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AZTEC RELIGION
Religious Studies 260 Spring 2012
Itzpapalotl: Obsidian or Clawed Butterfly
• Itzpapalotl is the Obsidian or
Clawed Butterfly, the Feminine
Warrior.
• Itzpapalotl is often depicted as
a skeletal being with jaguar
claws and wings edged by
obsidian knifes.
• Itzpapalotl stands for
purification or rejuvenation by
sacrifice of that what is
precious.
Mixcoatl: The Masked God
• The Aztec god of the hunt and
war, and god of the polar star.
• He is either the son of
Iztpapalotl.
• He is said to be the father of
Huitzilopochtli.
Huitzilopochtli: Hummingbird of the Left/South
• He is associated with the sun
and fire.
• Huitzilopochtli is a warrior
armed the with the ferrocious
Xiuhcoatl, or "Fire Snake".
• He is a god of war, sun, human
sacrifice and the patron of the
city of Tenochtitlan.
Coatlicue: Serpent Skirt
• Teteo Inan is another name for
her, which means mother of the
gods.
• She is represented as a woman
wearing a skirt of writhing
snakes and a necklace made of
human hearts, hands, and skulls.
Her feet and hands are adorned
with claws and her breasts are
depicted as hanging flaccid from
nursing. Her face is formed by
two facing serpents.
Coyolxauhqui: Face with Painted Bells
• One of Huitzilopochtli’s sisters.
• Moon goddess
• Led the attack on her mother,
Coatlicue.
• Killed by her brother who threw
hew decapitated head into the
sky to become to moon in order
to comfort their mother by
allowing her to be able to see
her daughter every night.
Huehuecoyotl: Very Old Coyote or Ancient Drum
• Trickster deity! (Every religion
needs one!)
• God of story telling and music.
• Can change genders and is
bisexual.
• He is depicted in the as a
dancing coyote with human
hands and feet, accompanied by
a human drummer.
Xochiquetzal: Flower Feathers
• Goddess of love, beauty, female
sexuality, prostitutes, flowers
and young mothers.
• Prominent lover of
Huehuecoyotl and twin of
Xochipilli.
• She is often displayed
surrounded by flowers and
butterflies, and accompanied by
a hummingbird or an ocelotl.
• Said to have birthed
Quetzalcoatl by Mixcoatl.
Xochipilli: Flower Prince
• Twin brother of Xochiquetzal.
• Lover of Huehuecoyotl.
• Patron of homosexuals and
male prostitutes.
Tlaloc: Rain God or He Who Makes Things Sprout
• Tlaloc is commonly depicted as
a goggle-eyed blue being with
jaguar fangs. Often he is
presented wearing a net of
clouds, a crown of heron
feather and foam sandals. He
carries rattles to make thunder.
• Original husband of
Xochiquetzal until Tezcatlipoca
kidnapped her and she was
forced to marry him.
• He is known for having
demanded child sacrifices.
Tepeyollotl: Heart of the Mountains
• This god is associated with
jaguars, and so is often depicted
as a jaguar or a man wearing a
jaguar skin leaping toward the
sun.
Ometeotl: God of Duality
• Resided in the highest level of
heaven from which he/she
created the cosmos and
continually creates life.
Tezcatlipoca: Lord of the Smoking Mirror
• One of the four sons of
Ometeotl, he is associated with
a wide range of concepts,
including the night sky, the
night winds, hurricanes, the
north, the earth, obsidian,
enmity, discord, rulership,
divination, temptation, jaguars,
sorcery, beauty, war and strife.
• A central deity in Aztec religion,
and his main festival was the
Toxcatl ceremony celebrated in
the month of May.
Quetzalcoatl: The Plumed Serpent
• He was also called Precious
Twin.
• He was a Toltec and an Aztec
god.
• He is either another of the four
sons of Ometeotl or the son of
Mixcoatl and Xochiquetzal.
• He is also known as the White
Tezcatlipoca, to contrast him to
the black Tezcatlipoca.
Xolotl: The Twin
• He is Quetzalcoatl’s twin who is
said to have assisted in creating
the current world.
• As Quetzalcoatl’s twin, he
would be another of Ometeotl’s
four sons.
• He is said to be a shapeshifter.
Xipe Totec: Our Lord the Flayed One
• Also one of the sons of
Ometeotl.
• He is also known as the Red
Tezcatlipoca, to contrast him to
the black Tezcatlipoca.
• Many human sacrifices were
made to this deity, often with
the priests wearing the skin of
the slaughtered.