| Tlahzolteōtl | |
|---|---|
Goddess of Sex, Sexuality, Lust, and Purification | |
| Member of theNauhtzonteteo | |
 Tlahzolteōtl as depicted in theCodex Borgia | |
| Other names | Tlahēlcuāni, Tlahzōlmiquiztli, Īxcuinān |
| Abode | Tlalticpac |
| Gender | Female |
| Region | Mesoamerica |
| Ethnic group | Aztec (Nahoa) |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents | Omecihuatl (Emerged by Tecpatl) |
| Siblings | theNauhtzonteteo (1,600 gods) |
| Children | WithPiltzintecuhtli:Cinteotl (Codex Florentine) |
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InAztec mythology,Tlahzolteōtl (orClassical Nahuatl:Tlâçolteotl,pronounced[t͡ɬaʔs̻oːɬˈteoːt͡ɬ]) is a deity of sex, sexuality, lust, carnality, sin, vice, impurity, temptation, fertility, purification, absolution, steam baths, and a patroness ofadulterers. She is known by three names,Tlahēlcuāni ("she who eatstlahēlli or filthy excrescence [sin]") andTlazolmiquiztli ("the death caused by lust"), andIxcuina orIxcuinan (Huastec:Ix Cuinim, Deity of Cotton), the latter of which refers to a quadripartite association of four sister deities.[2][3][4]
Tlazōlteōtl is the deity for the 13thtrecena of the sacred 260-day calendarTōnalpōhualli, the one beginning with the dayCe Ōllin, or First Movement. She is associated with the day sign of thejaguar.[5]
Tlazōlteōtl played an important role in the confession of wrongdoing through her priests.[6]
There was aHuastec mother goddess[7] from the Gulf Coast[8] who was assimilated into Aztec views of Tlazōlteōtl.[7]
Under the name ofIxcuinan she was thought to bequadrupartite, composed of four sisters of different ages known by the namesTiyacapan (thefirst born),Tēicuih (the younger sister, alsoTēiuc),Tlahco (the middle sister, alsoTlahcoyēhua) andXōcotzin (the youngest sister). When conceived of as four individual deities, they were calledixcuinammeh ortlazōltēteoh;[3][4] individually, they were deities of luxury.[9]
According to Aztec belief, it was Tlazōlteōtl who inspired vicious desires and who likewise forgave and cleaned away sin.[10] She was also thought to cause disease, especiallySTDs. It was said that Tlazōlteōtl and her companions would afflict people with disease if they indulged themselves in forbidden love.[11] The uncleanliness was considered both on a physical and moral level and could be cured by steam bath, a rite of purification, or calling upon the Tlazoltēteoh, the deities of love and desires.[11]
For the Aztecs, there were two main deities thought to preside over purification:Tezcatlipoca, because he was thought to be invisible and omnipresent, therefore seeing everything; and Tlazōlteōtl, the deity of lechery and unlawful love.[10] It is said that when a man confessed before Tlazōlteōtl everything was revealed. Purification with Tlazōlteōtl would be done through a priest. One could only receive the "mercy" once in their life, which is why the practice was most common among the elderly.[12]
The priest (tlapouhqui) would be consulted by the penitent and would consult the 260-day ritual calendar (tōnalpōhualli) to determine the best day and time for the purification to take place. On that day, he would listen to the sins confessed and then render judgment and penance, ranging from fasts to presentation of offerings and ritual song and dance, depending on the nature and the severity of the sin.[13]
Tlazōlteōtl was called "Deity of Dirt" (Tlazōlteōtl) and "Eater of Ordure" (Tlahēlcuāni, 'she who eats dirt [sin]') with her dual nature of deity of dirt and also ofpurification. Sins were symbolized by dirt. Herdirt-eating symbolized the ingestion of the sin and in doing so purified it.[14][15] She was depicted withochre-colored symbols of divine excrement around her mouth and nose.[15] In theAztec language the word for sacred,tzin, comes fromtzintli, the buttocks, and religious rituals include offerings of "liquid gold" (urine) andgold (Nahuatl teocuitlatl "divine excrement", which Klein jocularly translated to English as "holy shit").[15][16] Through this process, she helped create harmony in communities.[15]
Tlazōlteōtl was one of the primary Aztec deities celebrated in the festival ofOchpaniztli (meaning "sweeping") that was held September 2–21 to recognize the harvest season. The ceremonies conducted during this timeframe included ritual cleaning, sweeping, and repairing, as well as the casting of corn seed, dances, and military ceremonies.[17]
In the filmRaiders of the Lost Ark, the fictitious artifact, theGolden Idol is based on the actual AztecDumbarton Oaks birthing figure. The artifact is presumed to depict Tlazōlteōtl.[18]
![The moons represent the cyclical nature of sin and purification, and the animal motifs serve to ground the deity in the earth and indicate fertility.[19]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aTlazolteotlBorbonicus.jpg)
Klein reinterprets the ochre color symbols found around the mouth and nose of some Tlazolteotl depictions, as well as painted to represent matter emanating from the buttocks — from connoting 'dirt' to 'divine excrement.' She notes thattlazolli — interpreted by many academics as Tlazolteotl's root word — is not only excrement or something old or used. Similarly the word for 'venerable' istzin, which comes fromtzintli, the buttocks. Urine as 'liquid gold' and offerings of excrement are examples of 'divine excrement' or, as Klein writes playfully, 'Holy Shit'.
Media related toTlazolteotl at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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