Bird and Insects

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OF BIRDS AND INSECTS: THE HUMMINGBIRD MYTH IN ANCIENT

MESOAMERICA
Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos
Ancient Mesoamerica / Volume 21 / Issue 01 / March 2010, pp 45 - 61

DOI: 10.1017/S0956536110000155, Published online: 22 September 2010
Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0956536110000155
How to cite this article:

Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos (2010). OF BIRDS AND INSECTS: THE HUMMINGBIRD MYTH IN ANCIENT MESOAMERICA.
Ancient Mesoamerica, 21, pp 45-61 doi:10.1017/S0956536110000155
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Ancient Mesoamerica, 21 (2010), 45–61
Copyright © Cambridge University Press, 2010
doi:10.1017/S0956536110000155
OF BIRDS AND INSECTS: THE HUMMINGBIRD MYTH

IN ANCIENT MESOAMERICA
Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos

Museo Popol Vuh, Universidad Francisco Marroquín, 6 Calle Final, Zona 10, Guatemala 01010
Abstract
An important episode in Mesoamerican mythical narratives involves the abduction or impregnation of a tightly guarded maiden by a
disguised god, against the will of her father or mother. This action precipitates major creational events that variously result in the origin of
the sun, the moon, and human sustenance. Relying on a comparative analysis of versions recorded throughout Mesoamerica, this
paper explores (a) representations of this episode in Maya art, where the suitor sometimes takes the shape of an insect; (b) the magical role
of weaving and spinning, a recurrent theme in this mythical sequence; and (c) the relevance of Maya narratives for the interpretation
of related passages in central Mexican mythology and ritual. Classic representations evidence the myth’s antiquity, while its numerous
versions pose methodological problems, addressed in this paper through the analysis of synonymies in narrative, art, and performance.
A Late Classic painted plate from the Maya Lowlands shows a beau- Eva Hunt (1977) and Elizabeth Benson (1989) explored the bird’s
tiful young woman sitting in front of a dreadful insect (Figure 1; De mythological role related to warfare, love, and solar symbolism,
Castro 2007; Object 159). The creature’s skeletal head is decked while both Benson and López Austin (1996a:34) found striking
with eyeballs, its ear pierced by a red-stained paper strip, and the parallels in South American religions. Michel Graulich (1983:
ak’bal sign on its wing marks it as a nocturnal being. The annoying 577–581; 1997:52–59) related the Maya stories with the Aztec myth
pest bites the lady’s nipple with a long, pointed sting, while she of Tamoanchan, which he interpreted as a major rupture that resulted
raises her hand, as if ready to slap it dead. Yet, her outward distress in the end of immortality, the introduction of death and procreation, the
may conceal an ambivalent attitude towards the insect’s harassment. origin of the sun and the moon, and the creation of cultigens.
As interpreted in this paper, this is no ordinary insect bite. The plate H. E. M. Braakhuis (2001, 2005) used the term “hummingbird
shows a portent that appears recurrently in Mesoamerican myths: myths” in reference to mythical episodes in which a hero attempted
the impregnation of a maiden by a disguised god, a crucial juncture to marry the daughter of an earth god, using a magical transform-
in the theogony of ancient and modern Mesoamerican peoples. ation to achieve his goal. In contemporary Maya stories, the hero
Importantly, this Lowland Maya plate can be explained only by invariably takes the shape of a hummingbird—often called
comparison with mythical narratives that have been recorded in burrión or gorrión in common Guatemalan usage (Sandoval
other Mesoamerican regions, including the Pacific Coast, Oaxaca, 1941). Elsewhere, other beings and even objects may take its
central Mexico, and the Gulf Coast. In this paper, I trace the place, and yet the hummingbird recurs frequently enough to
subtle ways in which the Classic Maya depicted this episode in justify the application of Braakhuis’s label to a wide group of
the light of parallel myths recorded throughout Mesoamerica. stories, not all of which involve the bird’s participation.
Furthermore, I show that narratives from the Maya area and else- Comparing episodes from several places across Mesoamerica,
where are relevant for the interpretation of related mythical passages López Austin (1996a:338–341) concluded that the transformational
in central Mexican sources. Ancient and modern versions of the identity of the male partner and even his actions were superfluous to
myth are inextricably rooted in the Mesoamerican religious tra- the nodal subject of the myth: the hierogamy of two mythical char-
dition, characterized by Alfredo López Austin (1996a:34–40) as acters that personify heaven and earth. Invariably, this union took
an organized whole that includes widely different forms of place against the will of the maiden’s parents, initiating an extraordi-
thought and cult, integrated by historical processes. In the following nary sequence of creational events.
pages, the essential unity of Mesoamerican religion is underscored The myth’s broad distribution and numerous variants suggest
by the identification of widespread beliefs related to weaving and great antiquity. The range of variation present in contemporary
spinning that intertwine consistently with this mythical thread. accounts opens the question of how to recognize ancient represen-
Several scholars have noted the myth’s broad geographic distri- tations of stories that must have varied considerably through time
bution. In his compilation of Maya creation stories, Eric Thompson and space. Potentially, storytellers from every community and
(1970:370–371) compared the hummingbird’s role in sun and moon language group may have developed a wide array of variations,
tales with parallel passages in Mixe, Chatino, and Aztec narratives. which must have evolved through time. Indeed, this supposition is
supported by the iconographic analysis of pre-Columbian imagery.
López Austin’s meticulous study of Mesoamerican mythology
E-mail correspondence to: [email protected] offers a way to approach these problems. This paper is grounded
45
46 Chinchilla Mazariegos
The Ixil prayer tells a different story, about the seduction of a

maiden by a disguised hero, who took the shape of a hummingbird,
and their eventual flight from her father’s rage (Palomino 1972:
129–149). Best known from the Q’eqchi’ of Alta Verapaz, the
story has also been recorded in the Maya Lowlands, among
the Mopan and Lacandon, and in the highlands, among the
Poqomchi’, Ixil, Kaqchikel, and Tz’utujil. The narratives that
were studied for this paper are listed in Table 1. The reader is
referred to this table for bibliographic references that are sometimes
omitted in the text for the sake of readability.
One of earliest and most elaborate versions of the story was
recorded by Pablo Wirsig in 1909, as narrated by Juan Caal, and
later published by Quirin Diesseldorff (1966–1967) and Estrada
Monroy (1990). The moon was a young weaver who lived with
her father. Trying to entice her, the sun first posed as a hunter, car-
rying a stuffed deer skin, but the trick failed when he slid on the
maize-cooking water that she threw on his path, following her
father’s advice. The sun then borrowed the hummingbird’s feathers
Figure 1. Mosquito biting a maiden’s breast. Detail of Classic Maya plate, and flew over a tobacco plant that had grown at the place where the
Object 159 in De Castro (2007). Drawing by the author, after a photograph ash-stuffed deer skin fell. Attracted by the beautiful bird, the girl
courtesy of Inés de Castro. asked her father to capture it alive for her, which he did by shooting
it with his blowgun. She first put it in the gourd where she kept her
yarn, but the bird was restless, so she placed it inside her blouse,
in his discussion of “synonymies,” episodes that recur in slightly
where it stayed quiet. She went to bed with the bird on her chest.
variable ways and yet are so similar to each other that they
At midnight, he manifested himself as a man and they escaped,
suggest a significance beyond the level of “heroic subjects,” the par-
fearing her father’s anger. Realizing the deception, the old god
ticular feats that may vary in every single version of a myth (López
asked for help from his relative, Lightning, who stroke them with
Austin 1996a:328–329). Comparison of multiple versions in search
his axe as they reached a lake. Sun escaped by hiding inside a
for synonymies is a heuristic procedure that leads to the identifi-
turtle carapace. Moon hid inside the armadillo’s armor, but it
cation of “nodal subjects,” the essential themes of mythical narra-
broke and Lightning killed her, spilling her blood in the water.
tives. Nodal subjects refer to basic creative processes, revealing
With the help of dragonflies, Sun recovered the blood and placed
the profound significance of feats. They lie at the core of myths
it in thirteen jars. When he opened them thirteen days later, the
and may remain stable through time and space, while the specific
first twelve jars contained all kinds of serpents, lizards, biting
actions that form the narrative thread may vary (López Austin
insects, spiders, scorpions, centipedes, and caterpillars. He asked
1993:247–259; 1996a:320, 388). The heroic subjects of myths pro-
a woodcutter to throw the jars in the lake, but the curious man
vided a rich source of visual images for ancient artists and crafts-
opened them, and the vermin came out. Moon appeared in all her
men. It is the task of modern researchers to identify the nodal
beauty from the thirteenth jar. They finally rose to the sky as the
subjects behind images, unraveling the complex interplay between
sun and the moon.
oral narratives and artistic representations. Synonymies in oral and
The characters represented on the Classic Maya vase K5041
written literature throughout Mesoamerica provide insights for the
(Figure 2) are strikingly similar with those of the Q’eqchi’ story.
interpretation of pre-Columbian imagery in the Maya area and
A young moon goddess shares a celestial throne with an old
elsewhere.
god—possibly the paramount celestial god Itzamnaaj—who ges-
tures over a plate full of tamales. He is about to receive two drinking
vases from a young man who occupies a lower, unadorned bench on
THE ABDUCTION
the left side of the scene—an indication of his lower status (cf.
Traditional marriage petitioning ceremonies in the Guatemalan Houston 1998:341). This young man poses as a hummingbird, as
highlands involve the recitation of long prayers by religious special- suggested by the flower-piercing, curved beak projecting from his
ists, acting on behalf of the groom and his family, at the bride’s nose (Figure 3). Seler (1996:231) first showed that representations
parents’ house. Mythical narratives form the core of prayers of hummingbirds in the Maya codices were distinguished by a
recorded by Palomino (1972) among the Ixil of Chajul and by circle of dots on the beak—now known to represent a pierced
van Akkeren (2002) in the K’iche town of Rab’inal. In both flower. While the vase includes no hint of the relationship among
cases, the prayers refer to mythical unions that took place against these three characters, their relative age and position in the scene
the will of the heroine’s father. The Rab’inal prayer recounts the are compatible with the myth’s argument: the young moon
magical impregnation of a maiden and her flight from her father’s
rage. After escaping his executioners and enduring much hardship,
she gave birth to the son of God. While the prayer is strongly influ-
1
enced by Christianity, van Akkeren notes its parallels with the story Throughout this paper, the objects designated with K numbers refer to
of Lady Xkik’, as told in the Popol Vuh. In the sixteenth-century Justin Kerr’s photographs available through the “Maya Vase Database” and
“A Precolumbian Portfolio,” at http://www.mayavase.com. The majority of
K’iche epic, the magical impregnation of Lady Xkik’ was a objects mentioned in this paper are unprovenanced. However, I was able to
turning point that ultimately resulted in the birth of maize and the examine personally the key objects shown in Figures 1, 6, and 10 and found
origin of the sun and the moon (Christenson 2003:128–134). no indication to cast doubt on their authenticity.
The Hummingbird Myth in Ancient Mesoamerica 47
Table 1. Ethnographic versions of the hummingbird myth consulted in this paper
Place Language Source
Halicar, Alta Verapaz Q’eqchi’ Estrada Monroy 1990; Diesseldorff 1966–1967

