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| Xochipilli | |
|---|---|
God of Beauty, Youth, Love, Sexuality, Fertility, Arts, and Flowers | |
 Xochipilli as depicted in theBorgia Codex | |
| Other names | Macuilxōchitl, Chicōmexōchitl |
| Abode | Tamoanchan (Codex Ríos)[1] |
| Gender | Male |
| Region | Mesoamerica |
| Ethnic group | Aztec,Tlaxcaltec,Toltec (Nahua) |
| Festivals | Tlaxochimaco, Miccailhuitontli |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents | Xōchitlīcuē (Codex Ramírez)[2] |
| Siblings | Xōchiquetzal |
| Consort | None |
Xōchipilli[ʃoːt͡ʃiˈpilːi] is the god of beauty, youth, love, passion, sex, sexuality, fertility, arts, song, music, dance, painting, writing, games, playfulness, nature, vegetation and flowers inAztec mythology. His name contains theNahuatl wordsxōchitl ("flower") andpilli (either "prince" or "child") and hence means "flower prince".
As the patron of writing and painting, he was calledChicomexōchitl the "Seven-flower", but he could also be referred to asMacuilxōchitl "Five-flower". He was the patron of the gamepatolli. He is frequently paired withXochiquetzal, who is seen as his female counterpart.[3]Xōchipilli has also been interpreted as the patron of both psychedelie and nature, a role possibly resulting from his being absorbed from theToltec civilization.[4][5][6][7]
He, among other gods, is depicted wearing a talisman known as anoyohualli, which was a teardrop-shaped pendant crafted out of mother-of-pearl.[8]
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In the mid-19th century, a 16th-century[citation needed] Aztec statue of Xochipilli was unearthed on the side of the volcanoPopocatépetl nearTlalmanalco. The statue is of a single figure seated upon a temple-like base. Both the statue and the base upon which it sits are covered in carvings of sacred andpsychoactive organisms including mushrooms (Psilocybe aztecorum),tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum),Ololiúqui (Turbina corymbosa),sinicuichi (Heimia salicifolia), possiblycacahuaxochitl (Quararibea funebris), and one unidentified flower.
Laurette Séjourné has written: "The texts always use the flower in an entirely spiritual sense, and the aim of the religious colleges was to cause the flower of the body to bloom: This flower can be no other than the soul. The association of the flower with the sun is also evident. One of the hieroglyphs for the sun is a four-petalled flower, and the feasts of the ninth month, dedicated toHuitzilopochtli, were entirely given over to flower offerings."[9]
The figure himself sits on the base, head tilted up, eyes open, jaw tensed, with his mouth half open and his arms opened to the heavens. The statue is currently housed in the Aztec hall of theMuseo Nacional de Antropología inMexico City.[citation needed]
It has been suggested byWasson,[10][11]Schultes,[full citation needed] andHofmann[full citation needed] that the statue of Xochipilli represents a figure in the throes ofentheogenic ecstasy. The position and expression of the body, in combination with the very clear representations ofhallucinogenicplants which are known to have been used in sacred contexts by the Aztec support this interpretation. The statue appears to have hugely dilated pupils, suggesting an effect of hallucinogenic mushrooms.
Wasson says that in the statue's depiction Xochipilli "is absorbed bytemicxoch, 'dream flowers', as the Nahua say describing the awesome experience that follows the ingestion of an entheogen. I can think of nothing like it in the long and rich history of European art: Xochipilli absorbed intemicxoch".[10]
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Media related toXochipilli at Wikimedia Commons
