A HISTORY OF REPRESENTATIONS OF ISTHMUS ZAPOTEC WOMEN

This paper consists of a history of outsiders' representations of Isth mus Zapotec women of Oaxaca, Mexico. Isthmus Zapotec women are famous throughout Mexico and well-known abroad because of their image as matr iarchal, Amazon-like figures. The paper traces the construction of a d iscourse about powerful Zapotec women from colonial times to the prese nt. Special attention is paid to the ways in which prominent Mexican p ainters have depicted Zapotec women as well as to recent feminist port rayals. Using Zapotec women's representations of themselves and ethnog raphic field data the paper discusses problems involved in the constru ction of a unified, authentic subject called Zapotec women and examine s some of the ironies involved in such an effort.