So too, they felt that they owed their lives to the water gods, as without the seasonal rains they would surely starve or die of thirst. The Aztecs believed that their gods required nourishment in order to live. Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl had to turn themselves into massive trees in order to return the heavens to the sky. Īccording to the Codex Ramirez, Chalchiuhtlicue cried so much that the heavens themselves fell. Humans had to turn into fish in order to survive the deluge. This accusation devastated Chalchiuhtlicue, and she proceeded to cry tears of blood for 52 years, drowning the world in the process. A jealous Tezcatlipoca accused her of faking her feelings towards the people in order to gain their adoration. When Chalchiuhtlicue became the sun, she acted with great love towards her people. Minneapolis Institute of Art Public Domain The subject of the sculpture could also be Chicomecoatl, a closely related goddess, or a male dancer dressed as Chalchiuhtlicue. 1200-1521) is generally assumed to be Chalchiuhtlicue, though its outstretched arms make it a rather unique depiction of her. The first sun was Tezcatlipoca, the second was Quetzalcoatl, the third was Tlaloc, and the fourth was Chalchiuhtlicue. The Fourth SunĪccording to Aztec mythology, there have been a total of five suns, each represented by a god. This detail suggests that the water gods were tremendously important to the Aztecs, and that the rains they brought were paramount to the survival of Aztec civilization. While all four gods worked together to form the water deities, everything else up to this point had been the work of only one or two gods (including the gods of the dead, Mictlantecuhtli and Mictecacihuatl, the Aztec calendar, maize, and even the earth itself). Origin MythĪccording to the Codex Ramirez (a 16th-century Spanish manuscript recording Aztec religious practices) Chalchiuhtlicue was created by Tezcatlipoca, Xipe Totec, Quetzalcoatl, and Huitzilopochtli shortly after the world’s creation.Īccording to this myth, Tlaloc and Chalchiuhtlicue were created simultaneously as husband and wife.Īll four divinities joined themselves together, and made Tlalocatecli, and his wife Chalchiutlique, whom they assigned to be the gods of water, to whom they betook themselves in prayer whenever it was needful. The Aztecs conducted annual sacrifices to sustain her and repay the debt owed to her for her life-giving waters. She was created early in the formation of the Aztec cosmos, and would serve as the fourth of five suns. Family TreeĬhalchiuhtlicue was an important member of the Aztec pantheon. Variously, she has served as Tlaloc‘s wife, sister, and mother. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Public Domain FamilyĬhalchiuhtlicue was related to the rain god Tlaloc and the Tlaloques, but the passage of time has blurred her precise relation to them. Ī kneeling Chalchiuhtlicue wearing a typical headdress with tassels. She was usually depicted kneeling and wearing a headdress with tassels on either side of her head. Her waters had healing properties and she was regarded as the patron god of newborn children and the sick. Chalchiuhtlicue could do more than simply control water, however. Chalchiuhtlicue’s name was based on this figurative meaning, and could be translated as “Jade her skirt ” a more common translation was “She of the jade skirt.” AttributesĪs a water goddess, Chalchiuhtlicue was responsible for the welfare of oceans, rivers, springs, and lakes. Translated literally, the Nahuatl word chālchihuitl meant “heart of the earth.” The word was seldom used in this manner, however, and was used instead to refer to precious green stones like jade and turquoise.
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