Dictionary Of God And Godedesses

318 TLALOCTLALOCORIGIN Aztec (classical Mesoamerican) [Mexico].Rain god.KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP mainly circa AD 750to AD 1500, but probably much earlier and stillcontinuing among peasants in rural areas.SYNONYMS none.CENTER(S) OF CULT Tenochtitlan, Teotihuacan,Tula, etc.ART REFERENCES stone sculptures; murals andcodex illustrations.LITERARY SOURCES pre-Columbian codices.One of the principal personalities in Aztec creationmythology, Tlaloc was fashioned with thewater goddess CHALCHIUHTLICUE. According tosome traditions he is the father of the moon godTECCIZTECATL, whom he sacrificed in the greatfire to engender the moon. He is also perceived asthe ruler of the eighth of the thirteen heavensknown at the time of the Spanish conquest,Ilhuicatl Xoxouhcan (the blue heaven). He is afertility god who created water and rain andpresided over the third of the five world ages,which he ended with a great fiery rain. He hascontrol over lightning. He is perceived in fourforms—black, white, blue and red—but typicallyblue with “goggles” over the eyes and serpentfangs. It has been suggested that he evolved froma jaguar-type animistic deity worshiped by theOlmecs. He was propitiated to bring rain at theend of the dry season by sacrificing large numbersof small children on mountain altars.At Tenochtitlan, the Great Temple is dedicatedjointly to HUITZILOPOCHTLI and Tlaloc. One ofthe best sculptures is from Cuilapan, Oaxaca(early classic period). A tableau among the palacemurals of Tepantitla is allegedly dominated bythe god from whose hands flow droplets of waterwith a background of trees, butterflies andhuman figures. Wall paintings including a muraldepiction exist at Zacuala. At Tula, Hidalgo,Pyramid B used by the Toltecs includes humansculptures known as chacmools, holding disheswhich are believed to have held human heartsfor Tlaloc.Tlaloque-Tepictoton (the small moldedones)Fertility and rain god. Aztec (classical Mesoamerican)[Mexico]. The personification of small, rainbearinghills. One of the group classed as theTLALOC complex.TlaltecuhtliChthonic creator goddess. Aztec (classicalMesoamerican) [Mexico]. In Aztec cosmogony,Tlaltecuhtli is a monstrous, toad-like figurewhose body is cleaved in two by the gods TEZ-CATLIPOCA and QUETZALCOATL to fashion heavenand earth. The ruler of the second of the thirteenheavens known at the time of the Spanish conquest,Ilhuicatl Tlalocan Ipan Metztli (the heavenof the paradise of the rain god over the moon),she is also one of the group classed as the MICT-LANTECUHTLI complex. She is said to swallow thesun each evening and disgorge it in the dawn. Shealso devours the blood and hearts of sacrificialvictims and the souls of the dead.See also CIPACTLI.Tlazolteotl (Ixcuiname)Chthonic or earth goddess. Aztec (classicalMesoamerican) [Mexico]. Known locally from thegulf coast region of Huaxteca. A maternal goddesslinked with sexual sin and personifying filth. Oneof the group of fertility deities classed as theTETEOINNAN complex.