Sky People (26 page)

Like Stephens and Catherwood, I often followed rumors and stories of events and places that were not well-known. In doing so, my adventures took me to Oaxaca City, where I was able to explore several Zapotec archaeological sites and interview a number of indigenous people
.

While visiting Monte Alban, the largest and most famous Zapotec site, I met a television crew of university students who were filming a documentary on slash-and-burn agriculture in Mexico. The trio approached me and asked my opinion, as a tourist, about the practice. At that point, Benito intervened and explained to them that I was a university professor, which added to their enthusiasm that I appear in their documentary. I declined to appear in their film, but off-camera I told them about my own research. Though both amused and interested in my undertaking, they suggested that my own trip might be a more interesting documentary. As we discussed both our projects over bottles of Coca-Cola, they told me about various legends of Sky Gods and
UFO encounters or near-encounters in the state. One particular story, about the God of Ray at Lambityeco, piqued my interest
.

By the late afternoon, Benito and I found the ancient city of Lambityeco and hired a local guide who was willing to take me on a tour of the ancient site and to share his insight about the God of Ray
.

Lambityeco is located just off Highway 190 en route to Mitla, another Zapotec site. If I had not been looking specifically for the place, I would have missed it. Unlike other ancient cities, this site is located directly beside a two-lane road. There was no parking lot, only a wide spot in the road for cars to pull off. At the kiosk, I stopped to pay admission and spoke with a guide. He introduced himself as Heliodoro, but preferred to be called Helio. For 50 pesos, he offered to walk with me around the site. I asked him about the legend and he told me that a Sky Lord named Cocijo came to the village on a beam of light and built the ancient temples. He took an earth woman as a wife and she bore him a son. When his son was old enough to assume the leadership of the city, the Sky Lord left Earth on a beam of light.

Although only a small part of the site had been uncovered, many extraordinary sculptures have been revealed including two large stucco masks of Cocijo. For those who believe that extraterrestrials played a major role in the building of the ancient temples across Mexico, the mask of Cocijo adds fuel to that assumption. The image wore a mask that covered almost all the face and the eyes were framed with a type of goggle. A thick plate in the nose was connected to the lower part of the goggles and the mouth mask. A plumed headdress completed the head gear.

As we walked around the site, Helio told me that Lambityeco was once a major trading center and produced the salt for the region. He pointed out the salt pits as we moved along. “When you think about the story of the god who came on a beam of light, has anyone ever suggested to you that the god who founded this city may have been an alien from another planet?” I asked.

“Every day,” Helio replied. “Not too many people visit this site, but those who do, come looking for answers, Señora. They want to see the city because of the legend behind it. If it were not for the legend, they would drive on by. Most people do. It is hard to earn a living as a guide at this place. I was about to go home before you showed up.”

“I am glad you didn’t leave.”

“I am happy, too,” he said. I watched this agile, fit, forty-four-year-old man as he climbed the site with ease. Occasionally he would stop and offer his arm to steady me as we walked the site. He did not wear the uniform of an official guide. Instead he dressed like many of the villagers I met: men with white shirts and black broadcloth pants. He was taller than me by about four inches (making him an inch shy of six feet) and his dark skin complemented his permanent smile, which revealed perfect white teeth. A small mustache covered his upper lip, making him appear devilish. I couldn’t help but think that with a mask and cape, he would have made a perfect Zorro.

“What do you think of the legend of the God of Ray?” I asked.

“If you are asking me if it is true, then I would say to you I believe the legend is true. I do not believe that Cocijo was a normal man. I believe he came from the stars, as do most of the people who live here.”

“When you think about the gods from the stars, have you seen a UFO in this area?” I asked.

“Many times they come here. Sometimes they stand over the site as if in reverence. There is a connection between this place and the stars. Cocijo is that bridge and I think they come to honor him.”

“Have you ever seen any of the men from the stars?” I asked.

