We are in Tilantongo, the Place of the Black or Ñuu Tnoo, capital of the recently unified kingdom of the Mixteca.
It is the day 1 Lizard of the year 7 House (1045 AD), and the great Lord 8 Deer, Jaguar Claw, Iya Na Cuaa, Titnii Cuiñi, has just made his triumphal entry to take possession of the throne. Twenty days later, he will deposit his arms and insignia at the foot of the Temple of Heaven, Huahi Andevui, and place his offerings before the sacred bulk of the city's patron deity, the mighty lord of the Smoking Mirror, Iya Te-Ino Tnoo, known also as 4 Snake-7 Snake, Qyo-Sayo.
Later, this warrior-priest prepares to receive in his palace rooms the more than one hundred noble lords of the kingdoms that now make up the Great Lordship of the Mixteca, as well as other ambassadors from neighboring territories. And he sends the old priest in charge of providing the message, the tay caha dzaha or interpreter of the codex in which the history of the kings of Tilantongo is written.
The interpreter begins his story with the divine origin of this powerful lineage, which descended from the Wind god Ñuhu Tachi, and the Rain god Ñuhu Dzavui. It places its beginning around the 8th century of our era, with four sovereigns of the first dynasty, but the fifth dies very young and without descendants, so the sequence is closed. When the debate on the succession began, the four main lords of the city chose a priest prince, Mr. 5 Lagarto, who inaugurated the second dynasty of Tilantongo, on the sacred date of foundation of the day 1 Lagarto, year 1 Caña (987 AD). That wise ruler, who reigns for about sixty years, has two marriages, and the first son of his second wife would turn out to be the most important hero of the Mixtec people, Mr. 8 Venado, who is born on an 8th day Deer of the year 12 Caña (1011 AD).
At the age of seven, the young prince leaves his home in the Mixteca Alta, the Land of the Rain God or Ñuu Dzavui Ñuhu, and is sent to the important lordship of the Coast, whose capital was Tututepec, Cerro del Pájaro. or Yucu Dzaa, where he would spend his youth and start the preparations to be able to apply for the office of his father, because at birth they had taken him to the divining priest and they had seen that he had a great destiny to fulfill: to be the great warrior who would unify the Mixtec territory under the royal house of Tilantongo. To do this, however, he had to prove that he was worthy of that throne, so he left for the Land of the Horizon or the Sky Ñuu Ndevui, or the Coast, along with two of his half-brothers and his younger brother, who they will accompany you in all your adventures. There they are received by an ally of their father, and once they are installed, their religious and military education begins.
Around the age of seventeen, 8 Venado performs initiation rituals in various caves, and makes pilgrimages to sacred sites, in addition to fasting and self-sacrifice performed by priests; on the other hand, he learns to read books and write by painting, as well as to observe the stars.
As a ruler, he would become the high priest, and for that reason he had to know the dates of the festivals of the gods to preside over the ceremonies, light the new fire and perform the sacrifices of both animals and human beings, for which he would reach the hierarchy of Sacrificial priest, that is the Dark Flying or Yaha Yavui, who was the necromancer and sorcerer dedicated to the knowledge of the occult, and who had the ability to become various animals or a fireball that flew through the air.
This position was provided by the fearsome priestess 9 Grass, of the Temple of Death, representative of the underworld, who grants 8 Deer the insignia of power. The prince also goes to pay tribute to Mrs. 9 Caña, goddess of the Earth, in the Cerro de la Sangre, which symbolized the earthly forces, and in the Temple of Turquesa to Mr. 1 Death, god of the Sun, personification of energies from the sky. In this way, he requests the powers of heaven, earth and the underworld, as well as their permission and protection for the company that he had proposed.
On the other hand, as soon as he reaches the coast, the prince begins his physical training to carry out the ritual ball game, through which conflicts could be resolved in favor of the winner without having to resort to force, as happens several times. for the formation of alliances. But above all he prepared for combat, with experienced masters in martial arts and military strategy, since the sovereigns were also the great captains who defended their dominion, in addition to seeking to expand their territory through war.
The young 8 Deer participates in battles with his brothers and at sixteen he achieves his first conquest, which is followed by others, and once his bravery and ability has been proven, he appears before the Temple of Venus, the Huahi Quemi, of Tututepec, to become lord of the kingdom of the Coast. But when he was nineteen, his father died, in the year 5 Rabbit (1030 AD), and it is possible that the queens would remain as regents until the young warrior claimed his inheritance.
Meanwhile, he continues to conquer cities, until the fame of his exploits reaches the ears of the powerful Toltec lords, those with burned faces or eyes, the Sami Nuu, who lived in the Place of Tules Ñuu Coyo, that is, Tula Cholula . There was located the largest shrine dedicated to the god of the Wind, to which the most important sovereigns went to be confirmed in power by the representative of the Feathered Serpent, Coo Dzavui.
That is why 8 Venado is entrusted to a Toltec nobleman, Mr. 4 Jaguar, to invite him to the ceremony in which he will be awarded the highest rank; so she goes to meet him to escort him to his city. From then on, this man will become your ally and companion in arms. Along the way they make conquests, and the most important is on Cerro de la Luna or Yucu Yoo, which was possibly located in the Mixteca Baja, in Tierra Caliente or Ñuu Iñi. The day after his arrival in Cholula, Mr. 8 Venado climbs the great staircase of the temple, where the high priest pierces the septum or cartilage of his nose, to place the turquoise jewel, the royal nose ring that confirms him as king of kings and great lord or Iya Cahnu. After a few days they return to the Mixteca, heading towards their father's capital, Tilantongo, where he would enter triumphantly to take possession of the kingdom. And in the celebration of the palace, the scribe ends his story to leave, while the guests continue to narrate other exploits.
The following year, which was 8 Rabbit (1046 AD), this sovereign and his companions set out on a journey to the coast to venture out to sea, eventually conquering islands and coastal towns otherwise inaccessible. But on the way back, a mishap happens, since his half brother is trapped inside a steam bath, where his enemies cause his death. Then 8 Venado orders the funeral rituals to be celebrated and, after the funeral, in the year 11 House (1049 AD), he advances against the capital of the kingdom where the tragedy happened, the Place of the Sacred Bound Ñuu Dzucuii, dedicated to the god of the Renovation, seat of one of the most important lineages and that also had a divine origin; perhaps for this reason, this became one of his greatest conquests.
By then, 8 Venado was almost forty years old, he had fulfilled his destiny, unifying the Mixtec kingdom, and it was until now that his five marriages were celebrated.
For another decade, Mr. 8 Venado will continue to conquer the enemy, until in another year 12 Caña (1063 AD) he himself falls into an ambush, meeting his death at age 52. His mortuary bundle would be taken to the south, to Chalcatongo, where the Town of Death or Ñuu Ndaya was, to be deposited in the pantheon of the kings, within the Great Cavern or Huahi Cahi, which was one of the entrances to the underworld, where, like the Sun, it would make its way to be reborn at dawn and travel the earth again, participating in many more adventures.
Source: Passages of History No. 7 Ocho Venado, the Conqueror of the Mixteca / December 2002
