Ītzpāpalōtl ("Obsidian Butterfly") was a goddess in

Aztec The Aztecs ( ) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the Post-Classic stage, post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central ...

religion. She was a striking skeletal warrior and death

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship. For example, Shaktism (one of the three major Hinduism, Hindu sects), holds that the ultimate deity, the source of all re ...

and the queen of the Tzitzimimeh. She ruled over the paradise world of Tamōhuānchān, the paradise of victims of

infant mortality Infant mortality is the death of an infant before the infant's first birthday. The occurrence of infant mortality in a population can be described by the infant mortality rate (IMR), which is the number of deaths of infants under one year of age ...

and the place identified as where humans were created. She is the mother of

Mixcoatl Mixcoatl (, from mixtli "cloud" and cōātl "serpent"), or Camaxtle or Camaxtli, was the god of the hunt and identified with the Milky Way, the stars, and the heavens in several Mesoamerican cultures. He was the patron deity of the Otomi peopl ...

and is particularly associated with the

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

'' Rothschildia orizaba'' from the family

Saturniidae Saturniidae, members of which are commonly named the saturniids, is a family of Lepidoptera with an estimated 2,300 described species. The family contains some of the largest species of moths in the world. Notable members include the emperor m ...

. Some of her associations are birds and fire. However, she primarily appears in the form of the Obsidian Butterfly. Rothschildia orizaba

Iconography

Itzpapalotl's name can either mean "obsidian butterfly" or "clawed butterfly;" the latter meaning seems most likely. It's quite possible that clawed butterfly refers to the bat and in some instances Itzpapalotl is depicted with bat wings. However, she can also appear with clear butterfly or eagle attributes. Her wings are obsidian or

tecpatl In the Aztec culture, a tecpatl was a flint or obsidian knife with a lanceolate figure and double-edged blade, with elongated ends. Both ends could be rounded or pointed, but other designs were made with a blade attached to a handle. It can be re ...

(flint) knife tipped. (In the '' Manuscript of 1558'', Itzpapalotl is described as having "blossomed into the white flint, and they took the white and wrapped it in a bundle.") She could appear in the form of a beautiful, seductive woman or terrible goddess with a skeletal head and butterfly wings supplied with stone blades. Although the identity remains inconclusive, the Zapotec deity named Goddess 2J by Alfonso Caso and Ignacio Bernal may be a Classic Zapotec form of Itzpapalotl. In many instances Goddess 2J, whose image is found on ceramic urns, is identified with bats. "In folklore, bats are sometimes called "black butterflies"". Itzpapalotl is sometimes represented as a goddess with flowing hair holding a trophy leg. The femur is thought by some scholars to have significance as a war trophy or a sacred object in Pre-Hispanic art.

Ritual

Itzpapalotl is the patron of the day and associated with the stars Cozcuauhtli and

Trecena A trecena (From Spanish: trece) is a 13-day period used in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican calendars. The 260-day Mayan calendar (the '' tonalpohualli'') was divided into 20 trecenas. Trecena is derived from the Spanish chroniclers and translates to ...

1 House in the Aztec calendar. The Trecena 1 House is one of the five western trecena dates dedicated to the

cihuateteo In Aztec mythology, the Cihuateteo (; , in singular ) or "Divine Women", were the spirits of women who died in childbirth. They were likened to the spirits of male warriors who died in violent conflict, because childbirth was conceptually equiv ...

, or women who had died in childbirth. Not only was Itzpapalotl considered one of the

herself, but she was also one of the tzitzimime, star demons that threatened to devour people during solar eclipses. One of the prominent aspects of the ritual surrounding Itzpapalotl relates to the creation story of the

Chichimec Chichimeca () is the name that the Nahua peoples of Mexico generically applied to nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples who were established in present-day Bajío region of Mexico. Chichimeca carried the same meaning as the Roman term "barbarian" t ...