Alta Verapaz Q’eqchi’ Danien 2005:42–44
Senahú, Alta Verapaz Q’eqchi’ de la Cruz Torres 1978
Poptún(?) Q’eqchi’ Shaw 1971
Alta Verapaz Q’eqchi’ Avila 1977
Alta Verapaz Q’eqchi’ Wilson 1999:235
Campur and Chulac, Alta Verapaz Q’eqchi’ Termer 1957:291–293
Alta Verapaz Q’eqchi’ Schumann 1988
Santa Cruz Verapaz Poqomchi’ Búcaro Moraga 1991
Santa Cruz Verapaz Poqomchi’ García Escobar 2005
San Cristóbal Verapaz Poqomchi’ Mayers 1958
San Luis, Peten Mopan Shaw 1971:175
San Antonio, Belize
Belize Mopan/Q’eqchi’ Thompson 1930, 1970
Northeast Chiapas Northern Lacandon Boremanse 2006:82–85
Northeast Chiapas Southern Lacandon Boremanse 2006:317–319
Nebaj Ixil Colby and Colby 1986:196–198
Nebaj Ixil Yurchenco 2006:87–88
Chajul Ixil Palomino 1972:22–24
Chajul Ixil Yurchenco 2006:88
San Antonio Palopó Kaqchikel Redfield 1946; Thompson 1970:437–438
Santa Catarina Palopó Kaqchikel Petrich and Ochoa García 2003:23–24
Santiago Atitlán Tz’utujil Prechtel 2005
Santiago Atitlán Tz’utujil Stanzione 2003
San Pablo la Laguna Tz’utujil Petrich and Ochoa García 2003:148–159
Soconusco Spanish Navarrete 1966
Camotlán, Oaxaca Mixe Miller 1956:75–76
San Juan Quiahije, Oaxaca Chatino De Cicco and Horcasitas 1962
Mecayapan, Veracruz Nahua Law 1957
Sierra norte de Puebla Nahua Segre 1990
Tzinacapan, sierra de Puebla Nahua Pury-Toumi 1997:148
Cuapaxtitla, Huejutla de los Reyes, Hidago Nahua Greco 1989
Xochiatipan, Hidalgo Nahua Van ’t Hooft and Cerda Zepeda 2003:41–55
Chicontepec, Hidalgo Nahua Olguín 1993
Ixhuatlán de Madero, Veracruz Nahua Sandstrom 1998
San Miguel Acuexcomac, Puebla Nahua Fagetti 2003
Tzicatlán, Veracruz Otomí Oropeza Escobar 2007:185–191
Teenek (Huaxtec) Ochoa Peralta 2000.
Aquismón, San Luis Potosí Teenek (Huaxtec) Van ’t Hooft and Cerda Zepeda 2003:34–39
San Marcos Eloxochitlan, Puebla Totonac Kelly 1966:396
Papantla, Veracruz Totonac Oropeza Escobar 2007:202–208
Papantla, Veracruz Totonac Münch Galindo 1992
Sierra Norte de Puebla Totonac Ichon 1973:73–86
goddess is likely the old god’s daughter, while the hummingbird impossible to satisfy the demanding father-in-law, who killed the
man is her suitor. girl with lightning. In these versions, the girl’s remains generated
No episode involving a direct negotiation between the hum- all kinds of game animals and honey bees (Colby and Colby
mingbird and his potential father-in-law appears in the Q’eqchi’ 1986:196–198; Redfield 1946; Thompson 1970:365–366).
myth. However, the vase may derive from a different version of Bridal service was also imposed on the Lacandon hero who had
the story, one in which the girl’s father received the suitor’s respects. hunted all the gophers in the forest and disguised himself as a hum-
Indeed, Kaqchikel and Ixil versions, including the Chajul marriage mingbird to approach the death god’s daughter. He had to bring the
petitioning prayer (Palomino 1972), involve such a passage. god’s disgusting food and firewood—wood mushrooms, pus,
Discovering their illicit affair, the old god allowed the couple to larvae, and human bones. He also had to clean his father-in-law’s
marry, under the condition that his son-in-law fulfill Herculean house and milpa, and make balche for him. Most importantly, he
tasks for him, such as building a large house or planting and harvest- had to replace all the animals that he had killed—by procreating
ing an entire maize field in short periods. The hero succeeded thanks gophers with his wife (Boremanse 2006:82–85). Related stories
to magical help from his wife, and they ran away only after finding it throughout Mesoamerica omit the suitor’s initial transformation
Figure 2. The old god, the moon maiden, and the hummingbird. Classic Maya vase K504. Rollout photograph by Justin Kerr, Maya
Vase Data Base (http://www.mayavase.com).
while concentrating on the couple’s magical fulfillment of imposs- In his penetrating analyses, Braakhuis (2001, 2005) explained the
ible tasks and their flight from the maiden’s insatiable father myth’s sexual symbolism. In Maya narratives, the relationship of man
(Abramo Lauff 2004; Münch Galindo 1994:162–163; Thompson to the earth and its products is construed as analogous to the pursuit of
1930:167–178). wives. By abducting the earth god’s daughter, the hero fails to fulfill
Figure 3. Representations of hummingbirds and hummingbird impersonators in Maya art, characterized by their long, curved beaks
with pierced flowers. (a) Detail of Vase K504; (b) Detail of Late Classic vase from the Naranjo region, in the collection of the Museo de
Arqueología y Vidrio Moderno, Antigua Guatemala; (c) Detail of Madrid Codex (p. 20c), with the glyphic name tz’unun, “humming-
bird”. Drawings by the author.
his obligations toward his father-in-law, thus incurring his rage. Veracruz, Puebla, and Hidalgo. However, a comparison with
Without proper compensation, the old god refuses to let him related accounts blurs this contrast. In some Q’eqchi’ and
harvest the earth’s yield, personified in his daughter. “The relation- Poqomchi’ stories, the girl was not killed by her father. Instead,
ship of man to the earth and its bounty can apparently be viewed she remained hidden in a cave, where she became maize (Búcaro
as an affinal relationship or, rather, as a permanent state of being a Moraga 1991:71; Mayers 1958:6; Schumann 1988). In Mixe and
suitor…” (Braakhuis 2005:174) As noted, alternative versions make Chatino stories from Oaxaca, the girl’s offspring eventually
the earth god’s daughter capable of generating useful products such became the sun and the moon, while in Totonac versions, the
as game animals, honey bees, and, sometimes, the basic staple, corn. girl’s son—or twins—planted a maize field before transforming
into the sun and the moon (Kelly 1966:396; Münch Galindo
1992). The overlap is not trivial; in ancient and contemporary
THE HIEROGAMY
Maya thought, the origin of maize and the advent of the first
Most contemporary Maya accounts concentrate on the hero’s con- dawn are regarded as aspects of the same creational event
flict with his father-in-law and the couple’s flight from his rage. (Carlsen and Prechtel 1991:31–32; Tedlock 1996:225–226).
In this respect, they approximate the narrative of the Popol Vuh, A crucial detail in Law’s Nahua myth is the maiden’s work
which also recounts the escape of Lady Xkik’ from her father. making napkins. Her role as a weaver is emphasized in most
Unlike the Popol Vuh, most Maya myths fail to mention heroic Maya and Mixe accounts, although it is rarely mentioned elsewhere.
offspring from this tragic romance. Exceptions include a Tzotzil The significance of this role goes far beyond the bare indication of
version from highland Chiapas (Guiteras Holmes 1986:153–154), her daily chores. A comparison of related episodes highlights the
and a Tz’utujil account published by Stanzione (2003:79). In the synonymous nature of these mythical narratives while revealing
latter, the weaver YaSar found a hummingbird—the Sun—lying details of widespread Mesoamerican beliefs associated with
on the floor and placed it between her breasts. Her son was weaving and spinning.
MaNawal Jesukrista’, a god whose story coincides only partly
with that of the Christian Jesus.
By contrast, the product of the illicit affair is the focus of THE POWER OF THE LOOM
non-Maya accounts. A good example is Howard Law’s story of Donald and Dorothy Cordry (1968:46) and Hilda Delgado (1969)
Tamakasti, from the Nahua town of Mecayapan, Veracruz, as first saw the weavers represented in Jaina-style figurines as represen-
told by Víctor Cruz. The daughter of a she-devil (tsitsimilama) tations of the young weaver that instigated the bird’s passion in
fell in love with a bird that could speak. He wanted to marry her, many versions of the myth (Figure 4). The best-documented
but the girl’s mother opposed the marriage, arguing that she had a example, excavated by Delgado on Jaina Island, has a bird
lot of work to do making napkins. Without the mother’s consent, perched on the stump that holds the loom. The mischievous bird
the bird danced upon the girl, who became pregnant. He never teasing the dutiful weaver is a charming motif, particularly close
came back. When Tamakasti was born, his grandmother cooked to Mixe and Maya versions of the myth in which the girl is
and ground him, and tried to feed him to the ants and fish, but he almost invariably a dedicated weaver. As such, she embodies the
escaped unharmed. She threw him in a lake, only to find him
three days later, shaped like an egg that floated on the water. The
women put him inside a trunk that burst open thirty days later,
giving birth to various animals. After playing several magical
tricks on the tsisimilama, he reappeared as a boy and stayed with
the family. His grandparents plotted to eat him, but he first killed
the grandfather and let the grandmother drink his blood. Then he
boiled her in a cauldron and burned their bones together. He
entrusted a toad to take the ashes and throw them across the
ocean, but the unworthy envoy threw them on the shore, freeing
mosquitoes, flies, and gnats. The story ends with the hero’s search
for his father and his eventual marriage, in a series of episodes that
may be influenced by European folk tales (Law 1957). The story of
Tamakasti parallels numerous myths that relate to the origin of
maize or the origin of the sun and the moon, not all of which
include the hero’s mother’s magical impregnation (cf. Graulich
1987; Braakhuis 1990).
Despite the divergent episodes, this account has much in
