Saturday, December 24, 2011

Chalchihuitlicue

Name and Etymology:
Chalchihuitlicue
Chalchiuhtlicue
Chalciuhtlicue
Acuecucyoticihuati
"She of the Jade Skirt"
Religion and Culture of Chalchihuitlicue:
Aztec, Mesoamerica
Symbols, Iconography, and Art of Chalchihuitlicue:
Chalchihuitlicue is depicted wearing a green skirt and is often sculpted from green stone. Sometimes, a stream of water with babies in it is seen flowing from her skirt — usually a male and a female. She may also be depicted with spinning and weaving implements. Finally, she is also often seen carrying a cross, which for the Aztec was a symbol of fertility and which represented the four winds which brought rain to water the crops.
Chalchihuitlicue is the Goddess of:
Storms
Lakes
Streams
Horizontal Waters
Youthful beauty
Birth
Baptisms
Equivalents in Other Cultures:
Acpaxaco, an Otomi water goddess
Family Tree and Relationships of Chalchihuitlicue:
Sister and wife of Tlaloc, the rain god
Wife of Xiuhtecuhtli
Mother of Tecciztecatl
Temples, Worship and Rituals of Chalchihuitlicue:
Aztecs identified Tlaloc with falling rain, but Chalchihuitlicue with places where rain gathered: pools, floods, etc.
Aztecs sacrificed children to Chalchihuitlicue in order to encourage her to help plants and babies grow.
Aztecs believed that Chalchihuitlicue was the patron goddess of the world which existed prior to this one.
Mythology and Legends of Chalchihuitlicue:
Chalchihuitlicue helps Tlaloc rule the paradise kingdom of Tlalocan.
Chalchihuitlicue created and destroyed the previous world, turning its inhabitants into fish.
Chalchihuitlicue's association with both waters and birth or fertility is due to the Aztec's association of the womb with waters. This dual role gave Chalchihuitlicue both life-giving and a life-ending roles in Aztec mythology.
in Aztec mythology, all rives flow out of the paradise kingdom of Tlalocan and Chalchihuitlicue, who helps rule Tlalocan, controls the rivers.
From: About.com Aztec mythology

Chalchiuhtlicue is the Aztec goddess of running water and springs, rivers and lakes, who brings fertility to crops. Her name means "Woman of the Jade Skirt", or "Lady Precious Green Stone Skirt". She is depicted with water-lilies, dressed in watery blues and greens, and sometimes has quetzal-feathers in Her hair. She is the elder sister or consort to Tlaloc, the rain god. Though Tlaloc was a benevolent god, many children and babies were sacrificed to Him. If the children cried on the way to being killed, it was a sign that rain would come, and the populace rejoiced.

In Aztec mythology, this world has seen five Suns, or Creations, the first four of which correspond to the four elements, earth, air, fire, and water. Chalchiutlicue brought about the destruction of the Fourth Sun by releasing 52 years of torrential rains to flood the Earth (much like Ix Chel of the Maya did) though She also protected Humanity by changing the people into fish so that the waters would not drown them, and by creating a bridge linking Earth to Heaven for those in Her favor. In the Codex Fejervary-Mayer, She is depicted as bringing too much rain for the corn to sprout; after a period of drought, Her husband Tlaloc provides the right, moderate amount and the corn can grow.

Chalchiuhtlicue was the protectress of children and new-borns, perhaps because it was thought She could influence Her husband. She also protected fishermen.

In the complex Aztec calender, Chalchiuhtlicue is one of the nine Companions of the Night, who were believed to have created the world, and which also includes Tlaloc and Tlazolteotl. She was also considered one of the thirteen Companions of the Day (Tlaloc and Tlazolteotl number among these as well), and She is the patron Goddess of the 5th day of the calendar.

