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Community Museum of Ñuu´kuiñi
(The Place of the Tiger)
Santa Maria Cuquila, Tlaxiaco
Santa Maria Cuquila, a small indigenous community found three hours by highway from the capital of the state of Oaxaca is a community with a highly valued and unique culture. It possesses a rich, artistic, tradition which includes textiles en telar de cintura (a form of weaving where the loom is tied around the waist) and barro products (pottery) also there’s an extensive archeological zone known as Ñuukuiñi or la cacica (Cuquilans also refer to this site as ¨la casa de nuestros abuelos¨ or our grandfather’s house). With this site, community members hope to conserve their ancient traditions.
In order to realize this long desired dream, community members and town authorities proposed to create a community museum and a museum committee that is in charge of the museum’s works. The town collected art donations (in all its forms) and names of community members to support the museum’s budget and work. Also, the museum committee wrote proposals for the government and private funds to obtain economic resources with the intention to have a community museum to show the traditional culture and the history of their ancestors.
The archeological studies carried out in Cuquila have been at Pueblo Viejo (The Old Village) and Ñuukuiñi (Cerro del Tigre or Tiger Hill). These sites demonstrate an elaborate, primitive design in it’s ceremonial and civic architecture. The construction includes a special distribution of terraced platforms and lower areas that housed a great population.
Here, the society was divided into social classes that were in charge of the administration, religion, astronomy, written documentation, medicine, and economy.
In December of 1995, a general assembly of townspeople was created for the archeological site. This assembly was titled ¨La Kasika¨ in order to label the site as a cultural, patrimonial place of the community and the nation. Previously, the site obtained the title of the property owners of the area: Benito Coronel Mejía, Rafael Ayala Coronel, Hilario Ayala, Pedro Colonel Mejía, and Perfecto Coronel Rosario. In ¨La Kasika¨ assembly, the people agreed that the site would play a more important part in their patrimony.
Etymology
Ñuu Kuiñi: name of the town in Mixtec. Ñuu means town or place, Kuiñi means tiger or jaguar (Place of the Tiger).
Cuquila comes from the language Nahuatl, more specifically from the word Coatlquilitl. Coalt means snake and Quilitl means grass. Roughly translated, it means snake over the grass.
The Spanish changed the name of the village to Santa Maria Cuquila during their conquest of Mexico.
There are two named sites (Ñuu Kuiñi and Pueblo Viejo) which don’t include the small sites in the surrounding areas.
Santa Maria Cuquila includes the following: 6 ranches (San Isidro, San Pedro Llano Grande, Plan de Guadalupe, Benito Juarez, San Juan, and Agua Zarca).
There also is a rural center (Cañada Candelaria) and a Head Municipal Area (Santa Maria Cuquila).
It is adjoined with the following towns: to the north with San Juan Mixtepecñ, to the south with Santa Cruz Nundaco and Santo Tomas Ocotepec, to the east with Tlaxiaco, and to the west with San Miguel del Progreso and San Jose Xochixtlan.
Santa Maria Cuquila has a surface area of 3,411-42-16.21 Hectometers.
The population has reached 15,087 inhabitants. The active population is 85% professionals, agriculture workers, and artists with the remaining portion working in the United States and Canada, searching for a different standard of living.
The excavation of the archaeological site ¨La Kasika¨was realized by Doctor Nelly Roberts Garcia in 1995. With the support of students from the United States and people of the community, the site was cleaned in 15 days.
Through the evidence of ceramic material, it can be determined that the archeological site occupied 20 square kilometers.
The crests of the mountains were flattened in order to build the public ceremonial buildings and homes found in the sacred Mixteca city. One can imagine the domination and strategic position the city held over the lower parts.
The site is a civic, ceremonial and residential center that flourished in the early classic period (300 BC-300 AC) and continued to be occupied in the late classic period (300 AC- 1500 AC).