common with Maya myths, beyond its inception with the
maiden’s love affair with a bird. A critical feature is the maiden’s
seclusion. Most stories make clear that she kept away from men,
either by her own will or by her parents’. Also essential is the
parents’ contempt of her suitor, which prompts his trickery,
setting in motion various conflicts, either between the hero and
his unwilling in-laws or between the illegitimate offspring—some-
times twins—and their mother’s family. The outcome of these tales Figure 4. The weaver and the bird, represented on a Late Classic Maya clay
seems divergent—the creation of the sun and the moon in the figurine from Jaina Island. Drawing by the author, after Schmidt et al.
Q’eqchi’ story and the origin of maize in the Nahua versions from (1998:158).
ideal of a perfect, well-raised woman and a desirable wife. These She picked a nance fruit from the ground and ate it, wondering if her
were the thoughts of the sun hero, in Wirsig’s Q’eqchi text: “She grandson had knocked it down for her. After that, lice infested her
is good!—he said in his heart—she I would take for my wife” head. She cut off all her hair, and the bird threw a ripe nance on
(Estrada Monroy 1990:111). her bald head. In the next episode, the boy reappeared as a cat,
Weaving in ancient Mesoamerica was an inherently female craft stole a banana from his grandmother, and threw it at her. Only
that involved physical training and corporal adaptation since child- after playing these magical tricks, he manifested himself as a boy,
hood (Burkhart 1997; Hendon 2006; McCafferty and McCafferty subsequently triumphing over his monstrous grandparents (Law
1991; Sullivan 1982). Together with spinning, it lay at the root of 1957:348–349). The sexual connotations are noticeable, especially
femininity, likened to both sexual intercourse and procreation. For in the grandmother’s comment about the fruit: “Oh, how delicious
the contemporary Tz’utujil, weaving is a creational process that is this nance and so big!” In another Nahua version, the hero
shares the qualities of birthing. The loom is a living creature threw a ripe fruit directly into the old woman’s loom (García de
whose parts are named after human body parts such as the head, León 1969:302). Thus, the attack on the woman’s weaving is
the heart, and the buttocks. The loom is fed in the weaving equated with sexual assault, symbolized by her eating the fruit—a
process and the back and forth motion of the weaver’s hips simu- widespread metaphor for sexual intercourse in ancient and
lates childbirth. The weaving sticks, identified as aspects of impor- modern Mesoamerica (Graulich 1983:577; Tarn and Prechtel
tant female deities, are placed by midwives on the stomach of 1990). The crucial detail is the woman’s inability to weave any
pregnant women to aid delivery (Prechtel and Carlsen 1988). longer, which explains her subsequent defeat.
The magical power of the loom is subtly reflected in the more The evil old woman reappears in Nahua myths from San Pedro
elaborate Q’eqchi versions of the hummingbird myth. As long as Jícora, Durango, recorded in 1907 by Konrad T. Preuss (1982:
she keeps weaving, the eager suitor cannot triumph over the dedi- 87–103; cf. Olivier 2005). Under the name of Tepusilam, she was
cated maiden. Therefore, he must find a way to turn her away a monster that ate many of her relatives. To kill her, they organized
from the loom. An intriguing sentence in Thompson’s account a party and sent the hummingbird to bring her to it. The bird made
from San Antonio, Belize, highlights the break in her labor. her drunk with maguey wine—mixed with scorpions and other
Distracted by the beautiful creature, she suspended weaving to pests, according to one version. On her way to the party, she lost
pick the hummingbird that fell to the ground, stunned by her her balls of yarn and her molcajete—the small bowl in which the
father’s shot. “As she stooped down, the strap which passed spindle is spun. “With this, she lost all her skills and wiles”
round her waist and held the loom taut slipped, and the loom fell (Preuss 1982:99). Completely drunk, she passed out at the party,
to the ground” (1930:127). Seemingly inconsequential, this sen- and the people burned and ate her. Some versions make it clear
tence marks the moment in which the bird overcame her resistance; that the hummingbird was the only one who could bring her to
her defeat was the consequence of her loosing the magical protec- the party, and the loss of her cotton and weaving implements
tion of the loom. along the way is always crucial for her defeat.
In Mario de la Cruz Torres’s Q’eqchi’ version from Senahú, the The cosmic diagram on page 1 of the Codex Féjerváry-Mayer
maiden developed a strong toothache after the hero threw fifteen red shows the goddesses Tlazolteotl and Chalchiuhtlicue on the west,
corn grains over her house. The nature of her pain was not casual. A standing under a spiny tree (Figure 5). By no coincidence, the
medical survey revealed the Q’eqchi’ belief that toothache could be
caused by sexual transgressions, and young men suffering toothache
were suspected of making a woman pregnant or having sex with
pregnant women (Avila 1977). In the Senahú story, the maiden’s
toothache was propitious for the suitor’s aim because it kept her
away from weaving. While she cried, he borrowed the humming-
bird’s outfit and flew over the tobacco plant, sucking nectar from
the flowers. The very sight of the bird calmed her pain, and she
resumed weaving after placing the bird in the gourd where she
kept her yarns—a likely allusion to her womb—but she started
making only bird patterns. In several versions of the story, the girl
tells her father that she wants the bird as a model for her weaving
designs (Búcaro Moraga 1991:70; Colby and Colby 1986:196;
Petrich and Ochoa García 2003:149). Thus, the suitor’s magic
allows him to enter the ultimate domain of her womanhood—her
weaving.
The necessity of neutralizing women’s weaving magic also
applies to the evil grandmother. In stories recorded among the
Chatino, Mazateca-Popoloca, and Tlapaneca of Oaxaca and
Guerrero, the mischievous twins that she adopted made the old
woman angry by messing up her cotton yarns and weaving tools
(Bartolomé 1979:23; Van der Loo 2002:76; Weitlaner Johnson
and Basset Johnson 1939:218). In Víctor Cruz’s story of
Tamakastsi, a related episode explains the hero’s victory over his
grandmother. After his rebirth from an egg that floated in the Figure 5. The hummingbird perches on the tree of the west, above the
water, the boy took the shape of a bird and found his grandmother goddesses Tlazolteotl and Chalchiuhtlicue. Detail from Codex
weaving under a nance tree. Suddenly, she became unable to weave. Féjerváry-Mayer (page 1). Drawing by the author.
bird perched above them is a hummingbird. Arguably, the associ- with or without the bird’s intervention. In Totonac stories, the girl
ation of this bird with the female goddesses is derived from its swallowed a brilliant trinket or an egg that she found in a spring.
role in hummingbird myths. Tlazolteotl, the Aztec goddess of Her son planted maize and later became the sun, while according
cotton, spinning, and weaving, was closely related with love and to one version his twin brother became the moon (Kelly 1966;
sexual license (Sullivan 1982). In this diagram, she wears on her Münch Galindo 1992). In a Nahua story from Hidalgo, a maiden
head a spindle thick with thread—a frequent attribute shared with went to a spring and found a beautiful green stone. She placed it
other female goddesses in Maya and Aztec religion (Taube 1994; in her mouth and became pregnant, giving birth to the maize hero
Thompson 1970:246–247). The goddesses often wore unspun (Van ’t Hooft and Cerda Zepeda 2003:41–55). Another story
cotton on the head and sometimes carried weaving implements from the same region tells about a girl attracted to the song of a
such as spindles and battens, interpreted by Sullivan (1982:18) as zanate while washing clothes in a river. In the hope of singing
their weapons. A Trique myth from Oaxaca tells how the constella- like the bird, she swallowed a grain of maize that the zanate
tion of Taurus was formed when the irate old woman threw her dropped in the water (Greco 1989). According to the Teenek, the
weaving sticks at the twins who ascended to the sky and transformed girl that was bathing simply turned her head to see the bird,
into the sun and the moon (Hollenbach 1977:131). which dropped a grain in her open mouth. In some versions,
More than simple adornments or symbols of their daily labor, the the impolite zanate defecated in her mouth (Ochoa Peralta 2000;
spindles and cotton worn by the goddesses may be understood as Van ’t Hooft and Cerda Zepeda 2003:34–39). Invariably, she
magical utensils that protected them—and their human advo- became pregnant and gave birth to the maize hero.
cates—from the hummingbird’s magic. Without them, they were The girl’s impregnation is less important in the Maya area perhaps
exposed to the power of their foes, ending up dead as the grand- because in most versions, her only offspring were animals or insects.
mothers or falling into the arms of their suitors—the probable A majority of accounts tell that the bird retook his human shape at
destiny of the seductive weavers represented in Jaina-style figurines. night, but sexual intercourse is seldom mentioned. A crucial
prelude appears in some stories: To calm down the restless bird, or
