Dictionary Of God And Godedesses

Chang Hs’ien 63CENTER(S) OF CULT worshiped widely but chieflyat Teotihuacan.ART REFERENCES stone sculptures, murals, codexillustrations.LITERARY SOURCES pre-Columbian codices.Featuring strongly in creation mythology,Chalchiuhtlicue presided over the fourth of theworld ages which terminated in a great deluge.She is the tutelary deity of the fourth of the thirteenheavens identified at the time of the Spanishconquest, Ilhuicatl Citlalicue (the heaven of thestar-skirted goddess). She takes the role of a vegetationgoddess responsible for the flowering andfruiting of the green world, particularly maize; shealso takes responsibility for such natural phenomenaas whirlpools. The consort of the rain godTLALOC and one of the group classed as the Tlaloccomplex, she is particularly invoked as a guardiangoddess of young women and is responsible forunpredictable events. A huge statue, three metershigh, was discovered at Teotihuacan, and a larger,unfinished statue, allegedly of the goddess andweighing approximately 200 tons (now in MexicoCity), was found on the slopes of the Tlalocmountain. Attributes include a rattle on a baton,and her dress is adorned with waterlilies.ChalchiutonatiuhAztec. See ATL.Chalchiutotolin (jade turkey)God of penitence. Aztec (classical Mesoamerican)[Mexico]. One of the deities collectively classed asthe TEZCATLIPOCA complex.Chalmecacihuilt (chalman lady)Minor chthonic underworld goddess. Aztec(classical Mesoamerican) [Mexico]. One of thedeities collectively classed as the MICTLANTE-CUHTLI complex.ChalmecatlMinor chthonic underworld god. Aztec (classicalMesoamerican) [Mexico]. One of the deitiescollectively classed as the MICTLANTECUHTLIcomplex.ChamerGod of death. Mayan (Chorti, classical Mesoamerican)[eastern Guatemala]. Appears as a skeletondressed in white. His consort is Xtabai. Attributesinclude a scythe with a bone blade, probably copiedfrom the traditions of Christian immigrants.Chang FeiGod of war. Chinese. The counterpart of the godKUAN TI and often linked iconographically withhim and the god LIU PEI, Chang Fei rules overthe dark half of the year—autumn and winter.Like the seasons he represents he is characterizedby drunkenness and wildness. According totradition he was wounded by his subordinateswhile in a drunken stupor. He is depicted with ablack face, a bushy beard and wild staring eyesgiving him a ferocious appearance.Chang Hs’ienGuardian god of children. Chinese. According totradition he was the mortal king of Szechuankilled by the founder of the Sung dynasty. Hiswife was captured and forced to become a concubinein the imperial palace. She was discovered bythe emperor kneeling before a picture of herdeceased husband which she identified as a localdeity, “the immortal Chang who gives children.”This triggered the cult which began locally inSzechuan circa AD 100. Chang Hs’ien is depictedholding a bow made of mulberry wood and eitheraiming an arrow at the star Tien Kou, the socalledcelestial dog which threatens the earth, oraiming the empty bow at a rat (see ERH LANG).