Huixtocihuatl
In Aztec religion, Huixtocihuatl (or Uixtochihuatl, Uixtociuatl) was a fertility goddess who presided over salt and salt water. The Aztecs considered her to be the older sister of the rain gods, including Tlaloc in most sources. Much of the information known about Huixtocihuatl and how the Aztecs celebrated her comes from Bernardino de Sahagún's manuscripts. His Florentine Codex explains how Huixtocihuatl became the salt god. It records that Huixtocihuatl angered her younger brothers, the Tlaloques, by mocking them, so they banished her to the salt beds. It was there where she discovered salt
Key facts
- Deity.name
- Huixtocihuatl
- Deity.type
- aztec
- Deity.image
- File:Huixtocihuatl from Primeros Memoriales.png
- Deity.caption
- Depiction of Huixtocihuatl from Bernardino de Sahagun's "Primeros Memoriales", which was published in 1590 (fol. 264r). She holds a reed staff in her hand and wears garments with a water design.
- Deity.gender
- female
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
4 sectionsContents
- Associations
- Iconography
- Ritual
- References
In Aztec religion, Huixtocihuatl (or Uixtochihuatl, Uixtociuatl) was a fertility goddess who presided over salt and salt water. The Aztecs considered her to be the older sister of the rain gods, including Tlaloc in most sources. Much of the information known about Huixtocihuatl and how the Aztecs celebrated her comes from Bernardino de Sahagún's manuscripts. His Florentine Codex explains how Huixtocihuatl became the salt god. It records that Huixtocihuatl angered her younger brothers, the Tlaloques, by mocking them, so they banished her to the salt beds. It was there where she discovered salt and how it was created. As described in the second book of the Florentine Codex, during Tecuilhuitontli, the seventh month of the Aztec calendar, there was a festival in honor of Huixtocihuatl. The festival culminated with the sacrifice of Huixtocihuatl's ixiptla, the embodiment of the deity in human form.
== Associations == Huixtocihuatl was considered a provider god along with Chicomecoatl and Chalchiuhtlicue. The three were sisters who together provided people with three life essentials: salt, food, and water.