Some of Her many manifestations include: Acuecueyoticihuatl or Acuecueyotl, "Woman Who Makes the Waves Swell", the Ocean-Goddess, invoked by women giving birth; Ahuic, "To One Part and To the Other", or "To and Fro", Goddess of the waves on the shore; Apozanolotl, who represents purity, shown as the foam of the ocean or white-capped waves; Aticpac Calqui Cihuatl, "Woman Who Lives in the Sea"; Atlacamani "Sea Storm"; Atlacoya "Sad Waters"; Atlatona "She Who Shines in the Waters"; Ayauhteotl, Goddess of nighttime or early morning mist or fog, associated with fame and vanity; Ayopechcatl "She Who Dwells on the Back of the Tortoise", the protectoress of newborn children; Huixtocihuatl, Goddess of Salt, and daughter of Tlaloc, who was given human sacrifices at Her festival in June; and Xixiquipilihui "It Swells", who creates the waves on lakes.

From: Chalchiuhtlicue
In Aztec mythology, Chalchiuhtlicue (also Chalciuhtlicue, or Chalcihuitlicue She is also a patroness of ) ("She of the Jade Skirt") was the goddess of lakes and streams.birth and plays a part in Aztec baptisms. In the myth of the five suns, she had dominion over the fourth world, which was destroyed in a great flood that she created to punish the wicked. She also presides over the day 5 Serpent and the trecena of 1 Reed.Her husband was Tlaloc and with him, she was the mother of Tecciztecatl and ruler over Tlalocan. In her aquatic aspect, she was known as Acuecucyoticihuati, goddess of oceans, rivers and any other running water, as well as the patron of women in labor. She was also said to be the wife of Xiuhtecuhtli. She is sometimes associated with a rain goddess, Matlalcueitl.
In art, Chalciuhtlicue was illustrated wearing a green skirt and with short black vertical lines on the lower part of her face. In some scenes babies may be seen in a stream of water issuing from her skirts. Sometimes she is symbolized by a river with a heavily laden prickly pear tree growing on one bank.
She is depicted in several central Mexican manuscripts, including the Pre-Columbian Codex Borgia (plates 11 and 650, the 16th century Codex Borbonicus (page 5), Codex Ríos (page 17), and the Florentine Codex, (plate 11). When sculpted, she is often carved from green stone as befits her name.
From: Wiki

Chalchiuhtlicue (also Chalchihuitlicue, Chalciuhtlicue), "She of the Jade Skirt", or "She whose Night-robe of Jewel-stars Whirls Above", Lady of the Maintenance. As Acuecucyoticihuati she is the goddess of oceans, rivers and any other running water, but also a goddess of birth and the patron of women in labor.
Chalchiuhtlicue is the wife of Tlaloc, the Rain God, and mother of Tecciztecatl, the Moon god.
Chalchiuhtlicue was the ruler over the previous Fourth Sun. This world was destroyed by a flooding.
In the tonalpohualli, Chalchiuhtlicue is the protector of both the fifth day, Coatl1-Acatl (reed). Chalchiuhtlicue is Lord of the Day for days with number 3 ("yei" in Nahuatl). She is the sixth Lord of the Night.
From: AztecCalender


Water Deity (Chalchihuitlicue), 15th–early 16th century
Mexico; Aztec
Stone; H. 11 5/8 in. (29.5 cm)
Museum Purchase, 1900 (00.5.72)
The finely carved figure belongs to a sizable group of kneeling females that display costume elements identifying them as water deities called Chalchihuitlicue ("she of the jade skirt") in Nahuatl, the language spoken by the Aztecs. In Aztec religion, the water goddess was the wife of the rain god Tlaloc, an ancient deity that had long been worshipped throughout Mesoamerica. Chalchihuitlicue symbolized the purity and preciousness of spring, river, and lake water that was used to irrigate the fields. As a fertility goddess, she portrays the Aztec ideal of fertile young womanhood. Most typical of the water goddess costume is the distinctive headdress consisting of multiple thick bands, probably cotton, wound about the head and bordered above and below by rows of balls and two large tassels attached to the sides of the head. In back, the bands are twisted and tied in a prominent knot, the tasseled ends falling over her straight hair. Her clothing is that of a noble woman with a skirt and triangular shoulder cape bordered by a tasseled fringe. The water goddess was closely related to the Aztec corn goddess, Chicomecoatl, who is often also shown wearing this headdress, while holding ears of corn in her hands.
From: here

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