Chimalman or Chīmalmā /t͡ʃiːmalmaː/ is a

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 ...

Aztec mythology Aztec mythology is the body or collection of myths of the Aztec civilization of Central Mexico. The Aztecs were a culture living in central Mexico and much of their mythology is similar to that of other Mesoamerican cultures. According to legend ...

, and was considered by the Aztecs to be the mother of the

Toltec The Toltec culture () was a Pre-Columbian era, pre-Columbian Mesoamerican culture that ruled a state centered in Tula (Mesoamerican site), Tula, Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo, Mexico, during the Epiclassic and the early Post-Classic period of Mesoam ...

gods Quetzalcoatl and

Xolotl In Aztec mythology, Xolotl () was a god of fire and lightning. He was commonly depicted as a dog-headed man and was a soul-guide for the dead. He was also god of twins, monsters, death, misfortune, sickness, and deformities. Xolotl is the canin ...

. Her name means "

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry like spears or long ranged projectiles suc ...

-hand." Several

oral tradition Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication in which knowledge, art, ideas and culture are received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another.Jan Vansina, Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (19 ...

s say that Chimalman is a spirit which accompanied the Azteca from the homeland of

Aztlán Aztlán (from or romanized ''Aztlán'', ) is the ancestral home of the Aztec peoples. The word "Aztec" was derived from the Nahuatl a''ztecah'', meaning "people from Aztlán." Aztlán is mentioned in several ethnohistorical sources dating from t ...

. Huitzilopochtli and Quetzalcoatl were spiritual entities adopted from the Toltec legacy when the Azteca lived among the

Chichimeca 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" tha ...

. As with many Aztec myths, there are multiple versions of the Chīmalmā story depending on which tribe and time period is examined.

Mother of Quetzalcoatl

According to the ''Manuscript of 1558'', section 7, the begetting of Quetzalcoatl happened in this way: "And then when

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 ...

went to... Huitznahuac, the woman Chimalman came out to confront him... She stood naked, without skirt or shift." While she stood thus, Mixcoatl shot an arrow "between her legs"—on two occasions. "And when this had occurred, he took the woman of Huitznauac, the one who is Chimalman, and lay with her and so she became

pregnant Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring gestation, gestates inside a woman's uterus. A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Conception (biology), Conception usually occurs ...

." Another version indicates that Mixcoatl saw Chimalman while hunting in the Morelos valley and fell in love with her. When his efforts to approach her failed, he became angry and shot five arrows at her, all of which she caught in her bare hand. She was given the name "shield-hand" and they were later married, but unable to conceive a child. After praying on the altar of Quetzalcoatl, the priest told Chimalman to swallow a small precious stone, after which she became pregnant. This angered Quetzalcoatl's brother, Tezcatlipoca, such that he persuaded others to kill Mixcoatl. Chimalman fled to her hometown of Tepoztlan and died giving birth to her son Topiltzin. Topiltzin would later discover his identity as Quetzalcoatl and that he was sent to help the Toltec civilization. This version is similar to the ''Codex

Chimalpopoca Chimalpopoca ( for "smoking shield," ) or Chīmalpopōcatzin (1397–1427) was the third Emperor of Tenochtitlan (1417–1427). Biography Chimalpopoca was born to the Emperor Huitzilihuitl and Queen Ayauhcihuatl. Rule Chimalpopoca was cro ...

'', that indicated, "...Quetzalcoatl was placed in her belly when she swallowed a piece of

jade Jade is an umbrella term for two different types of decorative rocks used for jewelry or Ornament (art), ornaments. Jade is often referred to by either of two different silicate mineral names: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in t ...

."John Bierhorst: ''History and Mythology of the Aztecs; the Codex Chimalpopoca''. University of Arizona Press, Arizona, 1992, p. 28.

References

{{Aztec mythology Aztec goddesses Mesoamerican deities Death goddesses Fertility goddesses Health goddesses Life-death-rebirth goddesses