Temple Guardian (Mixtec)
In Mixtec (Ñuu Dzaui) belief the ñuhu are sacred beings who guard places: ancient stones, caves and springs are their homes, and hunters, farmers and builders must ask their leave. Temple entrances were watched by carved guardians and by ancestral spirits with clawed hands who seize the disrespectful, as with Lady 9 Grass of the Temple of Death. The US location reflects the modern Mixtec diaspora.