Early Zapotecs offered animal but not
human sacrifices to the deities. In doing so they enlisted the Gods’ favorable intervention to bring rain & fertility to the land & its population.
This mystical mindset still permeates in the
way modern Zapotecs approach their religion
even if their society is dominated by the Catholic
church introduced to them by the Spanish invaders. Zapotec ritual leaders—called hechiceros (sorcerers)—still conduct certain ceremonies at funerals & weddings giving offerings of food, poultry blood, & money—as well as two modern additions, mescal & cigarettes—
to the ancient deities along with their prayers.
