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Huezàa yèche (Zapotec Priest)

Serving as the nexus between the sacred and the mundane, the zapotec priestly "class" was a key component in the complex religious institutions that have formed the framework of Zapotec spiritual, social and political life since at least the 15th century BCE. These priests functioned as intermidiaries between humans and the divine: the gods (pitào), and the sacred life force (pèe) imbued upon all objects and forces, natural and supernatural alike. It was the priest's job to appease and negotiate with them through religious ritual, reciprocity via the offering of material wealth, blood and life, and the invoking of sacred ancestors (deified in death) to intervene on their behalf.

With the arrival of the spaniards and the evangelical process, strong attempts were made to erradicate the indigenous faith through the destruction of "idols", temples and texts, as well as the exteripation of the priestly class through forceful conversion or outright murder. However, while most outwardly depictions of the prehispanic faith were replaced by superficial catholic imagery and worship, expressions of the ancient religion persisted both through sincretism and outright clandestine worship well into the 17th century and beyond, by way of comunity leaders and priests, who kept alive the traditions of their forefathers and integrated aspects of catholicism into their rituals and cults, developing modern expressions of faith that could be argued to be not entirely prehispanic, nor entirely catholic either.

While we are unfortunatly unable to reconstruct the exact composition of their religious heirarchy during the prehispanic period, we are at least broadly aware of four basic levels of rank that were typical of the average zapotec kingdom;

The Vigaña/Péni gòna yóna, young male and female (respectively) apprentices or neophytes,
The Huezàa yèche, ordained priests.
The Copa pitào, the eldest and most experienced of the Huezàa yèche, roughly analogous to a catholic bishop or cardinal.
The Huìa Tào, the highest ranking religious official of any given political entity, roughly analogous to the catholic pope, a comparison made by the spanish religious authorities.

The above illustration represents a classical period Huezàa yèche or Copa pitào, singing rites and spreading incense within the sacred caves of the Valley of Oaxaca. His headress depicts Pitào Cocijo, lord of rain and lightning, while his "chasuble" depicts the flora and fauna of the valley.
If you like it and want to support me try buying a HQ print in the link above. Also be sure to watch me and support my other sites as well, for more of my work! I am open to commisions, feel free to contact if your interested!

Description

PRINTS PATREON FACEBOOK TWITTER ARTSTATION INSTAGRAM

Huezàa yèche (Zapotec Priest)

Serving as the nexus between the sacred and the mundane, the zapotec priestly "class" was a key component in the complex religious institutions that have formed the framework of Zapotec spiritual, social and political life since at least the 15th century BCE. These priests functioned as intermidiaries between humans and the divine: the gods (pitào), and the sacred life force (pèe) imbued upon all objects and forces, natural and supernatural alike. It was the priest's job to appease and negotiate with them through religious ritual, reciprocity via the offering of material wealth, blood and life, and the invoking of sacred ancestors (deified in death) to intervene on their behalf.

With the arrival of the spaniards and the evangelical process, strong attempts were made to erradicate the indigenous faith through the destruction of "idols", temples and texts, as well as the exteripation of the priestly class through forceful conversion or outright murder. However, while most outwardly depictions of the prehispanic faith were replaced by superficial catholic imagery and worship, expressions of the ancient religion persisted both through sincretism and outright clandestine worship well into the 17th century and beyond, by way of comunity leaders and priests, who kept alive the traditions of their forefathers and integrated aspects of catholicism into their rituals and cults, developing modern expressions of faith that could be argued to be not entirely prehispanic, nor entirely catholic either.

While we are unfortunatly unable to reconstruct the exact composition of their religious heirarchy during the prehispanic period, we are at least broadly aware of four basic levels of rank that were typical of the average zapotec kingdom;

The Vigaña/Péni gòna yóna, young male and female (respectively) apprentices or neophytes,
The Huezàa yèche, ordained priests.
The Copa pitào, the eldest and most experienced of the Huezàa yèche, roughly analogous to a catholic bishop or cardinal.
The Huìa Tào, the highest ranking religious official of any given political entity, roughly analogous to the catholic pope, a comparison made by the spanish religious authorities.

The above illustration represents a classical period Huezàa yèche or Copa pitào, singing rites and spreading incense within the sacred caves of the Valley of Oaxaca. His headress depicts Pitào Cocijo, lord of rain and lightning, while his "chasuble" depicts the flora and fauna of the valley.
If you like it and want to support me try buying a HQ print in the link above. Also be sure to watch me and support my other sites as well, for more of my work! I am open to commisions, feel free to contact if your interested!