to revive it, the maiden sheltered it inside her blouse or skirt. By
THE MAIDEN AND THE BIRD
doing this, according to a Tz’utujil version, she became pregnant
The magical qualities of weaving and spindling implements may (Stanzione 2003:79). The same episode appears in Chatino and
explain their presence in high-ranking burials, noted especially in Mixe stories from Oaxaca, some of which specify that once inside
Mixtec tombs from Oaxaca (Hamann 1997; McCafferty and her blouse, the naughty bird bit the girl’s nipples, thus impregnating
McCafferty 1994). At the Late Classic site of Mirador, Chiapas, a her (De Cicco and Horcasitas 1962; Miller 1956:76–79). While
woman was buried with twelve bone picks, one of them shaped working in the Soconusco region of coastal Chiapas, Carlos
as a quetzal (Agrinier 1970:47–48). Avian imagery is also present Navarrete recorded a parallel story, told by Jesús Pérez (1966). God
in contemporary weaving picks from the Guatemalan highlands asked a beautiful girl in marriage but was rejected. Transformed
(Karl Taube, personal communication 2008). Recent research by into a bird, he came back while she washed clothes, but the girl hit
Follensbee (2008) shows that hummingbird-shaped jade picks, tra- it with a stick—a weaving stick in a parallel Mixe version.
ditionally identified as bloodletters, were most likely elite weaving Compassionate, she revived the bird by placing it in her bosom.
tools. Unprovenanced examples attributed to the Middle Formative The bird bit her nipples, which made her pregnant, and flew away.
Olmec (Taube 2004:122–125) may provide the earliest evidence of Her twin offspring became the sun and the moon.
the bird’s association with weaving, perhaps inspired by ancient ver- Navarrete cautioned about ancient and modern population move-
sions of the hummingbird myth. Hummingbird-shaped jade picks ments that resulted in the incorporation of beliefs and traditions from
have also been found in Classic Maya sites (Follensbee 2008:101). many regions to the local repertoire. However, there is evidence that
The Cordrys related the bird figures on weaving picks used by this mythical episode had great antiquity in Soconusco, going back
Cuicatec and Mixtec women with hummingbird myths. “When we at least to the Early Postclassic period. A candid representation of
asked what bird was represented, we were told with what seemed the hierogamy appears in a Tohil Plumbate effigy that shows the
ribald laughter that it was the zanate (grackle)” (Cordry and Cordry bird biting the girl’s breast as she struggles to get rid of the
1968:45–46). The cause of their amusement was their familiarity painful aggressor (Figure 6). Analysis of clay sources by Hector
with the story, documented in Oaxaca among the Chatino and Neff (2002) has shown that Tohil Plumbate pastes originated from
Mixe, although the published versions fail to identify the bird. the coastal plain of Soconusco, around the Cahuacan River. The
The avian suitor is a hummingbird in most Maya myths as well potter that made this figurine in the Early Postclassic period lived
as in some Nahua versions from the Sierra de Puebla, but he and worked within a day’s walk from the places where Jesús
becomes a zanate in a Nahua version from Hidalgo and among Pérez lived and worked in the twentieth century.
the Teenek. Elsewhere, the bird remains unidentified, and, in fact, The interpretation of this figurine exemplifies the problems
it is sometimes replaced by another animal or object. In a Tzotzil confronted in attempting to correlate mythical events with ancient
version from Chenalhó, Chiapas, the hero disguised himself as imagery. Admittedly, other interpretations can be entertained. The
a dog to approach the maiden while she washed by the river and bird’s gender is not evident in the figurine, and there is a possibility
conquered her by stealing her skirt—another way of attacking the that the bird is breast feeding, although the woman’s stance is not
woman’s weaving, as she was likely to have woven her own clothing obviously maternal. However, these alternatives find no explanation
(Guiteras Holmes 1986:153). López Austin shows that the hum- in the mythological sources. By contrast, the possibility that this
mingbird’s participation falls in the realm of heroic subjects, Plumbate effigy alludes to a version of the hierogamy, known to
whereas the underlying nodal subject is the hierogamy between the Early Postclassic peoples of the Pacific coast, is consistent
the maiden and the disguised god. with the contents of widespread narratives, including a version
Narratives from highland Mexico and the Gulf Coast share with recorded near the figurine’s place of manufacture, as indicated by
the Tzotzil version the fact that the prodigy happened in the water, archaeometric research.
of making her pregnant, it took some of her blood, mixed it with his
own, and placed it close to a water spring. A plant grew on that spot
and produced a fruit that had blood. An old couple of tsistimimej cut
the fruit and threw it in the water, where they later found the baby
Sintiopil, the maize hero (Pury-Toumi 1997:148; Segre 1990:
173–174). In consonance with the flower imagery featured in the
Yucatec version of the hierogamy, sucking the girl’s blood may
refer to the hummingbird’s feeding habits. However, sucking
blood is, by and large, the habitual behavior of another class of crea-
tures, namely insects.
In a parallel story, recorded among the Otomi of northern
Veracruz, the suitor took the shape of a flea and bit the girl, but
when she went to bathe and took her clothes off, all she found
was a corn grain. She ground it and threw it in the water, where
the shrimp took care of it. Nine months later, people found the
child hero playing music by the stream (Oropeza Escobar 2007:
186). The suitor’s transformation into a flea reappears in Nahua
and Totonac stories from Puebla, Hidalgo, and Veracruz (Ichon
1973:73–86; Olguín 1993:120–121; Sandstrom 2005:47).
Figure 6. Tohil Plumbate ceramic effigy showing a bird biting a maiden’s
The choice of a flea is sometimes explained by the suitor’s need to
breast. Private collection, Guatemala City. Photographs by the author. enter the coffin-like box or clay vessel where the jealous parents kept
their daughter so that no one could approach her. However, its partici-
pation is not strange in hummingbird stories, where insects and other
Elsewhere in the Maya area, a frieze from the Lower Temple of the poisonous creatures play multiple roles. The Maya account of the
Jaguars at Chichen Itza may also represent the hierogamy (Figure 7). origin of biting and stinging animals from the girl’s spilled blood
In Eduard Seler’s words: “The bird with the long, pointed bill that, finds parallel in widespread versions where poisonous creatures
here, apparently, is plunging into the opened breast of a human originated from the ashes of the hero’s grandparents, set free by an
flower, could—perhaps—also be intended for this bird … the hum- irresponsible envoy (Elson 1947; Sandstrom 1998:71; Van ’t Hooft
mingbird” (1996:237). While his caution is justified, Seler’s identifi- and Cerda Zepeda 2003:34–39, 41–55). Dragonflies collected the
cation of the bird is most likely correct, as the scene finds parallel in girl’s blood from the water in Q’eqchi’ stories, while the Ixil tell
the Katun 11 Ajaw prophecy from the Books of Chilam Balam. The that the suspicious father sent a louse, a flea, and a firefly to his
prophecy recounts the descent among the flowers of Pizlimtec, a god daughter’s room to investigate what was going on at night (Colby
that Cogolludo (1971, Vol. 1:255) associated with music, singing, and Colby 1986:196–198). In a Nahua version, several small
and poetry. According to the Códice Pérez, Pizlimtec disguised animals tried to enter the box where the girl was caged, until the
himself as a hummingbird to suck nectar from the flowers (Barrera flea succeeded and made her pregnant (Olguín 1993:120).
Vásquez and Rendón 1974:88). In the Book of Chilam Balam of Iconographic evidence suggests that an insect version of the hier-
Chumayel, the hummingbird married a flower, an episode that led ogamy prevailed in the Maya Lowlands during the Classic period, in
Thompson (1970:313) to link these passages with the Guatemalan which the suitor took the shape of a mosquito. In Maya art, the
hummingbird myth. Arguably, the Chichen Itza frieze presents a insect’s distinguishing features include a long, pointed muzzle, skel-
version of the hierogamy in which the maiden became identified as etal features, and ak’bal signs on the wings, which mark it as a noc-
a flower—an appropriate object of the hummingbird’s desire. turnal being (Coe 1973:124). Noting the occasional representation
of a flower pierced by the insect’s muzzle, Taube (2004:123)
suggested that mosquitoes may have been regarded as the humming-
THE MAIDEN AND THE INSECT
bird’s insect versions. Mosquitoes are closely associated with water
A Nahua tale from the Sierra Norte de Puebla adds an odd twist to and need water to reproduce, a fact that may influence the hieroga-
the story. A hummingbird bit a cannibal girl (tzitzimitl), but instead my’s frequent setting in springs or other bodies of water.
Figure 7. A hummingbird bites the breast of a flower woman. Detail from sculptured frieze at the Lower Temple of the Jaguars,
Chichen Itza. Drawing by the author, after a rubbing by Merle Greene Robertson.
The plate with the enthroned lady is one of several depictions

