El Árbol del Tule
This beauty located in Santa María de Tule in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico is also called Ahuehuete, which means ‘old man of the water’ in Nahuatl, which are a member of a group of peoples native to southern Mexico and Central America, including the Aztecs.
For the Zapotec, Tule also means ‘Tree of Illumination’. According to the Zapotec legends, this great ahuehuete was planted 1,400 years ago by Pechocha, a priest of Ehécatl, the god of the wind.
The mythology of the Aztecs and Zapotecs each has its own pantheon of gods and legends. Aztec mythology is also known for its rich creation myths, such as the legend of the Five Suns, which tells the story of how the world has been created and destroyed multiple times.
While both the Aztecs and Zapotecs worshiped a variety of gods related to nature and daily life, the Aztecs had a more war-focused and cosmological mythology, while the Zapotecs emphasized agricultural and ancestral elements in their beliefs.
*All photos except the coloured images (iphone 14) taken with Ilford HP5.