- Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli
In
Aztec religion , Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli (Nahuatl for "Lord of the Dawn"; IPA2|tɬaːwiskaɬpanˈteːkʷtɬi) is the god of the planetVenus , the morning star. Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli was considered a dangerous and malevolent god, and was associated withQuetzalcoatl .Quiñones Keber (1995): p. 175.]Myths
Motolinia 's "Memoriales", the "Histoyre du Mechique " and theAnnals of Cuauhtitlan relate that theToltec rulerTopiltzin Quetzalcoatl became the morning star when he died. The Annals of Cuauhtitlan gives his year of death as 1 Reed, one 52-year calendar cycle from his birth. [Bierhorst (1992): p. 36.]In the
Legend of the Suns , Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli attempts to shoot the sun witharrow s, but misses and is shot himself. [Bierhorst (1992): pp. 148–149.]Effects
Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli was believed to cause harm to people by shooting darts. According to the Annals of Cuauhtitlan, after Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl died, he spent four days in
Mictlan making darts before emerging as the morning star.The Annals list his victims according to the days of the Aztec calendar: old people on 1 Alligator; small children on 1 Jaguar, 1 Deer and 1 Flower; nobles on 1 Reed; everybody on 1 Death; and young people on 1 Movement. On 1 Rain, he shoots the rain, so that no rain falls, and on 1 Water, he causes drought. [Bierhorst (1992): pp. 36–37.]
Calendar
In the
Aztec calendar , Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli is patron of the "trecena " beginning with the day 1 Snake and ending with 13 Movement. In this he is paired withXiuhtecuhtli , the god of fire. [Quiñones Keber (1995): pp. 175–176.]Notes
References
*cite book |author=Bierhorst, John (tr.) |year=1992 |title=History and Mythology of the Aztecs: The Codex Chimalpopoca |location=Tucson |publisher=University of Arizona Press |isbn=978-0-8165-1886-9
*cite book |author=Quiñones Keber, Eloise |year=1995 |title=Codex Telleriano-Remensis: Ritual, Divination, and History in a Pictorial Aztec Manuscript |location=Austin |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=0-292-76901-6
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.