that show a mosquito biting a woman—not surprisingly, on her
nipple (Figure 1). Another example is incised on vase K7433
(Figure 8). Far from rejecting it, the naked woman seems to offer
her breast to the bite of a monstrous creature that thrusts its long,
pointed mouthpiece into her nipple. Despite its humanlike body,
the creature’s oversized head adorned with eyeballs corresponds
best to an insect. The same vase shows another scene in which
the insect kisses a standing lady. The characters appear to be the
same, but it is difficult to determine whether these are sequential
episodes of a continuous story. A plausible alternative is that they
depict two versions of the hierogamy, in which case it must be
assumed that the artist recognized parallel passages from related nar-
ratives. In the first, the insect bites the maiden’s breast, an episode
that corresponds best with the bird’s actions in contemporary tales
from Oaxaca and Soconusco. In the second, the insect deposits its
seed in the lady’s mouth, just like the birds in modern Nahua and
Teenek myths.
A Postclassic parallel from highland Mexico appears on page 30
of the Codex Laud (Figure 9), where a descending hummingbird
kisses a pregnant woman in the presence of the death god. Corona
Núñez (1964:376) saw this image as a depiction of a woman who
died as a result of miscarriage and associated her with the heroic
women who died in childbirth. Such an interpretation is not unre-
lated to hummingbird myths, which sometimes involve the death
of the maiden. In Mixe narratives, she died and her children were
born post-mortem, after a buzzard opened her stomach (Miller
1956:76–87). Brotherston (1994) related this section of the Codex
Laud with the birth almanacs of the Borgia Group codices (cf.
Boone 2007:140–141) and interpreted them as expressing the criti- Figure 9. A hummingbird kissing a pregnant woman. Detail from Codex
cal role of death for the gestation of human life. The presence of Laud, page 30. Drawing by the author after Corona Núñez (1964).
hummingbirds on pages 29, 30, and 31 suggests that the gestation
and birth themes on these pages may relate with mythical narratives
that involved the bird’s participation. the crocodilian tree to the old god, who seems unaware of the
An insect appears behind the old god, Itzamnaaj, on a pottery portent that unfolds in his own backyard. On the opposite side of
fragment from Buenavista del Cayo, Belize (Houston et al. 1992: the vase a flying mosquito bites the breast of a barely-dressed
Figure 10). The complete scene may have been close to an elaborate woman, while a jaguar-eared young man with a spot on the cheek
representation of the hierogamy that appears on a codex-style vase turns his head to watch the hierogamy. Considering the usual inter-
in the collection of the Museo de Arqueología y Vidrio Moderno, play among the three main characters of Maya hummingbird
Antigua Guatemala (Figure 10). In a palatial setting, Itzamnaaj ges- myths—the young maiden, her suitor, and her father—the beautiful
tures over a plate that contains a crocodilian tree. An attendant dwarf woman receiving the insect’s bite may be the old god’s daughter.
watches behind his lord while a human-bodied insect with a skeletal The handsome aspect of the jaguar-eared man makes him a good
head and dark wings enters the palace. The latter may be presenting candidate for the suitor’s role. However, his relationship with the
Figure 8. The maiden and the insect, incised on Classic Maya vase K7433. Drawing by the author, after a photograph by Justin Kerr
(www.mayavase.com).
Figure 10. Mosquito biting a maiden’s breast, behind an old god’s palace. Classic Maya codex-style vase in the collection of the Museo
de Arqueología y Vidrio Moderno, Antigua Guatemala. Composite photograph by the author.
insects is far from clear. Is he the instigator of the mosquito’s attack, open. A Mixe version of the hummingbird myth identifies the
that is, the rejected suitor, using a magical transformation to impreg- hero as a tobacco merchant (Miller 1956:75–76), while a Tzotzil
nate the lady? Is he conspiring with the insects to distract her father? text from Chamula asserts that the hummingbird was the Lord
Is he taking the shape of an insect to present the crocodile tree to his Sun’s tobacco gourd (Gossen 2002:97–98). Benson (1989:6)
potential father-in-law? Is this gift one of the impossible tasks notes that hummingbirds are closely associated with tobacco
imposed by the old god in parallel with contemporary Ixil and throughout the New World; in myths from Guiana, they brought
Kaqchikel versions? tobacco to the shamans and remain closely associated with them.
Because of the spot on his cheek, this young man appears to be The precise identification of the tree is uncertain, but the suitor’s
God S, the Spotted Headband God of Classic Maya mythology transformation into a mosquito brings these Classic Maya represen-
(Taube 1992:115–119). The jaguar ear is not a common attribute tations close to modern Q’eqchi’ stories, which according to
of this god, but it does appear on occasion (e.g., K1222). A role Braakhuis (2005), are especially concerned with the origin of
for God S in this version of the hierogamy is also suggested by disease and curing—the trade of healers and sorcerers. Insects are
his presence on vase K1607, where he presents the crocodile tree widely held as agents of disease among the Maya, and Braakhuis
plate to Itzamnaaj (Figure 11). Very likely, this is the same plant highlights a Q’eqchi’ version from Senahú, where the biting and
that appears between the lovers on vase K7433, with three flowering stinging creatures obtained their venom by soaking in an infusion
branches growing from a monstrous head (Figure 8). made with tobacco leaves and water (De la Cruz Torres 1978:
A tree or plant seems to play an important role in the mythical 40–42).
sequence of events that led to the maiden’s impregnation by an The portentous intercourse of the maiden and the mosquito may
insect, and indeed, such a plant appears in many versions of the relate with other instances of beastly love in Maya art. Examples
myth. Q’eqchi’, Poqomchi’, Mopan, and Lacandon stories specify include a fragmentary plate from Uaxactun that shows both an
that the hummingbird flew over a tobacco plant that grew in front insect and a monkey fondling the breasts of young women (Smith
of the old god’s house and sucked nectar from its flowers. In 1955, Figure 2g). On codex-style vase K1339 an old man with
some versions, the plant grew from the ashes that were spilled insect wings performs the same act while another woman presents
when the stuffed deerskin carried by the supposed hunter burst her naked body to an approaching deer—a scene that finds parallel
Figure 11. The spotted twin presenting a plate with a crocodile tree to the old god Itzamnaaj. Classic Maya codex-style vase K1607.
Rollout photograph by Justin Kerr, Maya Vase Database (www.mayavase.com).
in the opening of the Moon’s vagina by the deer hoof, told in some palace doors from intruders. In a dream, the god Yoalli—a probable
Q’eqchi’ versions of the hummingbird myth (Thompson 1930:129; manifestation of Tezcatlipoca (cf. Olivier 2004:67–68)—told
cf. Braakhuis 2001). The old man with insect wings on K1339 is Huitzilihuitl to make a beautiful painted arrow and place a shiny
likely related with well-known Maya figurines that show old men jewel inside the cane. Following the god’s instructions, the king
in intimate contact with young women. In fact, some Q’eqchi’ went near the boundary of Ozomatzin Teuctli’s kingdom and shot
and Poqomchi’ versions of the hummingbird myth describe the the arrow inside Miyahuaxiuitl’s courtyard. Attracted by the beauti-
suitor as an old man (Mayers 1958; Schumann 1988). ful arrow, the maiden picked it up, broke the cane, and found the
In the absence of literary sources, the precise unfolding of the shiny jewel inside. She placed it in her mouth and swallowed it
story must remain uncertain. However, these objects hint at a and thus became pregnant. Her son was Moteuczoma
Classic Maya version of the hierogamy, in which the hero took Ilhuicamina, the great ruler who first turned the Aztec kingdom