From the land that is located from Tlaxiaco to Putla, it is possible to get an idea of the relation Cuquila had with other populations. There was a net of markets that were placed in different areas according to their role in the area of Tlaxiaco. It is probable that Santa Maria Cuquila, San Miguel del Progreso, and San Andres Chicahuaxtla were allies, moving one place to the other, buying and selling, and helping one another avoid commercial attacks.
The Mixteca Archeological site Ñuukuiñi is locally known as the hill of the Cacica. The people of Santa Maria Cuquila refer to the town as Ñuukuiñi in mixteco. For the people of Cuquila , Cacica represents a highly respected memory of their ancestors and how things used to be. The site is also the place the people meet to ask for rain on May 3. If the rain resists they clime in procession to the site to set off fireworks and pray before the tomb known as ¨La Capilla¨( The Chapel). When one sees moss or plants on the inside of the tomb, it means that the rain is near.
Santa Maria Cuquila was important in the region for its agriculture and its creation of ceramics and textiles, both of which were traded or sold.
Also it was connected with other distant populations though the large network of markets that linked it with the areas of Mixteca Baja, Valles Centrales, Puebla y Guerrero. This can be concluded by the presence of products made with materials from the aforementioned areas such as jade, obsidian (black, glass-like rock used to make primitive knives) and shell; and also through the influence in architectural elements (teotihuacano board).
The objects found in the archeological site ¨La Kasika¨and ¨Pueblo Viejo¨ were created by its own inhabitants or brought from other places they traded with.
The population of Santa Maria Cuquila lacks the agricultural and artistic production to change its regional commercial level. In some cases, through the leadership of contracted people, someone comes to distribute ceramics and textiles, nevertheless, it has been some time since one has sold a lot of ceramics in the region.
In 1980, a small market was installed in the community where it is possible to find products from Tlaxiaco or the warm land of Putla every Thursday from 8 am to 6 p.m. These things compliment the diet of Cuquila. Also, there are women from San Miguel del Progreso who sell goods in the community. These women make barro (pottery) and come to sell their goods here. In contrast, small companies bring other products such as plastic, aluminum, rope and manufactured supplies. Also, in order to supply establishments with basic products, it is necessary to buy things in Tlaxiaco (the principal economic center of the region) and many people go to there to buy the things that can’t be found in Cuquila.
Very few people in the city are still dedicated to working with barro although many of the people in the community know how to make it. The young people of the community choose to follow paths that lead them out of the community. Despite the introduction of plastic and aluminum products, much ceramic is used in daily life because plastic and aluminum are materials that require much care.
In order to have a well-rounded diet, people buy rice, soup and pasta. Although previously there were many animals in the mountains such as foxes and large rabbits that were hunted, this lifestyle has become impractical. Some still kill rabbits, but each family raises its own animals such as turkeys, chicken, pigs and goats which complete their diet.
El yugo serves to tie the ox together and can turn up the soil of the fields. The workers make this tool themselves with fine wood such as ash and white pine. It takes 2-3 days to make it.
The Devotion to Labrador San Isidro
The workers of Santa Maria Cuquila highly praise the symbol of Sr. San Isidro Labrador. It is from him that the they receive protection and improvement in their cultivation of the land. With his blessing, they won’t break their yugo or their plough and above all, their harvest will be abundant.
Every May 15, they decorate their animals with crepe paper or other paint them festive colors and give them a necklace of pipal flower (a small, white flower) to wear.
With a candle or a candle-holder the animals are subject to a cleansing that consists of rubbing the candle or candle holder over them and guiding them to the church and offering them to San Isidro so that he will offer the animal strength in its work.
Agriculture was developed based on the system loma bordo used in the mountainsides. The style of planting consisted in penetrating the ground with the coa (a tool for digging) and placing the seed in the hole. This system allowed them to be self-sufficient in grains (corn, beans, and pumpkin) that formed their basic diet.
