Dictionary Of God And Godedesses

COATLICUE 67tonac. Between them they created the stars of thenight sky.Citra (bright)Minor goddess of misfortune. Hindu (epic andPuranic). A malevolent NAKSATRA or astral deity;daughter of DAKSA and wife of CANDRA (SOMA).Citrasena (having a bright spear)Goddess. Buddhist (Mahayana). The SAKTI ofBUDDHAKAPALA.Cittavasita (control of thinking)Minor goddess. Buddhist. One of a group oftwelve VASITAS personifying the disciplines of spiritualregeneration. Color: white. Attribute: staff.Cizin (stench)God of death. Mayan (Yucatec and other tribes,classical Mesoamerican) [Mexico]. The mostimportant death god in the Mayan cultural area.Said to live in Metnal, the Yucatec place of death,and to burn the souls of the dead. He first burns themouth and anus and, when the soul complains,douses it with water. When the soul complains ofthis treatment, he burns it again until there is nothingleft. It then goes to the god Sicunyum who spitson his hands and cleanses it, after which it is free togo where it chooses. Attributes of Cizin include afleshless nose and lower jaw, or the entire head maybe depicted as a skull. Spine and ribs are oftenshowing. He wears a collar with death eyes betweenlines of hair and a long bone hangs from one earlobe.His body is painted with black and particularlyyellow spots (the Mayan color of death).ClementiaMinor goddess. Roman. Generally invoked toprotect the common man against the emperor’sabsolute use of power. Under Hadrian the termclementia temporum (mildness of the times) cameinto common usage.COATLICUE (the serpent-skirted goddess)ORIGIN Aztec (classical Mesoamerican) [Mexico].Mother goddess.KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa AD 750 to AD1500 and probably much earlier.SYNONYMS Coatlicue-Chimalman (Valley ofMexico).CENTER(S) OF CULT Tenochtitlan.ART REFERENCES stone sculptures, murals, codexillustrations.LITERARY SOURCES pre-Columbian codices.The creator goddess of the earth and mankindand the female aspect of OMETEOTL. One of thegroup classed as the TETEOINNAN complex. Shehas 400 sons, the stars of the southern sky, and isthe mother of the goddess COYOLXAUHQUI.Later, as a widow, she was impregnated by a ballof feathers as she was sweeping the “serpentmountain” of Coatepec near Tula. Her other childrendecapitated her as punishment for her dishonor,but she gave birth to the sun godHUITZILOPOCHTLI who subsequently slew Coyolxauhquiand her brothers, thus banishing nightfor day. The Great Temple at Tenochtitlan commemoratesthis primordial battle.Coatlicue is known iconographically from acolossal headless statue dated to the late Aztecperiod, circa AD 1300, which stands in MexicoCity. The hands and feet are clawed and the figurebears a necklace of human hands and heartswith a skull pendant. A skirt is formed fromsnakes and two snakes arising from the neckmeet to form a face. Down her back hang thirteenleather cords festooned with snails. Accordingto tradition Coatlicue feeds off humancorpses. She is also recognized as the patrondeity of florists.