Villa de Zaachila
|
Villa de Zaachila Zaachila |
|
|---|---|
| Town & Municipality | |
Scene from the weekly market or tianguis of Villa de Zaachila
|
|
 Villa de Zaachila
|
|
| Coordinates: 16°57′03″N 96°44′57″W / 16.95083°N 96.74917°WCoordinates: 16°57′03″N 96°44′57″W / 16.95083°N 96.74917°W | |
| Country |
 Mexico
|
| State | Oaxaca |
| Government | |
| • Municipal President | Noe Pérez Martínez / Miguel Angel Hernandez Vazquez |
| Elevation (of seat) | 1,520 m (4,990 ft) |
| Population (2005) Municipality | |
| • Municipality | 28,003 |
| • Seat | 13,721 |
| Time zone | Central (US Central) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | Central (UTC-5) |
| Postal code (of seat) | 71250 |
Villa de Zaachila is a town and municipality in Oaxaca, Mexico, six km from the city of Oaxaca. It is part of the Zaachila District in the west of the Valles Centrales Region. In the pre-Hispanic era, it was the main city-state for the Valley of Oaxaca after the fall of Monte Albán, and the Zaachila Zapotecs were the prominent political force for much of the Valley of Oaxaca when the Spanish arrived. Since then, it has been mostly quiet, but political unrest has been prominent since 2006 and the municipality has two parallel governments.
Zaachila is famous for its Thursday open air markets, which spreads over much of the center of town and has been a tradition since pre-Hispanic times. It is home to a mostly unexplored archeological site and is known for a dance called the Danza de los Zancudos, or Dance of the Stilts. The official name is Villa de Zaachila (Town of Zaachila). The name Zaachila is from the Zapotec language and means “large leaf of the purslane (Portulaca oleracea).
After the fall of Monte Alban, the Valley of Oaxaca was divided into a number of city-states. They shared a religious center, Mitla, where the deities of the underworld were venerated. Late in the 13th century, the ruler of the Zaachila city-state began to grow in power to dominate much of the surrounding valley. Starting from around 1400, there are five known rulers of the “Zaachila yoo” or “house of Zaachila.” These rulers are named Zaachila I, Zaachila II and Zaachila III, Cosijoeza and Coijopij. The names of the first three probably come from the fact that these lords are depicted in codices without names or at least without legible names. The last two were alive during the Spanish Conquest and the last, Coijopij, is depicted in the Lienzo de Guevea in Spanish dress on a Spanish style throne.
The territory of these Zapotecs was considered vulnerable since the Mixtecs’ eastern border was nearby. Another threat was the Aztecs, who had made incursions trying to control the trade route to the Isthmus.The city of Zaachila became key to defending Zapotec lands. Despite these threats, Zaachila extended its power over a large area, so that the entire valley came to be known by the city’s name. The history of the Zapotecs and Mixtecs is one of war, strategy and alliances. Most alliances between the Zaachila Zapotec and the Mixtec involved the common concern of keeping the Aztecs out of Oaxaca. Zaachila II defeated the Mixes and other peoples on the road to Tehuantepec but was in relative peace with the Mixtecs. Zaachila III fought the Mixtecs and the Aztecs, but lost the capital of Zaachila, moving to Tehuantepec.
...
Wikipedia