. The ritual is illustrated in the sixteenth century document known as the Map of Cuauhtinchan No. 2. An illustration from this document shows Chichimec warriors emerging out of a seven-chambered cave behind Itzpapalotl. The deity is shown brandishing a severed leg, thought to be a symbol of battle. Beginning in the 1990s, archeologists exploring the Barranca Del Aguila region, southwest of Mexico City, have discovered caves carved to simulate the seven chambered cave, known as

Chicomoztoc () is the name for the mythical origin place of the Aztec Mexicas, Tepanecs, Acolhuas, and other Nahuatl-speaking peoples (or Nahuas) of Mesoamerica, in the Postclassic period. The term Chicomoztoc derives from Nahuatl ''chicome'' (“seve ...

, from the ritual creation narrative.

Mythology

According to the ''Manuscript of 1558'', section VII, Itzpapalotl was one of two divine 2-headed doe-deers (the other one being Chimalman) who temporarily transformed themselves into women in order to seduce men. Itzpapalotl approached the two "cloud serpents named Xiuhnel and Mimich ", who transformed themselves into men (so as to disguise themselves when all the others of the Centzonmimixcoa had been slain in the ambush?). To Xiuhnel, Itzpapalotl said "'Drink, Xiuhnel.' Xiuhnel drank the blood and then immediately lay down with her. Suddenly she ... devoured him, tore open his breast. ... Then Mimich ... ran and ... descended into a thorny barrel cactus, fell into it, and the woman fell down after him." In the myth-history narrative of the Annales de Cuauhtitlan, the cloud deity victims take the form of deer, the hearts of whom are eaten by Itzpapalotl. The theme of the heart devouring goddess appears in other global mythologies.

Influence on modern culture

* Orizaba the Moth Fairy, a villain in ''

Elena of Avalor ''Elena of Avalor'' is an American animated television series created by Craig Gerber. It premiered on Disney Channel on July 22, 2016, before it was moved to Disney Junior on July 14, 2018. The series features Aimee Carrero as the voice of El ...

'', was inspired by Itzpapalotl. * Beyond pop culture, the name of the goddess has been used to name formations, the Itzpapalotl

Tessera A tessera (plural: tesserae, diminutive ''tessella'') is an individual tile, usually formed in the shape of a square, used in creating a mosaic. It is also known as an abaciscus or abaculus. Historical tesserae In early antiquity, mo ...

, on the planet

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

which are being studied for our knowledge of the geological history of our planet. * Additionally, the goddess is one of the

Pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

motifs found in California

Chicano Chicano (masculine form) or Chicana (feminine form) is an ethnic identity for Mexican Americans that emerged from the Chicano Movement. In the 1960s, ''Chicano'' was widely reclaimed among Hispanics in the building of a movement toward politic ...

Literature. * Ītzpāpalōtl also features prominently in the novel '' Obsidian Butterfly'', the ninth book in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series by

Laurell K. Hamilton Laurell Kaye Hamilton (born February 19, 1963) is an American fantasy and romance writer, who is best known as the author of two series of stories. Her ''New York Times''-bestselling '' Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter'' series centers on Anita Bla ...

. * She was also the monster in '' No One Gets Out Alive'', a movie on Netflix. * She appears in ''

Victor and Valentino ''Victor and Valentino'' is an American animated television series created by Diego Molano for Cartoon Network. It was produced by Cartoon Network Studios. The series follows the titular duo, two half-brothers staying with their grandmother i ...

'' in disguise based on the folklore. * She appears in the American fantasy horror TV series, '' From Dusk till Dawn: The Series'', under the guise as

La Llorona (; ) is a vengeful ghost in Hispanic American folklore who is said to roam near bodies of water mourning her children whom she drowned in a jealous rage after discovering her husband was unfaithful to her. Whoever hears her crying either suffer ...

. * She will be the main antagonist in the upcoming Mexican animated film "The Mark of the Jaguar". * Citlali's Passive Skill "Itzpapalotl's Star Garments" named after this mythology in ''

Genshin Impact ''Genshin Impact'' is a 2020 action role-playing game produced by MiHoYo, MiHoYo/HoYoverse. The game features an anime-style open world environment and an action-based Role-playing battle systems, battle system using Classical element, element ...

''.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * *

External links

*
An image of ''Rothschildia orizaba''
{{Authority control Aztec goddesses Agricultural goddesses Death goddesses Mythological insects Night goddesses Infant mortality Arthropod deities