Tlāhuizcalpantēcuhtli is a principal member of the pantheon of gods within the
Aztec religion, representing the Morning Star
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 ...
.
[Townsend (1992): p. 118.] The name comes from the
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 Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...
words "dawn" and "lord".
[''Nahuatl Dictionary.'' (1997). Wired Humanities Project. University of Oregon. Retrieved September 1, 2012, fro]
link
Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli is one of the thirteen
Lords of the Day, representing the 12th day of the Aztec
trecena.
Origin Story
Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli plays a significant role in the creation of
Tonatiuh, the Fifth Sun in the
Aztec creation narrative.
Motolinía's ''Memoriales'', and the
Codex Chimalpopoca relate that 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 ...
ruler
Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl became the morning star when he died. Quetzalcoatl throws himself into a
bonfire
A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used for waste disposal or as part of a religious feast, such as Saint John's Eve.
Etymology
The earliest attestations date to the late 15th century, with the Catholicon Anglicum spelling i ...
after adorning his regalia. Once he started burning, his ashes were lifted and various beautiful birds were sacrificed until Quetzalcoatl's spirit leaves his heart as a star and becomes a part of the sky.
The ''Annals of Cuauhtitlan'' gives his year of death as 1 Reed, one
52-year calendar cycle from his birth.
[Quiñones Keber (1995): p. 175.][Bierhorst (1992): p. 36.]
In the second section of the
Codex Chimalpopoca (called ''Legend of the Suns)'', Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli becomes angry when Tonatiuh, the sun god, does not move across the sky after being created. He shoots Tonatiuh with ''
atlatl'' darts, but misses and is hit by Tonatiuh's darts, being transformed into the god of obsidian and coldness,
Itztlacoliuhqui. The rest of the gods present:
Tezcatlipoca,
Huitzilopochtli, Nochpalliicue, Yapallicue and
Xochiquetzal sacrifice themselves in
Teotihuacan
Teotihuacan (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Teotihuacán'', ; ) is an ancient Mesoamerican city located in a sub-valley of the Valley of Mexico, which is located in the State of Mexico, northeast of modern-day Mexico City.
Teotihuacan is ...
to make the Sun move across the sky, starting the contemporary era.
Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli is also viewed as one of the four gods who kept the sky up and was associated with the cardinal direction
East
East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...
.
Effects
Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli is believed to cause harm to people by shooting darts. According to the ''Annals of Cuauhtitlan'', after Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl died, he spent four days in
Mictlan making darts before emerging as the morning star.
The ''Annals'' list his victims according to the days of the Aztec calendar: old people on 1 Alligator; small children on 1 Jaguar, 1 Deer and 1 Flower; nobles on 1 Reed; everybody on 1 Death; and young people on 1 Movement. On 1 Rain, he shoots the rain, so that no rain falls, and on 1 Water, he causes drought.
[Durán (1867): p.74]
Calendar
Along with being the Lord of the 12th day, in the sacred Aztec calendar called the ''
Tōnalpōhualli'' Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli is patron of the ''
trecena'' beginning with the day 1 Snake and ending with 13 Movement. In this he is paired with
Xiuhtecuhtli, the god of fire.
[Quiñones Keber (1995): pp. 175–176.]
Notes
References
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Gallery
File:Codex Cospi Page 10.jpg, Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli depicted on page 10 in the Codex Cospi
File:Page 13 of Codex Fejéváry-Mayer.jpg, Page 13 of the Codex Fejéváry-Mayer, a divination calendar, depicting Tlahuitzcalpanrecuhtli
{{Aztec mythology
Aztec gods
Stellar gods
Venusian deities
Dawn gods
Quetzalcoatl