“No, but I believe they are onboard the spaceship. Those spaceships cannot fly by themselves. Someone has to be doing it, and they are smarter than anyone on Earth. The villagers say they are the gods revisiting, but I do not think so. I think they are men, just smarter than us.”

“Can you describe their activities when they come?” I asked.

“They hover above the
Palacio de los Caciques
[Palace of the Political Leaders] and
Palacio de los Sacerdotes
[Palace of the Priests]. They come here to pay respect for their dead. It would be like us going to a soldier’s memorial or a presidential tomb.”

“Can you describe the craft?” I asked.

“They are like the ones of the movies. Round, silver disks. They make no sound. Very strange machines. Bright, bright lights. When they decide to leave, they are so fast, you wonder if you have actually seen anything.”

“Has anyone in the area ever interacted with the men from space?” I asked.

“There are stories. Many years ago when I was a boy, maybe nine or ten years, the men say that one of the space craft landed, and two men walked out of the craft and stood before the mask of Cocijo. It was a long time ago. Maybe thirty-five years. I remember that night. The night became day. My mother was frightened, and she cautioned my brothers and me to stay inside. I never saw the spacecraft, but the old men of the village saw it and saw the men.”

“What did they say about the event?”

“They said that the men stood before the mask and appeared very sad. They spoke not a word. When they left, they looked at the old men, and communicated with them that they meant no harm.”

“But you said they spoke not a word.”

“Not as we speak. They entered the minds of the old men. The old men said they did not make a sound, but they knew their intentions were peaceful. The old men called them ancestors.”

“What do you think they meant by that?”

“It means we are all a part of the universe. All things of the universe including all living beings, whether they are people or animals or plants or trees or rocks—we are all interconnected. It does not matter if we come from the stars or the Earth.”

A
s we left Lambityeco and Helio, I could not help but think of his definition of the ancestors. To many, the word
ancestors
implies a direct kinship, but to the Zapotec and many indigenous people, including American Indians, the ancestors implies an interconnectedness, a belief that we are all related
.

The Lakota Sioux have an expression for this:
Mitakuye Oyasin,
meaning “all are related” or “all are relatives.” It is used in traditional Lakota Sioux prayer and in songs. It reflects the inherent belief endemic to the indigenous world view that everything on Earth is connected, including all life forms: people, animals, plants and trees, birds, and even the rocks, rivers, mountains, and valleys. According to the Zapotec, this relationship expands to include the People from the Stars
.

O
ne of the reasons that the state of Oaxaca has retained such an extraordinary diversity of Indian groups is the state’s very rugged terrain, which has isolated numerous indigenous groups, cutting them off from mainstream Mexican society. This diversity of cultures helps to make Oaxaca one of Mexico’s most interesting states. The cultures find expression today not only in language (sixteen in all) but also in modes of dress, handicrafts, music, and dance. The largest indigenous linguistic group were the 350,000 Zapotec; the smallest, Popolco, with only 61 fluent speakers. Unlike many of the other groups, almost 90 percent of Zapotec speakers also speak Spanish, which considerably enhances their education and employment opportunities
.

On my second trip to Oaxaca City, I stayed in the same boutique hotel that was a converted convent. Located near the plaza and the center of town, it served as my base for two weeks. Every day, Benito and I walked to the plaza, drank our morning coffee, and ate egg sandwiches provided by the hotel restaurant. As we sat there watching the people as they passed, I wrote in my notebook while Benito amused himself with conversation with the local men in the Zocalo. On the last day of my stay in Oaxaca City, Benito introduced me to an elderly Zapotec named Carlos. He was the caretaker at a nearby church and, like the two of us, enjoyed his morning coffee in the plaza. When Benito told him why I was traveling in Mexico, he became very interested and quizzed Benito about the stories I collected. I did not know at the time that Carlos had an amazing story to tell
.

In this chapter you will read his story
.

