In the Zapotec culture “tona”, mean “animal or protective spirit”, and these were assigned to each person, according to the calendar, depending on the month and day of their birth.
The tonas as an animal that could be chose were: the coyote, the lizard, the armadillo, the turtle, the snake, the rabbit, the deer, the frog, the dog, the monkey, the owl, the eagle, the jaguar, the butterfly, the fish, snail, chuparrosa (hummingbird), and the cenzontle. These "tonas" were perceived as “spiritual guides or protective spirits”, who would be with us the rest of our lives.