Statuette of Mictlantecuhtli

Mictlantecuhtli ("lord of Mictlan"), in Aztec mythology, was a god of the dead and King of Mictlan (Chicunauhmictlan), the lowest and northernmost section of the underworld. He was one of the principal gods of the Aztecs and was the most prominent of several gods and goddesses of death and the underworld (see also Chalmecatl). The worship of Mictlantecuhtli sometimes involved ritual cannibalism, with human flesh being consumed in and around the temple.^[1] Statuette of Mictlantecuhtli, in the British Museum, London Image by ChrisO File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Statuette of Mictlantecuhtli, in the British Museum, London Image by ChrisO File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Aztec civilization recognized many gods and supernatural creatures. ... In Aztec mythology, Mictlan was the lowest (ninth) level of the underworld, located far to the north. ... The word Aztec is usually used as a historical term, although some contemporary Nahuatl speakers would consider themselves Aztecs. ... Statuette of Mictlantecuhtli See also: Mictlantecuhtli (disambiguation) In Aztec mythology, Mictlantecuhtli (lord of Mictlan) is the god of the dead and King of Mictlan (Chicunauhmictlan), the lowest section of the underworld. ... Cannibalism in Brazil in 1557 as described by Hans Staden. ...

He was depicted as a blood-spattered skeleton or a person wearing a toothy skull. His headdress was shown decorated with owl feathers and paper banners, and he wore a necklace of human eyeballs. He was not the only Aztec god to be depicted in this fashion, as numerous other deities had skulls for heads or else wore clothings or decorations that incorporated bones and skulls. Although such imagery might seem morbid today, in the Aztec world skeletal imagery was a symbol of fertility, health and abundance, alluding to the close symbolic links between death and life.^[2]

His wife was Mictecacihuatl, and together they were said to dwell in a windowless house in Mictlan. Mictlanteculhtli was associated with spiders, owls, bats, the eleventh hour, and the northern compass direction. He was one of only a few deities held to govern over all three types of souls identified by the Aztecs, who distinguished between the souls of people who died normal deaths (of old age, disease, etc), heroic deaths (e.g. in battle, sacrifice or during childbirth), or non-heroic deaths. In Aztec mythology, Mictecacihuatl was the Queen of Mictlan, the underworld, and wife of Mictlantecuhtli. ... Diversity 111 families, 40,000 species Suborders Mesothelae Mygalomorphae Araneomorphae  See Table of Families Wikispecies has information related to: Spiders A South-American Argiope Spiders are predatory invertebrate animals with two body segments, eight legs, no chewing mouth parts and no wings. ... Families Strigidae Tytonidae An owl is a member of any of about 220 (222 currently known) species of solitary, mainly nocturnal birds of prey in the order Strigiformes. ... Suborders Megachiroptera Microchiroptera See text for families. ...

Mictlanteculhtli was the god of the day sign Itzcuintli (dog), one of the 20 such signs recognised in the Aztec calendar, and was regarded as supplying the souls of those who were born on that day. He was seen as the source of souls for those born on the sixth day of the 13-day week and was the fifth of the nine Night Gods of the Aztecs. He was also the secondary Week God for the tenth week of the twenty-week cycle of the calendar, joining the sun god Tonatiuh to symbolise the dichotomy of light and darkness. ^[3] The Aztec calendar was the calendar of the Aztec people of Pre-Columbian Mexico. ... A trecena is a subdivision used in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican calendars, which divides the 260-day calendar into 20 periods of 13 days each. ... The original page 13 of the Codex Borbonicus, showing the 13th trecena of the Aztec sacred calendar. ... In Aztec mythology, Tonatiuh was the sun god. ...

According to Aztec legend, the twin gods Quetzalcoatl and Xolotl were sent by the other gods to steal the bones of the previous generation of gods from Mictlanteculhtli. The god of the underworld sought to block Quetzalcoatl's escape with the bone and, although he failed, he forced Quetzalcoatl to drop the bones, which were scattered and broken by the fall. The shattered bones were collected by Quetzalcoatl and carried back to the land of the living, where the gods transformed them into the various races of mortals. Quetzalcoatl in human form, from the Codex Borbonicus. ... In Aztec mythology, (and among the Toltecs), Xolotl was the god of lightning and the one who aided the dead on their journey to Mictlan. ...

References

1. ^ Michael E. Smith, Jennifer B. Wharton and Jan Marie Olson, "Aztec Feasts, Rituals and Markets", in Archaeology and Politics of Food and Feasting in Early States and Empires, Tamara L Bray (ed.), p. 245. (Springer, 2003)
2. ^ Michael E. Smith, Aztecs, p. 206. (Blackwell, 2002)
3. ^ Rick Holmer, The Aztec Book of Destiny, pp. 78-79. (BookSurge, 2005)

See also

• Ah Puch
• Santa Muerte

In Maya mythology, Ah Puch was the God of Death and King of Mitnal, the underworld, which was the worst of all nine Mexicans and Central Americans believe that an owls screeches signify imminent death. ... Saint Death, otherwise known as Santa Muerte or La Santísima Muerte, is an uncanonized Mexican saint who receives petitions for love, luck, and protection. ...

External links

• Mictlantecuhtli - Demons, Demonology, and Evil in the Americas