Tlāloc

Tlaloc ( nci-IPA, Tlāloc, ˈtɬaːlok) is a deity in Aztec religion. The supreme god of the rain, Tlaloc is also a god of earthly fertility and of water. He was widely worshipped as a beneficent giver of life and sustenance, as well as feared for his ability to send hail, thunder, and lightning, and for being the lord of the powerful element of water. Tlaloc is also associated with caves, springs, and mountains, most specifically the sacred mountain where he was believed to reside. His animal forms include herons and water-dwelling creatures such as amphibians, snails, and some sea creatures, particularly shellfish. The Mexican marigold, ''Tagetes lucida'', known to the Aztecs as , was another important symbol of the god, and was burned as a ritual incense in native religious ceremonies.

The cult of Tlaloc is one of the oldest and most universal in ancient Mexico. Although the name Tlaloc is specifically Aztec, worship of a storm god, associated with mountaintop shrines and with life-giving rain, is as at least as old as Teotihuacan, and was likely adopted from the Maya god Chaac, perhaps ultimately derived from an earlier Olmec precursor. An underground Tlaloc shrine has been found at Teotihuacan.Townsend, Richard F. (1992). ''The Aztecs'' Thames & Hudson: London. p. 122.

Representations

In Aztec iconography, Tlaloc is usually depicted with goggle eyes and fangs. He is most often coupled with lightning, maize, and water in visual representations and artwork. Offerings dedicated to Tlaloc in Tenochtitlan were known to include several jaguar skulls and even a complete jaguar skeleton. Jaguars were considered the ultimate sacrificial animal due to their value.

Tlaloc's impersonators often wore the distinctive mask and heron-feather headdress, usually carrying a cornstalk or a symbolic lightning bolt wand; another symbol was a ritual water jar. Along with this, Tlaloc is manifested in the form of boulders at shrine-sites, and in the Valley of Mexico the primary shrine of this deity was located atop Mount Tlaloc.

In Coatlinchan, a colossal statue weighing 168 tons was found that was thought to represent Tlaloc. However, one scholar believes that the statue may not have been Tlaloc at all but his sister or some other female deity. This statue was relocated to the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City in 1964.

While pre-Hispanic cultures are thought to have become extinct once the Spanish had completed the colonization of Mexico, aspects of pre-Hispanic cultures continue to influence Mexican culture. Accordingly, Tlaloc has continued to be represented in Mexican culture even after the Spanish were thought to have completed evangelizing in Mexico. In fact, even as the Spanish were beginning to proselytize in Mexico, religious syncretism was occurring. Analyses of evangelization plays put on by the Spanish, in order to convert the indigenous peoples to Christianity, suggests that the Spanish might have unknowingly created connections between Christianity and indigenous religious figures, such as Tlaloc. Indigenous Mexicans viewing these plays might have made connections between the sacrifice Abraham was willing to make of Isaac, to the sacrifices that were made to Tlaloc and other deities. These connections may have allowed indigenous peoples to retain ideas about sacrifice even as they were being forcibly converted to Christianity. Early syncretism between indigenous religions and Christianity, also included more direct connections to Tlaloc. Some churches built during the sixteenth century, such as the Santiago Tlatelolco church had stones depicting Tlaloc within the interior of the church. Even as the Roman Catholic Church sought to eradicate indigenous religious traditions, depiction of Tlaloc still remained within worship spaces, suggesting that Tlaloc would still have been worshipped after Spanish colonization. It is clear that Tlaloc would have continued to have played a role in Mexican cultures immediately after colonization.