“The first UFO sighting in Oaxaca occurred in 1874,” Carlos began. “I remember the date because my mother was born on the night of the sighting. My grandmother always said that she became so frightened by the UFO that she gave birth.” I listened carefully to the elder who spoke about the 19th-century UFO sighting that was apparently well-known in the region. His salt and pepper hair curled over the collar of his open shirt. His t-shirt featured the image of Subcomandante Marcos, the leader of the rebel group, the Zapatista Army of Liberation, that one time controlled Oaxaca City. Frayed cuffed jeans fell over his sandals.

“Did they tell you anything about the UFO?” I asked.

“Not that I remember. Only that they saw it in the sky for several minutes. Later I learned that it was shaped like a horn. No one has ever seen a UFO like that before or after. It was one of a kind.”

“That’s very interesting. I did not know that UFO events dated back to the 1800s in Oaxaca.”

“There are many sightings in Oaxaca, but few are reported. The people do not report them. Sometimes the tourists or maybe the foreigners who live here, but the
Indios
do not.”

“When you speak of the
Indios
, are you referring to the Zapotec?” I asked.

“I am Zapotec. Most of the people in Oaxaca are Zapotec, but there are other Indios who live in this area. We are just the most.”

“I understand from Benito that you had an encounter with a UFO. Could you tell me your story?”

“I haven’t told this story in a very long time. When I told my father the story many years ago, he told me it was best not to tell people the story since no one would believe it even if it was the truth. I accepted his advice and never told the story until now.” He paused for a moment and watched two young women, dressed in short shorts and halters, and speaking German, amble across
the plaza in front of us. He spoke in his native dialect to Benito, who laughed and nodded. I never asked for a translation. “So if you choose not to believe my story, I will understand.”

“Please. I would love to hear your story.”

“It happened back in the ’80s. I was thirty-five at the time. My cousin, Gozio, had moved to Palenque. He had a job working in a hotel there, and he told me if I came to Palenque, he could get me a job. So one evening, when I had saved enough money, I bought a bus ticket and boarded the night bus to Palenque.” He paused and took a sip of his coffee and spoke to Benito in his native language again when the two German girls paraded in front of us again. Benito laughed, and I waited for Carlos to continue his story.

“Did you see the UFO while traveling between San Cristóbal and Palenque?” I asked.

“Sí,”
Carlos replied. “We were about an hour into the trip. After you pass Oscingo, almost immediately the road becomes switchbacks and mountains and valleys, until you descend into the jungle of Palenque. I was sitting in the back of the bus, hoping I could put my feet up and sleep. A bright light came up behind us. I thought it was another bus or perhaps a military vehicle.”

“Did you turn around and look at it?”

“Not at first. When it got closer I turned around. It had been following us for about an hour. When I looked back, instead of headlights, I saw a big spherical ball of light. It lit up the whole countryside behind us. It was moving slowly along the tops of the mountains. Then, all at once, the ball of light moved ahead of us, hovering over the highway. I could tell that the driver was becoming anxious. The bus was veering into the other lane. Finally, the bus driver found a wide spot and pulled over. Everyone climbed out of the bus. Several people got down on their hands and knees and prayed. I stood there watching the ball of light.”

“What did the UFO do?” I asked.

“It moved slowly down the valley.”

“Can you describe it?”

“It was huge.
Grande
. It was so big that it blocked out the whole valley.”

“Once it moved on, did the bus driver continue the trip?” I asked.

“Yes. But we could still see the UFO up ahead. Sometimes the road would wind around a mountain, and we wouldn’t see it for a while, and then it would appear again. Some people wanted the bus driver to stop and wait until it was gone. Others were excited. They had never seen anything like that, and they were curious.”

“Were you curious?” I asked.

“Oh yes. I was very curious. But finally, it disappeared. I returned to the back of the bus and tried to sleep, but it was impossible.”

“Did you see the UFO again?” I asked.

“Oh yes, about a half hour later. As we topped a mountain, you could see the valley below and there was the UFO, only this time, there were other UFOs. Little ones that were flying into the big one that was lighting up the valley. Then, after all the little ones disappeared inside the big UFO, it gradually moved upward, and after several minutes it was gone.”