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 manuscripts. His surname is alternatively translated Tiger-Claw and Ocelot-Claw. John Pohl has dated his life spanning from 1063 until his assassination in 1115.

Biography
Born on the Mixtec Calendar date from which he got his name, Eight Deer was the son of the high priest of Tilantongo Lord Five Alligator Sun Rain. His mother was Lady Eleven Water Bird Jewel. Two of his brothers, Twelve Earthquake Bloody Jaguar and Nine Flower Copal Ball with Arrow, were his faithful war companions.

He also had a half-sister, Six Lizard Jade Fan. First the fiancée and lover of Eight Deer himself, she was ultimately married to Eight Deer's archenemy Eleven Wind Bloody Jaguar, the king of the city Xipe's Bundle, also known as Red and White Bundle. The lords of Xipe's Bundle had rights to the throne of Tilantongo and were therefore the most important rivals to Eight Deer's power.



Lord Eight Deer is remembered for his military expansion. The Codex Zouche-Nuttall counts 94 cities conquered during his reign. Almost always pictured wearing a jaguar helmet, he supported the powerful Toltec ruler of Cholula, Lord Four Jaguar Face of the Night, in his attempts at expansionism, and was thus awarded a turquoise nose ornament, a symbol of Toltec royal authority.

The codices also tell of his several marriages which seem to have been part of a political strategy to achieve dominance by marrying into different Mixtec royal lineages. He married Thirteen Serpent, daughter of his own stepsister and former fiancée Six Lizard.

In 1101 Eight Deer conquered Xipe's Bundle and killed his wife's father and his stepsister's husband Eleven Wind. He also tortured and killed his brothers-in-law, sparing only the youngest, Four Wind. Eight Deer's own death is described differently by modern authors. Charles C. Mann's book 1491 states that when Eight Deer was 55 years of age, Four Wind led an alliance between different Toltec and Zapotec kingdoms against Eight Deer, who was taken prisoner and sacrificed by Four Wind, his own nephew and brother-in-law. Pohl instead states that Four Wind was trusted by Eight Deer and raised as his own child, until at the age of 23 he had Eight Deer assassinated during a hunting trip.

Legacy
Eight Deer was the only Mixtec king to unite kingdoms of the three Mixtec areas: Tilantongo in the Mixteca Alta area, Teozacualco of the Mixteca Baja area, and Tututepec of the coastal Mixteca area.

His reputation as a great ruler has given him a legendary status among the Mixtecs; some aspects of his life story as told in the pictographic codices seem to merge with myth. Furthermore, actual knowledge of his life is hindered by the lack of complete understanding of the Mixtec codices, and although the study of the codices has advanced much over the past 20 years, it is still difficult to achieve a definitive interpretation of their narrative. The narrative, as it is currently understood, is a tragic story of a man who achieves greatness but falls victim to his own hunger for power. The above biography of Eight Deer is based on the codex's interpretation by Mixtec specialist John Pohl.