With this type of cultivation, they could have two harvests every year along with the animal hunt (venison, rabbit, armadillo, tejon (small white and black dog-like animal), coyote, fox, birds, snakes, and others) and freshwater fishing (tadpoles, minnows, frogs). They completed their diet also with the collection of plants and fruit (tuna (sweet, fruit part of cactus), nopal (more bitter, slimy fruit from cactus), avocado, sweet potato, and others).
The land in Santa Maria Cuquila is dry and rocky and therefore not prime for cultivation. Nevertheless, one produces a harvest simply to sustain the family. The number of family members a family can feed varies according to the extension, the quantity and the quality of their land. For a long time the people of Cuquila have redirected the rivers in order to water the land they use. However, after the construction of a dam in Nundaco 15 years ago, there hasn’t been sufficient water.
In agriculture cultivation, the staple crops are corn, beans, and pumpkin. Up to ten years ago, wheat was still cultivated. In order to work the land they use coa and the yunta and on rare occasions they will rent a tractor. The people here must work very hard year after year to grow food for their families and therefore they are left with little time to rest.
The archeological objects that have been found are: obsidian arrowheads, axes, polishers, and hand grinders. These are tools that the inhabitants of Ñuukuiñi used in the Pre-Hispanic period.
The first inhabitants of Ñuukuiñi were notably poor, rustic, without security and without materials that were out of their reach. Their roofs were made of grass or dried plant material and their walls of sticks. They lived like this for a long time. Eventually, little by little, their way of life evolved and they began to use logs and beams with wooden roofs. During this time, they began to use adobe with wood, barro or metal roofs. Actually, many have houses made of industrialized materials with electricity, domestic machinery, greatly changing the lifestyle.
In reality, we can admire the technological advances of the Pre-Hispanic Era in that they perfected the methods for transforming the mountains and their outlines, building balconies, elaborate palaces, temples, tombs and homes.
At the beginning, these places were built with boulders that were not fortified with any material. These boulders and large rocks were found in the general area and brought from the river or further distances. They used tools like logs, ramps, and levers made of wood to raise these great blocks of stone to the place.
The majority of the constructions were made with smaller, connected rocks that were easier to transport. The use of adobe began for walls in the temples, palaces, and tombs, adding other dimensions and beauty. This was achieved thanks to the population’s ability and to the specialists and architects of the Pre-Hispanic Period.
The Pre-Hispanic writing was represented in codices (similar to hieroglyphics), paintings, or rocks and manifested in figures half human and half animal accompanied by numerals. These elements speak of the important events occurring in the government or they describe in detail the descent, conquests and religious and burial rituals.
The estelas are square or rectangular rocks which they engraved with things from simple written symbols to elaborate engraved figures such as priests, animals, and gods. They numerals are written with dots (one unit) and bars (5 units) and combined with figures representing days and months. The years they symbolized with an A inside a circle, a distinctive element of the Mixteca writing.
The estela were ultimately placed on the steps of buildings, in the center of the patio, or inside the temples.
On the sides of the original design is a representation of 2 ears of corn. These symbolized the agriculture and the cultivation of the plant and the Señor Jaguar 8 may have been related with the rituals of the harvest and the sowing of the seed. This symbol was found frequently as a decoration on the dresses and hair adornments of the leaders and gods of Oaxaca (Figure 3).
The central symbol is written in the center of the piece in a circle. In whose center one finds the head of a jaguar or puma (Cuiñe or Ñaña in Mixteco) and bellow which there is a numeral 8. It was by Jaguar 8 or Nahuidzo (Mixteco) that this character was represented in this stone and may have been an important leader (priest, politician, or warrior) of Ñuukuiñi. Etched in the circle, on finds a design that ends in a hook. This type of design appears in other engraved rocks in the Mixteca Alta, such as one memorial stone San Martin Huamelulpan and in one rock found in the Frisell Museum of Mitla (Figure 2).