Despite the fact that it has been half a millennium since the conquest of Mexico, Tlaloc still plays a role in shaping Mexican culture. At Coatlinchan, a giant statue of Tlaloc continues to play a key role in shaping local culture, even after the statue was relocated to Mexico City. In Coatlinchan, people still celebrate the statue of Tlaloc, so much so that some local residents still seek to worship him, while the local municipality has also erected a reproduction of the original statue. Many residents of Coatlinchan, relate to the statue of Tlaloc in the way that they might associate themselves with a patron saint, linking their identity as a resident of the town with the image of Tlaloc. While Tlaloc plays an especially important role in the lives of the people of Coatlinchan, the god also plays an important role in shaping the Mexican identity. Images of Tlaloc are found throughout Mexico from Tijuana to the Yucatán, and images of the statue of Tlaloc found at Coatlinchan are deployed as a symbol of the Mexican nation. Tlaloc and other pre-Hispanic features are critical to creating a common Mexican identity that unites people throughout Mexico. Accordingly, people throughout Mexico, and especially in Coatlinchan, refer to Tlaloc in very anthropomorphized ways, referring to Tlaloc as a person. Furthermore, people continue to observe superstitions about Tlaloc. Despite centuries of colonial erasure, Tlaloc continues to be represented in American culture.

Mesoamerican comparisons

Evidence suggests that Tlaloc was represented in many other Mesoamerican cultures and religions. Tlaloc is thought to be one of the most commonly worshipped deities at Teotihuacan and it is specifically here, in Teotihuacan, that representations of Tlaloc often show him having jaguar teeth and features. This differs from the Maya version of Tlaloc, as the Maya representation depicts no specific relation to jaguars. The inhabitants of Teotihuacan thought of thunder as the rumblings of the jaguar and associated thunder with Tlaloc as well. It is likely that this god was given these associations because he is also known as "the provider" among the Aztecs.

A chacmool excavated from the Maya site of Chichén Itzá in the Yucatán by Augustus Le Plongeon possesses imagery associated with Tlaloc. This chacmool is similar to others found at the Templo Mayor in Tenochtitlán. The chacmool found at Chichén Itzá appears to have been used for sacrificial purposes, as the chacmool is shaped like a captive who has been bound. Likewise, two of the chacmools that have been found at Templo Mayor make clear reference to Tlaloc. The first chacmool portrays Tlaloc three times. Once on the vessel for collecting the blood and heart of sacrificed victims, once on the underpart of the chacmool with aquatic motifs related to Tlaloc, and the actual figure of the chacmool itself is of Tlaloc as the figure portrays the iconic goggle eyes and large fangs. The other chacmool was found at the Tlaloc half of the double pyramid-temple complex and clearly represents Tlaloc for the same reasons. In addition to the chacmools, human corpses were found in close proximity to the Tlalocan half of Templo Mayor, which were likely war captives.

These archaeological findings could explain why the Maya tended to associate their version of Tlaloc, Chaac, with the bloodiness of war and sacrifice, because they adopted it from the Aztecs, who used Maya captives for sacrifice to Tlaloc. Furthermore, Tlaloc can be seen in many examples of Maya war imagery and war-time decoration, such as appearing on “shields, masks, and headdresses of warriors�
THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE TEOTIHUACAN TLALOC on JSTOR
This evidence affirms the Maya triple connection between war-time, sacrifice, and the rain deity as they likely adopted the rain deity from the Aztecs, but blurred the line between sacrifice and captive capture, and religion.

Tlaloc was also associated with the earth, and it is believed this is also a reason why sacrifices may have been made to him. Sacrifices to Tlaloc were not solely a Maya phenomenon, and it is known that the Aztecs also made sacrifices to Tlaloc. Just as the Maya had also worshipped their own version of Tlaloc, so did the Mixtec people of Oaxaca, who were known to worship a rain god that is extremely similar to other manifestations of Tlaloc. The commonalities between the different Mesoamerican cultures; interpretations of Tlaloc belies the common origin of Tlaloc as a rain god from Teotihuacán.

Mythology

In Aztec cosmology, the four corners of the universe are marked by "the four Tlalocs" ( nci-IPA, Tlālōquê, tɬaːˈloːkeʔ) which both hold up the sky and function as the frame for the passing of time. Tlaloc was the patron of the Calendar day

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases