In
Aztec religion
The Aztec religion is a monistic pantheism in which the Nahua concept of was construed as the supreme god , as well as a diverse pantheon of lesser gods and manifestations of nature. The popular religion tended to embrace the mythological and ...
, Itztapaltotec (sometimes spelled Iztapaltotec) is an aspect of the fertility god
Xipe Totec
In Aztec mythology and religion, Xipe Totec (; nci-IPA, Xīpe Totēc, ˈʃiːpe ˈtoteːk(ʷ)) or Xipetotec ("Our Lord the Flayed One") was a life-death-rebirth deity, god of agriculture, vegetation, the east, spring, goldsmiths, silversmiths, ...
. In the
Aztec calendar, he is one of the patrons of the
trecena
A trecena is a 13-day period used in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican calendars. The 260-day calendar (the '' tonalpohualli'') was divided into 20 trecenas. Trecena is derived from the Spanish chroniclers and translates to "a group of thirteen" in the ...
beginning with the day One Rabbit (''ce tochtli'' in
Nahuatl
Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...
), alongside
Xiuhtecuhtli
In Aztec mythology, Xiuhtecuhtli ("Turquoise Lord" or "Lord of Fire"), was the god of fire, day and heat. In historical sources he is called by many names, which reflect his varied aspects and dwellings in the three parts of the cosmos. He was t ...
, the god of fire. Xipe Totec proper is the patron of the trecena beginning with the day One Dog (''ce itzcuintli''). Itztapaltotec is an obscure figure, known only from ''
tonalamatl
The ''tonalamatl'' is a divinatory almanac used in central Mexico in the decades, and perhaps centuries, leading up to the Spanish conquest. The word itself is Nahuatl in origin, meaning "pages of days".
The ''tonalamatl'' was structured arou ...
'' (calendars). Brief, confusing information about him is given in two related manuscripts, the
Codex Telleriano-Remensis
The Codex Telleriano-Remensis, produced in sixteenth century Mexico on European paper, is one of the finest surviving examples of Aztec manuscript painting. Its Latinized name comes from Charles-Maurice Le ''Tellier'', archbishop of ''Reims'', ...
and the
Codex Ríos
''Codex Ríos'' is an Italian translation and augmentation of a Spanish colonial-era manuscript, Codex Telleriano-Remensis, that is partially attributed to Pedro de los Ríos, a Dominican Order, Dominican Dominican friar, friar working in Oaxaca ...
(or Codex Vaticanus A).
Itztapaltotec is probably related to
Itztli, another figure of the Aztec calendar also depicted as a personified knife.
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Gallery
Image:Itztapaltotec_borgia.jpg,
Image:Itztapaltotec_vaticanus_b.jpg,
Image:Itztapaltotec_tonalamatl_aubin.jpg,
Image:Itztapaltotec_borbonicus.jpg,
Image:Itztapaltotec_telleriano_remensis.jpg,
Image:Itztapaltotec_rios.jpg,
See also
*
Itztli
*
Xipe Totec
In Aztec mythology and religion, Xipe Totec (; nci-IPA, Xīpe Totēc, ˈʃiːpe ˈtoteːk(ʷ)) or Xipetotec ("Our Lord the Flayed One") was a life-death-rebirth deity, god of agriculture, vegetation, the east, spring, goldsmiths, silversmiths, ...
References
*{{cite book , author=Quiñones Keber, Eloise , year=1995 , title=Codex Telleriano-Remensis: Ritual, Divination, and History in a Pictorial Aztec Manuscript , location=Austin , publisher=University of Texas Press , isbn=0-292-76901-6 , pages=189–190
External links
A translation of the text of the ''tonalamatl'' section of the Codex Ríos — John Pohl's Mesoamerica
Aztec gods