These fragments of memorial stones show symbols related to the calendar and especially to the symbol of the year. They last symbol is a triangular-shaped hat with stripes and decorations on the sides. This symbol was used frequently for the Mixteca politicians (Figure 4). However, it also symbolized the name of the year of the ancient calendar. Complete memorial stones have been found with this symbol in the tombs of the archeological sites like Yucuñudahui, Cerro de las minas (hill of the mines), Tequixtepec and Chilixtlachuaca, in the Mixteca Alta and Baja (Figure 5). Therefore, it is very probable that the exposed fragments were originally in the interior of one tomb in Ñuukuiñi. Maybe the function of these memorial stones was an indication of the date of death of the character.
The God also appears with a tube nose piercing with beads at the ends. It also has a necklace piece with a design of a human face. This decoration was very useful for the politicians, warriors and Mixteca priests (Figure 11). The picture appears in the codices and in other engraved rocks like that of Santiago Tilantongo (Figure 12). Lastly, a pendant in the shape of a butterfly similar to the decorations on the sculptures of the Toltec warriors of Tula, also appears in the mixteco codices as part of the decoration used in the beginning processes of jewelry making. (Figure 13). For the aforementioned attributes, it is possible to suggest that Dzahui is represented as a warrior.
Rock 1
This rock may be part of a much larger engraving. This main design is formed by a symbol in the shape of a hook and was represented frequently in the iconography of the mixteco. It appears often in the engravings as well as in the barro figures. An example of this is in the memorial stone of the village of Tecomaxtluhuaca located 40 Km. west of Cuquila (Figure 8).
Rock 2: With the symbol of the God Dzahui
This exemplifies a style different from other engravings in the museum. It may have been connected to other blocks to form a grander composition like the base of a stool or a decorative tablet of a temple. The engraving shows the figure of the god Dzahui, the patron god of the Mixteco, or ñusau, and the deity of rain and lightning (Figure 9). Some characteristic of Dzahui are the circles around his eyes and the mustache and tusks at his mouth. His image was used in diverse ways, sometimes as the name of a day in the old calendar, as the name of a particular person, or the name of a geographic element like caves, hills, etc.
Rock 6: Possibly almena of an old temple
This piece possibly was the almena or the decoration of the roof of an ancient building. In the center of the rock there is a semi-circular design with ovals on its edge similar to the form of a flower along with a hook design in its main part (Figure 14). The stair step shape of the rock is similar to those of the roofs of the old temples represented in the Mixteco codices and maps (Figure 15). Maybe the design engraved in the rock was related with the significance of the temple, with the deity that was worshipped there, or with the title of a politician. The rock looks like one from the Postclassical period or the beginning of the Colonial Era.
The most important development for the Mixteco culture was the religion which constituted the main power of the government of this group. It was founded on the adoration of natural elements, stars, and animals. Each one was represented by barro, rock, wood or another material, integrating symbols that identify the figure with the corresponding element (wind, water, fire, light, dark).
Each of these gods was worshipped to in special areas of the plazas and temples on marked dates in the ritual and agricultural calendar. The ceremonies consisted in offering incense, food, drinks, and sacrificial animals.
This culture, the equal of those of Mesoamerica, believed in another life, of which at the death of a great man, they deposited your remains in a tomb previously constructed. Also, they collected your personal possessions ( jewelry, clothing, and more) thinking they would serve you in the next life. In some cases, they buried you with your servants.
The religion of the inhabitants of Ñuukuñi was created around the natural elements in the Pre-Hispanic period. In reality, the great majority is Catholic and worship saints. All follow the religious rites.
Like many other populations in Oaxaca, Cuquila has its greatest celebration on the day of the patron saint of the community. The celebration of the patron saint, the Virgin Mary of Cuquila, is held on December 8. Nevertheless, there is another date of celebration for this idol in which they celebrate the recovery of the virgin that was kidnapped during the Revolution by the habitants of Ocotopec. Precisely the 8th of August, the authorities of Cuquila demanded a military force in order to rescue the virgin. In this way, they celebrate the Recovery of the Virgin in the Catholic church of Cuquila. There are close to 49 idols of the saints that are celebrated at certain times of the year.
