Name ▲▼ | Origin ▲▼ | Description ▲▼ |
---|---|---|
Goddess name "CIPACTLI (great earth mother)" | Aztec / Mesoamerican / Mexico | Primordial goddess. Not strictly a goddess, but significant enough in Aztec cosmogony to be included here. According to tradition she was created in the form of a huge alligator-like monster by the underworld deities MICTLANTECUHLTI and MICTECACIHUATL. She may equate with TLALTECUHTLI, the toad-like earth monster torn apart to form heaven and earth. According to one tradition she emerged from the primordial waters and engaged in a fierce struggle with the Sun god TEZCATLIPOCA during which he tore off her lower jaw to prevent her sinking back into the depths and she bit off his right foot. The mountains are said to be the scaly ridges of her skin.... |
Goddess name "Tlaltecuhtli" | Aztec | A chthonic creator goddess. (Tlal-teh-koo-tlee) is the monstrous earth goddess. Her name means "The one who give and devours life" and she required many human sacrifices to sustain her. |
Goddess name "Tlaltecuhtli" | Aztec / Mesoamerican / Mexico | Chthonic creator goddess. In Aztec cosmogony, Tlaltecuhtli is a monstrous, toad-like figure whose body is cleaved in two by the gods TEZCATLIPOCA and QUETZALCOATL to fashion heaven and earth. The ruler of the second of the thirteen heavens known at the time of the Spanish conquest, Ilhuicatl Tlalocan Ipan Metztli (the heaven of the Paradise of the Rain god over the moon), she is also one of the group clåśśed as the MICTLANTECUHTLI complex. She is said to swallow the Sun each evening and disgorge it in the dawn. She also devours the blood and hearts of sacrificial victims and the souls of the dead.See also CIPACTLI.... |