Lady Six Monkey (Mixtec: ''Ñuñuu Dzico-Coo-Yodzo''; born before 1073 – died 1101) was a queen of the

Mixtec The Mixtecs (), or Mixtecos, are Indigenous Mesoamerican peoples of Mexico inhabiting the region known as La Mixteca of Oaxaca and Puebla as well as La Montaña Region and Costa Chica of Guerrero, Costa Chica Regions of the state of Guerre ...

city-state of Huachino ("Red and White Bundle" or "Bundle of Xipe") from approximately 1089 to 1101 in present-day

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. She controlled Huachino as its co-ruler alongside her husband, Lord Eleven Wind. Lady Six Monkey was also the

heir to the throne An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

of the city state of

Jaltepec Magdalena Jaltepec is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in southwestern Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 184.99 km2. It is part of the Nochixtlán District in the southeast of the Mixteca Region The Mixteca Region is a region in ...

("Belching Mountain"), through her descent from queen regnant

Lady Nine Wind ''Lady'' is a term for a woman who behaves in a polite way. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the female counterpart of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. "Lady" is al ...

. Lady Six Monkey's career is described in many contemporary documents, particularly the

Codex Selden The Codex Selden (also known as the Codex Añute) is a Mexican manuscript of Mixtec origin. The codex is an account of the genealogy of the Jaltepec dynasty from the tenth to the 16th century. Codex Selden is possibly a fragment of a much longer ...

. She is best known for her conflict against

Eight Deer Jaguar Claw Eight Deer Jaguar Claw (), or Eight Deer for brevity, was a powerful Mixtec ruler in 11th-century Oaxaca referred to in the 15th-century deerskin manuscript Codex Zouche-Nuttall, and other Mixtec Group, Mixtec manuscripts. His surname is alternat ...

, a struggle that John M. D. Pohl of the

Fowler Museum The Fowler Museum at UCLA (commonly known as The Fowler, and formerly Museum of Cultural History and Fowler Museum of Cultural History) is a museum on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) which explores art and material ...

has described as "an

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

of the Mixtec people".

Life

Six Monkey was born to Lady Nine Wind and Lord Ten Eagle, the rulers of

, at some point before 1073.Williams, p. 179.Jansen et al., 374. She was the oldest surviving child of the family; she had three older brothers, but according to the

, all three were sacrificed at

Chalcatongo Chalcatongo de Hidalgo (also, Chalcatongo and Villa Hidalgo) is a municipality in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is part of the Tlaxiaco District in the south of the Mixteca Region. It is the birthplace of former Governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz U ...

after being defeated in battle. During her childhood, Six Monkey appears to have been tutored by a priest known as Lord Ten Lizard. Codices also describe Six Monkey as traveling to a location called Skull Temple in 1083, where she consulted the oracle Lady Nine Grass for advice. Six Monkey married Lord Eleven Wind, the ruler of Huachino, in 1089.Williams, p. 184. She went on to have two children: Lord Four Wind, born in 1092, and Lord One Alligator, born in 1095.Jansen et al., p. 445. After her marriage, Six Monkey aimed to consolidate her power. During this period, Six Monkey's ambassadors were insulted by the Lords Six Lizard and Two Alligator, leading her to consult Nine Grass again for assistance and military support. Once Nine Grass' support was secured, Six Monkey defeated both lords in battle and burned their towns. Two Alligator was subsequently sacrificed at Jaltepec, while Six Lizard was sacrificed at Huachino. Six Monkey changed her sobriquet after this victory; previously nicknamed "Serpent

Quechquemitl The quechquemitl (also spelled quezquemitl) is a garment which has been worn by certain indigenous ethnicities in Mexico since the pre-Hispanic period. It usually consists of two pieces of rectangular cloth, often woven by hand, which is sewn tog ...

", she instead adopted the name "War Quechquemitl". The most significant conflict of Six Monkey's reign was her war against Lord Eight Deer. Jansen and Perez Jimenez argue that Eight Deer was seeking to stamp out the descendants of his father's first wife; these descendants included Six Monkey's husband, Eleven Wind, thus entangling her in the conflict. During this war, Eight Deer conquered Huachino in approximately 1101, and sacrificed both Eleven Wind and Six Monkey in the aftermath of his victory. Some contemporary documents about Six Monkey's reign, such as the Codex Selden and Codex Añute, omit mention of her downfall and death. Six Monkey's eldest son, Four Wind, survived the conquest of Huachino. Four Wind would later go on to marry Eight Deer's daughter, Ten Flower, a marriage that was notable for uniting the royal dynasties of Jaltepec, Huachino, and

Tilantongo Tilantongo was a Mixtec citystate in the Mixteca Alta region of the modern-day state of Oaxaca which is now visible as an archeological site near the modern town of Santiago Tilantongo. It is located at 17°15' N. Lat. and 97°17' W. Long. Its ...

. Four Wind also went on to orchestrate the assassination of Eight Deer in 1115. The strife between the families of Six Monkey and Eight Deer was reported in multiple codices, suggesting that Six Monkey's rise and fall was a well-known narrative in the region.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Six Monkey 1101 deaths 11th-century queens regnant Mixtec people 11th-century births