the shape of a mosquito to impregnate a young maiden. Like the into a regional power.
birds in stories from Soconusco and Oaxaca, the insect achieved As noted by López Austin, the identical names of the king of
its goal by biting the maiden’s breast. In a related episode, a croco- Quauhnahuac and the Chinantec town that lost the Mother of
dile tree was presented to the maiden’s father. There are no hints Cotton are unlikely accidental. Both stories probably derive from
about the fate of the girl or her offspring, but the images seem con- a very ancient myth that included similar motives. The same can
sistent with contemporary Q’eqchi’ versions in which the hiero- be said about other elements in the story—the maiden’s initial seclu-
gamy eventually resulted in the birth of insects and other stinging sion, the role of stinging animals and insects, and the hero’s way of
creatures. approaching her in disguise, through a beautiful flying object—that
are highly reminiscent of hummingbird myths. In fact, the Aztec
story finds a striking parallel with Mario de la Cruz Torres’s
THE MAIDEN FROM THE LAND OF COTTON
Q’eqchi’ version from Senahú (1978:33). Looking for a wife, the
Prodigious impregnations are recurrent in Aztec mythology. sun hero shot an arrow that fell next to the maiden who was
According to the Codex Chimalpopoca, “Quetzalcoatl was placed weaving and startled her. Like Huitzilihuitl’s, the sun’s sexual
in his mother’s belly when she swallowed a piece of jade” assault was mediated by a shooting arrow. These passages from
(Bierhorst 1998:28), an event that finds clear parallels in contempor- widely distant sources bespeak a common origin.
ary maize hero tales (Van ’t Hooft and Cerda Zepeda 2003:41–55; The arrow’s sexual connotations reappear in the story of
Oropeza Escobar 2007:204). The tutelary god Huitzilopochtli was Mixcoatl and Chimalman, Quetzalcoatl’s mother. The goddess sur-
conceived when Coatlicue placed under her skirt a ball of feathers rendered only after Mixcoatl repeatedly shot arrows at her, without
that fell from the sky. López Austin (1996a:338–341) noted the ever reaching the target (Bierhorst 1998:153). A related image
shared features between this passage and twentieth-century versions appears among the marriage prediction tables in the Codex Laud
of the hierogamy, not least among them the fact that Coatlicue’s and Codex Vaticanus B. In both, the twenty-third couple has the
heroic son had hummingbird attributes. man piercing the woman’s breast with a spear (Figure 12). This is
Cecelia Klein (personal communication 2008) points out the hum- a likely allusion to the prodigious impregnation of the maiden,
mingbird myth’s parallels with the story of Mayahuel, the Aztec here conflating sexual assault through a pointed weapon with
maguey goddess, as narrated in the Histoire du Méchique (Tena
2002:151). The god Ehecatl abducted the virgin goddess Mayahuel,
who was closely guarded by her grandmother, Cicimitl. The fleeing
couple transformed into a tree, hoping to avoid the furious grand-
mother, who ran after them with other Cicimitl goddesses. They
found them and killed the girl, but Ehecatl recovered her bones and
planted them, thus creating maguey. While the myth stressed the
origin of pulque, maguey was also an important source of fiber that
was spun and woven into clothing. Sullivan (1982) and Mikulska
(2001) highlight Mayahuel’s close affiliation with Tlazolteotl, the
patroness of spinning and weaving.
The Chinantec of Ozumacín, Oaxaca, tell a story about the theft
of the Mother of Cotton, a goddess that ensured abundant crops in
exchange for human victims, until she was stolen by the witches
from a nearby town (Krotzer 1970). López Austin (1996a:406)
noted the tale’s parallel with a sixteenth-century story that recasts
the hummingbird myth in quasi-historical terms. According to the
Crónica Mexicayotl (Anderson and Schroeder 1997:118–123), the
early Aztec king Huitzilihuitl—whose name means “hummingbird
feather”—wanted to marry Miyahuaxihuitl, daughter of Ozomatzin
Teuctli, the king of Quauhnahuac. This rich land was especially
noted for its production of cotton at a time when, we are told, the
Aztec only wore breechcloths made of marsh plants. Like every
maiden in hummingbird myths, Miyahuaxihuitl was closely
guarded and secluded from contact with men. A notorious sorcerer,
her father summoned spiders, centipedes, snakes, bats, and scor- Figure 12. Marriage prognostication, Codex Vaticanus B, page 33b.
pions—all sorts of stinging, poisonous creatures—to protect the Drawing by the author.
another element found in hummingbird stories: the bird’s or insect’s and a modern Cora myth recorded by Preuss, where scorpions,
bite on the woman’s breast. According to Boone (2007:137), the centipedes, spiders, and tarantulas came out of a maiden that had
characters in these prognostication tables are clad as specific super- succeeded in seducing a hero, “taking all his flowers” (Gutiérrez
naturals. Seler (1902:236) identified the protagonist gods in Codex del Angel 2007:78–79).
Laud as Xochipilli and Xochiquetzal, and Xochipilli and Tlazolteotl Codex Vaticanus 3738 tells that Tezcatlipoca disguised himself as
in the Codex Vaticanus B. a bird to deceive the goddess, here called Ixcuina (Corona Núñez
Elsewhere, Chimalpahin (1965:183) wrote that Moteuczoma 1964:94–96; López Austin 1994:77). Muñoz Camargo mentioned
Ilhuicamina was born at sunrise, which explained his prowess and no offspring, but other sources suggest that the product of this
intelligence, while his half-brother Tlacaelel was born at night, illicit union was the maize god, Cinteotl (Tena 2002:155; Graulich
right before sunrise. As noted by Gillespie (1989:133) this 1997:52–59; López Austin 1994:79). In consonance with most ver-
passage associates both lords with the sun and the morning star. sions recorded throughout Mexico, the impregnation of the goddess
Indeed, the story of Moteuczoma’s prodigious conception in the resulted in the birth of maize. Following Graulich’s (1983; 1997)
Crónica Mexicayotl casts him as an equal of the mythical heroes and López Austin’s (1994) analysis of the Tamoanchan myth, the
that were born as a result of a celestial god’s deception of a hierogamy was a transgression that marked a rupture in cosmic
tightly guarded young goddess, against the will of her father. As order, a portent that precipitated major creational events.
interpreted by Braakhuis (2001, 2005), in hummingbird myths the
latter is usually the owner of the earth’s bounty. Sure enough,
Ozomatzin Teuctli’s kingdom of Quauhnahuac was a lush land,
AZTEC AND MAYA HUMMINGBIRD DANCES
abundant in food, fruits, and especially cotton—the weavers’ sub-
stance. Huitzilihuitl’s conquest of the king’s daughter carried The parallel between the Tamoanchan myth and the hummingbird
together the Mexica’s acquisition of the fruits of that bountiful stories became tangible during the feast of Atamalcualiztli, cele-
place. His role also parallels that of Ehecatl stealing the goddess brated every eight years in commemoration of the birth of
of maguey, the major source of clothing for highland Mexican Cinteotl. Michel Graulich (2001) and Patrick Saurin (2002) sum-
people. As befits the story, Huitzilihuitl’s triumph over the marized the information available from scattered sources, showing
coveted woman went together with his conquest of cotton, the that the feast was a reenactment of the hierogamy that resulted in
essential symbol of femininity. the impregnation of Xochiquetzal and the birth of Cinteotl. As
Early sources link the region of Quauhnahuac—modern noted by both scholars, a drawing of Atamalcualiztli in Sahagún’s
Cuernavaca—with Tamoanchan, a mythical place of abundance Primeros Memoriales matches a description of a solemn dance pro-
and the setting of major creational events in Aztec religion. vided by Diego Durán (1984:193) that describes the celebration’s
According to the Histoire du Méchique, the first people were unfolding. A flowering house was built behind the temple of
