ndicandii; to the north the Cerro Oscuro Yucu Naa; to the west the river of Ash Yuta Yaa, and to the south the Temple of Death, which identified the place below, the Andaya. As for the center, it could be established in one of the main capitals of the earth, such as Tilantongo or Ñuu Tnoo.
But bodies of water such as lakes and the sea, along with caves and caverns, were the entrances to the underworld, the realm inhabited by the forces of darkness and darkness, of cold and wet. This realm was made up of four levels, which with the previous five points added up to nine, which was the number associated with the underworld. This dark kingdom located to the south was presided over by the goddess of Death, Mrs. 9 Grass, Ñu Andaya, Iya Q Cuañe, who lived in the Temple of Death, the Vehe Kihin, and was the guardian of the Pantheon of Kings, which was located inside the Great Cavern, the Huahi Cahi.
Now, towards the east we find the largest and brightest star, known as Heart of Heaven, the red god of the Sun, Lord 1 Death, Ñu Ndicandii, Iya Ca Mahu, who symbolized the energies of light and heat, illuminating the firmament during the day and heating the earth so that plants and beings could grow on it. For this reason, the east was the direction where life was born and cyclically renewed. During the night, the star descended to illuminate the world of the dead like a black sun, until it ended its journey and was reborn again, at dawn of the new day, to rise through the four floors of the sky, from the place above or Andevui, which when added to the nine floors below gives the number thirteen, associated with everything in the sky.
The night sky, related to the direction of the north, was the realm of the ancient gods and creators, of the noble elders Iya Ñuu, father and mother of all gods and origin of all things. They are astral deities, of the Milky Way and other groups of stars or constellations, among them the Great Bear, which was imagined as the Great Jaguar that represented the lord of the universe, the one with the Bright Obsidian Mirror, Te-Ino Tnoo, as an image of the starry night sky and that was probably another of the names of the powerful lord 4 Serpent-7 Serpent, Qui Yo-Sa Yo.
Likewise, on the east-west axis, which was taken as the path of light, in contrast to the north-south which was the path of darkness, was the great star Tinuu Cahnu or Venus, also called Quemi, which means " four ”, perhaps referring to the four positions it occupies during its movement around the Sun. Likewise, it was known as the Feathered or Jeweled Serpent, Coo Dzavui, for being adorned with rich quetzal feathers; but this name can also be translated as Rain Serpent, which is the swirl of water clouds that is created by strong currents of wind. It is another form of Wildebeest Tachi, god of Wind, vital breath and spirit, renamed as Lord 9 Wind Iya Q Chi.
Returning to the north, we also find the owner of the wild animals and heart of the mountain, the god of the Mountains Ñu Yucu, lord 4 Movement Iya Qui Qhi. The hills were imagined as great containers from whose interior springs and water sources gushed. And on its cloud-covered peaks, the rays that unleashed rain exploded, whether it was the beneficial that makes crops grow or the destructive that brings floods and frosts, and even its absence caused drought. For this reason, such a powerful element was represented through one of the lords of Time, the God of Rain, Lord 5 Wind, Ñu Dzavui, Iya Q Chi.
Heading west we find several goddesses of fertility. During the night, the white goddess of the Moon Ñu Yoo, is personified by the grandmother of the river, Mrs. 1 Eagle, Sitna Yuta, Iya Ca Sa, also called Our Grandmother. Its influence encompassed the cycles of human, animal and plant fertility, and to liquids and bodies of water, such as the sea, lakes and rivers, which were presided over by the deity of terrestrial waters, the lady of the Skirt of Jade or Jeweled Iya Dziyo Dzavui, 9 Lizard Q Quevui, since this stone symbolized the preciousness of this crystalline element. Along with them was the mother goddess, the deity of the Earth, Ñu Ndayu, lady 9 Caña Iya Q Huiyo, who in her attire wears designs of moons, cotton ornaments and a spindle to spin in her hair, since she was related to spinning and weaving, as well as with doctors and midwives.
Finally, the center was located in the places where the earth's crust turns inwards, as in volcanoes, and inside the navel of the earth resided the Lord of Fire Iya Ñuhu. This was an ancient deity, often shown as an old man carrying a brazier, to contain the valuable igneous element.
These are some of the main deities associated with the conception of space, although there are still more. And along with them are the numerous owners of the place or spirits of nature, simply called ñuhu, who were the guardians of certain environments, such as the land, forests and streams.
Everything in the Mixtec universe was animated by sacred forces or energies that we know as gods and spirits, which constantly interacted to produce the miracle of life.
