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by Mildred Boyd
The
pre-Columbian pantheons may have been dominated by males but there were
plenty of female deities, usually confined to such feminine pursuits as
spinning, weaving and medicine, or simply as helpmates to the more powerful
gods. They were often patronesses of childbirth and many were honored
as mothers of the gods, but any further resemblance to the compassionate
mother of Christ is purely nonexistent. So is any resemblance to Venus
de Milo.
More often than not they were so ghastly
to look upon they inspired more fear than adoration. Many of them doubled
as goddesses of war who led their warriors into battle and gloried in
bloody scenes of carnage. Only a few, especially those associated with
such important aspects of contemporary life as the phases of the moon,
fertility, agriculture, running water and the underworld, were powerful
enough to command their own temples and rites.
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Coatlicue
(Serpent Skirt) was well qualified as patroness of expectant mothers.
Miraculously impregnated by a piece of flint, she gave birth to 1,500
gods, but that is hardly her only claim to fame since, as Tonantzin, she
was also the progenitor of all mankind. As the mother of Huitzilopochtli,
God of War, she sounded the call to battle and, as Quilaztli, she reared
the infant god, Quetzalcoatl, after his mother died in childbirth. She
has also been transformed as La Llorona, the Weeping Woman of popular
Mexican folklore who haunts crossroads and steals children. She is usually
depicted, as here, magnificently hideous of aspect and wearing a skirt
of writhing snakes and a necklace of severed human hands and skulls. Like
most Aztec deities, she delighted in blood sacrifices.
Tlacolteutl, goddess of childbirth, and Akhushtal, her Mayan counterpart,
seem to have been more amiable.
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The
Maya, especially, were obsessed with the study of the heavens. The Moon
Goddess was very important since her waxing and waning determined planting
and harvest times. In their mythology she was a young maiden who had a
star-crossed love affair with the sun and is doomed forever to chase her
lover across the sky, never to catch up with him. The name, Ix Chel, can
be translated as Lady Rainbow and reflects her role as goddess of water
and life-giving rain. In her aspects as goddess of childbirth and weaving,
she was particularly worshipped by women. At the time of the conquest,
Cozumel, Isla de Mujeres and Tulum were popular pilgrimage destinations
where “her” shrines were filled with images, not one of which
still exists. The small figurine shown here comes from Jaina and dates
from the Late Classic (A.D. 600-800). She is identified as a goddess who
may possibly be Ix Chel.
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She
With Bells on Her Cheeks served much the same functions for the Aztecs
as Ix Chel did for the Maya. Her story, however, is much more violent.
As the daughter of Coatlicue and that incredibly fertile sliver of flint,
she was Goddess of the Moon and sister to Huitzilopotchli, God of the
Sun, who accused her and their 1,498 siblings of the monstrous crime
of conspiring to kill their mother. In righteous anger, Huitzilopotchli
flung their numerous brothers across the sky where they will remain
forever as the stars. Coyolxauhqui was not so lucky. She literally lost
her head but, paradoxically, she still ruled the night sky and her worship
continued as before.
This monolithic head of the moon goddess clearly shows, along with elaborate
nose, ear and lip ornaments, the coyolli (gourd or metal rattles/bells)
incised on her cheeks that gave us her name. It is considered a masterpiece
of Aztec art.
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Maize
was so vital to pre-Columbians that there were deities for every stage
of its development from seed to harvest and beyond. Xilonen was the adolescent
corn goddess whose specific province was “the tender ear of corn”
and must not be confused with Centeotl, god of the young corn plant or
Llametecuhtli, “goddess of the old dry ear of corn” or any
of the myriad other maize gods. Her worship was established by the young
virgins of Tenochtitlan and she is closely related to the fertility deity
Chichomecoatl. This image, which stands about twenty inches tall, shows
the young goddess wearing the traditional quechquematl and wraparound
skirt. Her hair flows free from under an elaborate headdress and, to symbolize
her function, she holds a double ear of corn in each hand.
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Flower
Feathers, Goddess of Flowers, patroness of young women in childbirth,
weaving and all things feminine—including domestic work and prostitution—was
the personification of youth, beauty, pleasure and love. According to
legend, she was the first wife of the Rain God, Tlaloc, before she was
forcibly abducted by Tezcatlipoca, the Toltec god of night and destruction.
This small figure, though crudely done, is rather charming and is easily
identified by the flowers in each hand and the headdress of flowers and
two erect sprays of quetzal plumes. The statuette is under 10 inches in
height and is thought to have come from a simple household altar in Tenochtitlan.
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The name literally means “woman snake,” and she was one of
the numerous local goddesses of childbirth and midwifery. They were special
pa- tronesses of women who died in bearing their first child. Like warriors
who died in battle, such women were considered divine and occupied a special
place in the thirteen levels of heaven. Theirs was in the western skies;
the east belonged to the warriors. This was not, seemingly, an ideal paradise,
since they were believed to return to earth on dark nights as demons who
stole children and seduced men. The goddess is traditionally shown kneeling
and bare breasted. The face is fleshless and the hands often drip blood.
This typical example comes from Tenochtitlan and dates from 1428-1521
A. D.
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As
there were many special levels of heaven, so there were nine levels to
the underworld, all of them presided over by Mictlanticuhtli and his consort
Mictecacihuatl, God and Goddess of Death, who were also overlords of the
northern world. Their realm was thought to be at the very core of the
earth and all souls who died natural deaths were in their charge. Mictlan
was not a place of eternal torment nor were souls sent there as punishment.
Instead, they underwent nine magical trials to gain enlightenment and
repose. Those who failed simply disappeared after four years.
The Lady of the Underworld is also usually shown kneeling and, although
her clothing and jewelry are ornate, her face is a grinning skull.
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