created there, “…en una cueva de Tamoanchan, en la provincia Huitzilopochtli with artificial trees full of flowers. There sat the
de Quauhnahuac, que los españoles llaman Cuernavaca…” (Tena goddess Xochiquetzal, while youths dressed as birds and butterflies
2002:149). Mendieta (1973:60) situated in Cuernavaca the creation climbed the trees and sucked nectar from the flowers. A group of
of the calendar, an event that took place in Tamoanchan, according gods approached, shooting down the birds with blowguns.
to a mythical narrative recorded by Sahagún (López Austin 1994: Xochiquetzal came out of her house to receive the gods and let
233). Thus, the Aztec regarded Quauhnahuac as one of several them sit by her side. The Primeros Memoriales drawing shows
earthly places that shared important features with the mythical Xochiquetzal weaving, with her loom attached to a flowering tree
Tamoanchan (López Austin 1994:46–47, 71). Not only were they full of birds, while the gods approach, with Tezcatlipoca first
similar in their bountiful nature, as expressed in the Crónica among them (Figure 13). The associated description mentions
Mexicayotl, but the events that transpired in them were similar. other participants, dressed not only as birds and butterflies, but
Huitzilihuitl’s impregnation of Miyahuaxihuitl may be regarded as also flies and scarabs, as well as lepers and other poor people,
a version of the hierogamy that took place in Tamoanchan, an who danced around an effigy of Tlaloc (Graulich 2001:361).
episode that Graulich (1997:56) compared with the Maya humming- The young weaver, the youths disguised as birds, the presence of
bird myths. insects, and the rituals surrounding the earth god are compatible with
According to Muñoz Camargo (Acuña 1984:202–203), the hummingbird myths. In particular, the blowgun shooting of the birds
goddess Xochiquetzal was a talented weaver who lived in is strongly reminiscent of highland Maya stories, where the young
Tamoanchan, among the pleasures of a lush garden “where she was weaver’s father shot down the beautiful bird with his blowgun.
so guarded and secluded that men could not see her.” As the story Similar images are evoked in the Song of Atamalcualiztli, recorded
goes, Tezcatlipoca stole her from Tlaloc, who was her husband. At by Sahagún, which recalls the birth of Cinteotl in Tamoanchan
the risk of amending the Tlaxcalan writer, I suggest that the earth Xochitlicacan, among flowers and birds. Relevant for the present
and rain god was probably not her husband, but her father although argument is the song’s mention of blowguns, alluding to the shooting
it is equally plausible that the sixteenth-century Tlaxcalan version of birds. The song also evokes Pilzintle, who covers himself with
recorded by Muñoz Camargo varied in this important aspect. Both yellow parrot feathers and perches over a ballcourt. This verse
her weaving and her seclusion from suitors are highly suggestive of recalls the Chilam Balam prophecy of the descent of Pizlimtec in a
her identity with the virginal maidens of hummingbird myths. flowering place. Both refer to the mythical story of the god that
Consist with other versions of the hierogamy, her abduction cloaked himself as a bird to approach a reticent maiden that inhabited
amounted to an attempt to steal the earth’s bounty, the gist of Maya a flowering paradise. Both names are variations of Piltzinteuctli, the
hummingbird myths (cf. Braakhuis 2001, 2005). In the Postclassic god that lay down with Xochiquetzal and fathered Cinteotl, according
codices, both Xochiquetzal and Tlazolteotl are sometimes associated to the Histoire du Méchique (Tena 2002:155). Graulich (1997:56–57)
with centipedes (Seler 1996:334), recalling both the Q’eqchi’ ver- and Olivier (2004:255–257) consider Piltzinteuctli as a manifestation
sions of the origin of poisonous creatures from the moon’s ashes of Tezcatlipoca.
Figure 13. Drawing of the Aztec feast of Atamalcualiztli. After Bernardino de Sahagún, Primeros Memoriales, fol. 254r. Copyright
©Patrimonio Nacional, Spain.
Saurin (2002:160) suggested that the song’s ballcourt references (hummingbird), to abduct Mariquita and fertilize the seed. He
correspond with the Popol Vuh narrative, in which the heroes were could transform into a quetzal or a hummingbird. The hero orga-
defeated at the ballcourt but eventually succeeded through the nized the Baile de Canastas to distract the girl’s father and had
magical impregnation of a maiden. Olivier (2004:256) cites a rel- sexual intercourse with her. Her father killed her, but maize grew.
evant passage from Codex Tudela, which asserts that Piltzinteotl A closely related Poqomchi’ dance, the Baile de Ma’muun is
died while playing ball. Arguably, these passages allude to a ball- based on the story of K’iche Achi, who abducted the maiden
court episode that probably played a role in ancient versions of Guarchaj from her father, Ma’muun. With the help of macaws,
the hierogamy, perhaps explaining the eventual death of the the insulted father found them and killed K’iche Achi (García
maiden’s suitor. In fact, many contemporary stories share the fact Escobar 2005).
that the suitor was killed one way or another, and his death in a ball- Ruud van Akkeren (2000:410–431; cf. Breton 1999:232–235,
game is attested in a Tepehua version (Williams García 1972:87). 265) has shown that the cosmogonic symbolism of the humming-
Related ball-playing episodes are also present in Totonac and bird myth is also embedded in the ancient dance-drama known as
Mazateca-Popoluca sun and maize hero tales (Ichon 1973:78–79; Rab’inal Achi. The drama culminates with the sacrifice of K’iche
Weitlaner Johnson and Basset Johnson 1939). Achi, the invading warrior. Once he accepts his fate, K’iche Achi
Like the Aztec, highland Maya peoples have performed the makes three petitions. The first is to drink the king’s twelve intoxi-
hummingbird story in traditional dances until the present. cating drinks or poisons, named ixtatz’unun, “hummingbird
Henrietta Yurchenco (2006) reported the Baile de Canastas, per- maiden”. Van Akkeren linked this passage with the hummingbird
formed in the Ixil towns of Nebaj and Chajul until the mid-twentieth sipping tobacco flowers and with the jars that contained the
century. The dance was based on the story of Mariquita, the daugh- maiden’s blood in Q’eqchi’ hummingbird myths.
ter of the sorcerer Matagtanic, who guarded the maize seed The warrior’s second request is a piece of cloth: “the gleamy and
in her bosom. People commissioned the demigod Tz’unun soft fabric, the cloth of the double-threaded warp, the cloth that
measures twenty lenghts, product of my mother/my lady” (van the narratives that inspired these images, and yet we are able to under-
Akkeren 2000:416). A servant gives him the cloth—a small piece stand their shared nodal subject through the comparative study of
in contemporary performance—requesting that he should not tear it. related narratives that are broadly distributed throughout
However, when he returns it, he declares: “I have come to split Mesoamerica. This study highlights their rich diversity as well as
it…I have come to tear it to pieces.” According to van Akkeren, the possibility of interpreting them by careful comparison of multiple
this is a critical juncture in the drama, signaled by the warrior’s variants from different times and regions. The search for synonymies
request to the musicians to resound their trumpets and their drums, that reveal the nodal subject of myths through a comparison of narra-
making the sky thunder and the earth tremble. K’iche Achi’s final tive and pictorial sources at a broad geographic level provides a meth-
request is to dance with the king’s daughter herself, whose role is per- odological basis that can be applied productively to the study of
formed by a young girl. Once again, he is allowed to dance with the Mesoamerican iconography.
maiden on condition that he should not tear her apart. Van Akkeren The hummingbird myth’s expressions in ancient Mesoamerican
(2000:424) points out that the dances with the cloth and the maiden art, narrative, and performance are manifold. At first glance, the
