Mexican archæology : $b an introduction to the archæology of the Mexican and Mayan civilizations of pre-Spanish AmericaJoyce, Thomas Athol
History
Mexican archæology : $b an introduction to the archæology of the Mexican and Mayan civilizations of pre-Spanish America
Joyce, Thomas Athol
Mayas -- Antiquities; Mexico -- Antiquities
Consequently we find the earth-goddess Tlazolteotl associated with
Meztli, and also the harvest-gods, the Totochtin. Probably the
connection with the Totochtin was emphasized by the fact that the
Mexicans, instead of the “man in the moon,” saw the figure of a rabbit
(tochtli) in the disc (Fig. 6). Both Tlazolteotl and the Totochtin
wear semi-lunar nose-ornaments, exactly similar to the outline of the
moon as shown in manuscripts, which often portray it as a curved bone
filled with water. A more or less constant emblem of the moon-god is
a spiral sea-shell, which he bears partly in his capacity as a god of
birth.
Another elemental god of great importance in domestic as well as
public worship was the fire-god, known to the Aztec under the name of
Xiuhtecutli (Fig. 3, _c_). His worship probably dated from a very
early period, and he also bore the name of Ueueteotl, “the old-old
god.” Among the Tarascans, this deity was the centre of the domestic
cult, and the Tepanec and Otomi worshipped him under the name of
Otontecutli. Under this name he was invoked in historic times by the
inhabitants of the Tepanec cities of Azcapotzalco and Tlacopan and of
Colhuacan. At Xochimilco the fire-deity appears as a goddess, under
the name of Chantico or Quaxolotl. Xiuhtecutli is generally shown
with a horizontally-banded face (in this respect the illustration
in Fig. 3, _c_, is not typical), and his prevailing colour is
yellow. On his back he bears the fire-snake, xiuhcoatl (see Pl. V,
2), and a butterfly, papalotl, frequently appears in his hair. It
may be mentioned that in general horizontal face-paint seems to be
characteristic of the gods of the immigrant hunter tribes, the vertical
of the agricultural gods of the sedentary tribes of the valley. The
butterfly is closely connected with fire, since the fluttering flight
of this insect was supposed to resemble the flicker of a flame. Mexican
mythology is full of poetical imagery of this sort, which constitutes a
welcome relief to the gruesomeness of many of their rites. The fire-god
was connected with perhaps the most horrible of their sacrifices; at
his most important feast the victims were cast living into a huge
brazier, and dragged thence with hooks before death brought a welcome
relief, to have their hearts torn from their bodies in the customary
manner. An unexpected feature of this god is exemplified in the belief
that he was supposed to dwell in the water. As mentioned above,
Tezcatlipoca is connected with fire, in so far as he is supposed first
to have produced it from flint, after assuming the form of Mixcoatl.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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