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
Besides the gods mentioned above there were a number with special
functions, a few of whom may now be mentioned. Gods connected with,
or invoked during, pregnancy and at birth, besides Chalchiuhtlicue,
Ciuacoatl, Teteoinnan, Xochiquetzal and the creating deities, were
Chalchiuhtlatonac, associated with Chalchiuhtlicue, and Ayopechtli,
the goddess of birth proper, who, like Mayauel, is usually represented
as seated on a tortoise. To Ixtlilton, the black god, brother of
Macuil xochitl, a sacrifice was made when the child first spoke,
and he was regarded as the medical god for children. Other gods,
already mentioned, with medical functions were Amimitl (dysentery),
Macuilxochitl, Xochiquetzal and Nanauatzin (genital affections), Tlaloc
(dropsy), Xipe (skin-diseases), Cinteotl (leprosy), Tezcatlipoca
and Tlauizcalpantecutli (senders of sickness), Teteoinnan (goddess
of healing herbs), and Tzapotlatenan (who discovered the healing
properties of turpentine). The various guilds in Mexico, constituted
by members of particular trades, held special rites in honour of those
gods who were supposed to preside over their daily activities. Space
forbids the inclusion of a complete list, since most can be identified
from the details given above. One god however deserves especial
mention, Yacatecutli, the god of the Pochteca or travelling merchants,
who formed a guild of enormous political importance as will be shown
later. Every night while on a journey the merchants, who travelled
in companies, burnt incense before their staves which, fastened in a
bundle, represented his image, and elaborate rites were held in his
honour before their departure and on their return. He was associated
in worship with Coyotlinauatl, the god of the guild of feather-workers
who inhabited the quarter of Amantlan, which was conterminous with the
quarter of the Pochteca. Finally a peculiar god, whose function, other
than calendrical, is indeterminate, may be mentioned; the bear-headed
Tepeyollotl, the “heart of the mountain,” a cave-god. He is often
shown with Tezcatlipoca’s mirror, and may be a manifestation of that
omnipresent deity.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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