are identical in words and thus analogous to each other. Like insect biting a maiden’s breast seems only remotely related with
Huitzilihuitil pursuing the princess from the land of cotton, K’iche K’iche Achi’s heroic sacrificial dance or with Huitzilihuitl’s arrow
Achi’s dance with the maiden marks his attempt to steal the land in Miyahuaxihuitl’s courtyard. It seems equally distant from the
and its bounty. While captured and eventually sacrificed, he achieves serene Jaina weavers with their bird companions, despite their geo-
his goal by overtaking the king’s daughter—her sexuality aptly rep- graphic and temporal proximity. Indeed, each version belongs to a
resented by the gleamy cotton fabric, torn apart by her aggressor. specific time and place, and each conveys elements of the historical
background, social organization, and world view of a specific
community or social segment. Variables such as gender, class, and
occupation may explain the peculiar features of each version. In
CONCLUDING REMARKS
López Austin’s words, “…in the immense territory in which
The Classic Maya plate that began this inquiry was initially identified Mesoamerican peoples interacted for century upon century, the
as a representation of the mythical union of a woman with an insect. A myth was produced, as all of the great cultural episodes are produced,
more nuanced interpretation may now be offered: this plate represents by everyone and by no one, through additions, suppressions, and
one of several variants of the hummingbird myth that were current in rearrangements, the transformations being confused with the
the Maya Lowlands during the Late Classic period. In this version, a origins” (1996b:38). Yet, the exploration of synonymies in oral
hero took the shape of an insect to impregnate a maiden. Another narratives and pictorial representations reveals the finely nuanced
variant, represented on vase K504, shows the suitor as a humming- elements that recur throughout such diverse sources. The iterations
bird, negotiating with his prospective father-in-law. Yet another of themes such as weaving magic, insects and poisonous creatures,
variant shows the bird biting the maiden’s breast—a flower maiden the magical transformations of the suitor, and the in-laws’ contempt
at Chichen Itza. These representations attest the rich variations of toward him reinforce essential points of congruence that underline
this mythical episode that coexisted, more or less contemporaneously, the nodal subject of the myth: the hierogamy that variously resulted
in a discreet region. We remain ignorant of the precise unfolding of in the birth of the sun, the moon, and human sustenance.
RESUMEN
Un episodio mitológico ampliamente difundido en Mesoamérica narra la entre el ser humano y la tierra como análoga a la de un pretendiente en
historia de un héroe que toma el aspecto de un ave para seducir a una don- busca de esposa. El héroe intenta robar los productos de la tierra, personifi-
cella, en contra de la voluntad de su padre o su madre. En numerosas his- cados en la hija del dios, sin dar al padre la compensación adecuada. Por
torias, el héroe se transforma en colibrí, pero en ocasiones, toma la forma tanto, incurre en su furia, desencadenando los procesos creativos
de otro animal, insecto, o incluso un objeto inanimado. Esta unión da lugar subsecuentes.
a una serie de conflictos entre el pretendiente y su suegro, o entre el hijo Un análisis comparativo de las versiones del mito en toda Mesoamérica
(o hijos gemelos) de esta pareja y su familia materna. Múltiples versiones provee una base para explorar las representaciones de este episodio en el arte
del mito culminan con el origen del sol y la luna, y en muchos casos, el prehispánico y sus paralelos con mitos y rituales del centro de México. Las
maíz y otros productos útiles para el ser humano. La amplia distribución representaciones se han identificado en objetos arqueológicos procedentes
geográfica del mito y sus múltiples variaciones sugieren gran de la costa de Chiapas, las tierras bajas mayas y el norte de Yucatan. En el
antigüedad y, a la vez, plantean problemas de interpretación. ¿Cómo arte maya, el pretendiente puede transformarse en colibrí, pero en varios
reconocer en el arte, la narrativa y el ritual, las versiones antiguas de casos aparece como un mosquito que pica el pecho de una mujer. Esta
mitos que debieron variar considerablemente a través del tiempo y el identificación permite entrever el amplio rango de variación que debió
espacio geográfico? existir en las versiones orales durante el periodo clásico.
Para enfocar este problema, en este trabajo se aplica el concepto de “sino- De especial interés es la identificación de los aspectos mágicos del hilado
nimias,” elaborado por Alfredo López Austin para el estudio de la mitología y el tejido, que conforman un tema recurrente en el mito. En varias versiones,
mesoamericana. Las sinonimias son episodios que recurren en formas vari- la agresión sexual del pretendiente se equipara con un asalto al tejido o
ables, pero cuya similitud sugiere un significado común, más allá de los hilado de la doncella, que suele ser una hábil tejedora. Para vencer su resis-
“asuntos hazañosos” que forman la secuencia narrativa de los mitos, los tencia, el pretendiente debe alejarla de su labor, y solamente entonces con-
cuales pueden variar en cada versión. La comparación de múltiples ver- sigue vencerla. De ese modo, la conquista del algodón, el telar o la tela se
siones, en busca de sinonimias, permite detectar los “asuntos nodales,” los equipara con la conquista de la mujer.
temas esenciales en las narraciones míticas, referentes a los procesos creati- Las sinonimias detectadas por medio del análisis comparativo permiten
vos básicos. Para López Austin, el asunto nodal del mito del colibrí es la identificar elementos del mito en las fuentes aztecas, incluyendo los raptos
hierogamia de los amantes que personifican el cielo y la tierra. Según de las diosas Mayahuel y Xochiquetzal—ambas relacionadas estrechamente
H.E.M. Braakhuis las versiones mayas del mito representan la relación con los textiles—y la concepción prodigiosa de Moteuczoma Ilhuicamina,
narrada en la Crónica Mexicayotl. Finalmente, se exploran las representa- en la fiesta azteca de Atamalcualiztli, y algunos bailes contemporáneos del
ciones escénicas que incluyen la representación del mito de Xochiquetzal altiplano guatemalteco, entre ellos el Rab’inal Achi.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This paper was written with support from the Museo Popol Vuh, Universidad Taube, and Ruud van Akkeren. For their generous help that allowed the identi-
Francisco Marroquín, Guatemala. I owe an intellectual debt to H. E. M. fication and illustration of key objects, I thank Susana Campins, director of the
Braakhuis, whose papers provided the initial inspiration for my research on Museo de Arqueología y Vidrio Moderno, Antigua Guatemala; Inés de Castro,
the hummingbird myth, while the interpretations offered in this paper remain curator of the Roemer- und Pelizaeus-Museum, Hildesheim; and the late Doña
my sole responsibility. Valuable comments on an earlier version were provided Bárbara de Nottebohm. For their amazing patience with listening to humming-
by H. E. M. Braakhuis, Stephen Houston, Cecelia Klein, Guilhem Olivier, Karl bird stories, I thank Margarita Cossich and Víctor Castillo.
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OF BIRDS AND INSECTS: THE HUMMINGBIRD MYTH IN ANCIENT

Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos

Ancient Mesoamerica / Volume 21 / Issue 01 / March 2010, pp 45 - 61

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OF BIRDS AND INSECTS: THE HUMMINGBIRD MYTH

Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos

The Ixil prayer tells a different story, about the seduction of a

Table 1. Ethnographic versions of the hummingbird myth consulted in this paper

Place Language Source

Halicar, Alta Verapaz Q’eqchi’ Estrada Monroy 1990; Diesseldorff 1966–1967

The plate with the enthroned lady is one of several depictions

Pury-Toumi, Sybille de Sullivan, Thelma

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