The best comfort in the life of the people of Cuquila is in matrimony. For the celebration, they people search for the best music and wine. This celebration is one of the happiest and most important in the people’s lives. It assures that everyone’s lives are complete.
To begin a burial, one looks for someone who isn’t a relative to change the clothing of the person who passed away. They bathe him, they do his hair so that he is clean and they keep his body. If it is a man, they put in a fishing net, a small tortilla, a small taco, a comb, cacao, a new hat, and a blanket. Cacao , according to the belief, is the money of the deceased. They say it is for the other world when you need to eat. If it is someone who completed service in the municipal, the musicians play.
If it is a women, they put on a basket , a rollo (skirt) and a huipil (shirt), a small taco, a comb, her table napkins and a blanket. If the family has money they buy her a dress.
For children less than a year, they put nothing. At 8 or 9 years they put something.
Wool textiles are an extremely important part of our ancestor´s culture, therefore it is necessary to conserve these traditions and pass them on to newer generations. This distinction in dress is an imperative tradition that we have chosen to show in this museum.
Before the time of the Conquistadors, during their domination of teaching textile style, and even up to this day, the process of weaving has been passed down from mother to daughter. The encouragement the girl received was half a tortilla, a whole tortilla or one and a half depending on the advancement and achievement of the daughter according to the Vindobonencis code.
Communities still exist that continue this form of dress, creating their town wardrobe with materials from their own community like wool and other materials they buy in the region´s markets.
The weaving of Cuquila is different in color and decoration from other surrounding towns such as Santo Tomas Ocotepec, Santa Cruz Nundaco, San Miguel del Progresso, Santa Maria Yucuhiti, and San Esteban Atatlauca.
In Cuquila, until the 1900s the men dressed in thick and heavy wool shirts that were home-made. The wool wasn´t dyed and belts were made of the same material.
Frederick Starr,
Ethnographer of the early 20th century
The initial steps to making textiles is different according to the type of textile that you wish to create. There are four types of textiles: ´ndo´o ita, ´ndo´o cute, ´ndo´o sh´in, shi´i-yo. These styles of weaving are used in various items of clothing. Ndo´o ita and ndo´o cute are used in gabanes ceñidores (blanket with a hole in the center so it can be worn as a jacket) and blankets. Ndo´o shi´in is used in rollos (black wrap skirts) and in some blankets. Shi´i you is used in huipil (shirt), rebozo (shall used to tie babies on to the mother´s back), ceñidor or cloth napkins.
In reality, the original art of weaving is dying out due to the economic situation found in the community which drives the younger generations to find different forms of livelihood. When these young people return, they bring new concepts. It appears difficult to weave because it is complicated, and because of this the town´s own artwork is changing. Also, the percentage of people who use the original clothing is always dropping.
Yes, I learned easily and independently. I worked in 1967, I weaved a white rebozo. I merely saw the hand working and I learned.
Perfecta Lopez Melchor
Well, sometimes my daughter or my mom help me. Yes, they’ll help me with something if they have time but when they don’t, I work alone. I merely wash the wool and after I’m done I spin it so I can weave a blanket or rebozo. That’s what I do.
Margarita Mejia Lopez
No, the men don’t know, only the women work, the men don´t. Men know how to make pots, pitchers, jugs and cajetes.
Perfecta Lopez Melchor
This is the type of house where the indigenous people of Ñuukuiñi lived in the Pre-Hispanic period. It is made of materials found in the community.
First, you must measure how much you are going to make, then we begin to wind the string around the sticks, we count how many times the thread goes around to see how much thread we are going to use when we begin to weave.
Margarita Mejia Lopez
You make 7 sticks or pieces of wood into pegs and push them into the ground to etretejer the thread and then wrap it around the sticks we call tu-isa´. In order to begin weaving, you also put some beginning stitches at the top of the loom to begin.
Well, before, for many years, they used the wool of sheep, but now one uses cotton because wool is very scarce.
Cecilia Hilario Melchor
posted by Raqui @ 1:35 PM
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