Who is xochiquetzal

The delicate and colorful embroidery featured flowers and butterflies. The Aztecs also noted a similar goddess being worshiped on the Gulf Coast in what is now the Mexican state of Tabasco down through the Valley of Oaxaca. Although the Aztecs already had feminine aspects of the divine that they worshipped and respected before the arrival of this foreign goddess, Xochiquetzal fit in nicely with the gods, goddesses and divine aspects that they already recognized.

As her popularity grew, Xochiquetzal became associated with the first woman, Tonacacihuatl, and Spanish chroniclers tried to associate her with the Biblical Eve of the Garden of Eden. According to some stories gathered at the time of the Conquest, Xochiquetzal even lived in the paradise called Tamoanchan and was cast out of it for gathering flowers from a sacred tree. For more information about this primordial ancient Mexican utopia called Tamoanchan, please see Mexico Unexplained episode number In one story Xochiquetzal married a sun god called Piltzintecuhtli and they had a son named Centeotl and they lived as a happy family in the underworld.

The rain god Tlaloc is also sometimes mentioned as her husband, or at least the husband to one of the avatars or aspects of Xochiquetzal.

Many Aztec gods fell in love with her and pursued her. In this story she became drunk with pulque along with her brother Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl and behaved so badly that they were forced to flee the Toltec capital leaving anarchy and discord in their wake. Under a succession of Aztec rulers who wished to solidify their power and create a standardized state religion, toward the time of the Conquest the sometimes-confusing idea of Xochiquetzal became more defined and more formalized.

Xochiquetzal, along with other central Mexican goddesses or feminine divine forces made up the archetypal goddess complex found in most every culture on earth. Specifically, these female forces were responsible for overseeing childbirth, fertility, erotic love, domestic production and household tasks. The Aztec religion also recognized distinctions inherent in the life cycles of women and different incarnations of Xochiquetzal took on different aspects or roles in the female life cycle.

When emphasizing sensual femininity, Xochiquetzal would be personified as a young, attractive woman, usually with long black hair with straight bangs cut above the brow, to signify a fertile, unmarried young woman.

When emphasizing motherhood or other conditions of more mature women, Xochiquetzal would be depicted as having shorter hair with her quetzal plumes upright on the top of her head, the way Aztec matrons typically wore their hair. Besides the quetzal feathers and the embroidered clothing mentioned earlier, in nearly all illustrations Xochiquetzal is seen with face tattoos or black face paint around her mouth.

In later imperial Aztec art, Xochiquetzal is depicted wearing a quechquemitl, or triangular cape. This cape is delicately embroidered, much like her clothing was when she was the powerful goddess of the Tlahuica people. Often, her breasts show through her clothing, to emphasize her desirability as the formal Aztec goddess of love. Butterfly symbolism — on her clothes and sometimes seen in a butterfly nosepiece — emphasizes her role in birth and creativity. In many artistic depictions, Xochiquetzal is shown surrounded by flowers or medicinal plants.

This illustrates her importance to female healers, sorceresses and midwives. Xochiquetzal had a reputation as a seductress. Like Eve, she was the first woman to sin in the world. She seduced her own brother Yappan, even though he had attempted to take a vow of chastity. Because he gave in to the temptation, Yappan was turned into a scorpion. But Xochiquetzal went unpunished. Some legends state that Yappan was her very first lover. At some point in mythology, she also seduced Topiltzin-Quetzalcoatl.

He was the Lord of the Toltecs. Her varying husbands were the result of the other gods fighting for her. Her marriage to Tezcatlipoca is probably the most well-known in the myths. He got jealous of her marriage to Tlaloc, and so he kidnapped her, forcing her to marry him.

Tlaloc returned to fight Tezcatlipoca to get his wife back. He was successful, but he forbade her from ever returning to mankind again. So, she was stuck in Tamoanchan, the ancestral land of the Aztecs. It was said to be a beautiful place but rather lonely.

She might also have been the wife of the sun. The sun would move through Mictlan, the underworld, at night. Then it would return to the day to be with Xochiquetzal. One day, Quetzalcoatl was washing by some rocks. His semen dripped onto one of the rocks, and Xochiquetzal was there. The gods sent a bat to come and bit Xochiquetzal on the genitals as punishment. From there grew bad-smelling flowers. These were then presented to Mictlantecuhtli, the lord of the underworld.

Each year, Xochiquetzal was worshipped alongside Tlaloc in one of his many festivals. Hueypachtli, or Tepeilhuitl, was celebrated to honor the rain god. But the worshippers of Xochiquetzal also joined in on this festival. She was also worshipped in the month of Toxcatl during that festival.

For Hueypachtli, the people celebrated through the offering of sacrifices, especially flowers. There was also drinking as well as sexual acts. A young woman was chosen to represent the goddess. She was dressed as Xochiquetzal and made into an ixiptlatli, or impersonator. God impersonation and sacrifice were very common at many Aztec festivals in honor of the gods.

The priest would decapitate the woman, and then her skin was flayed. It was like ceremonies in honor of Xipe Totec. One of the priests would wear the skin and then perform the act of weaving. Other worshippers would dance around him and confess their sins. The Aztecs performed a similar ritual during Toxcatl.

But before this festival, they chose a young virgin to marry a young warrior. This union lasted for a year until the festival. Then this woman, the impersonator of Xochiquetzal, was sacrificed to the goddess. Xochiquetzal was portrayed as a beautiful young woman in images and sculptures. Instead of matronly, she was shown as seductive, alluring, and youthful. Because of her connection to the art of weaving, she was often carrying weaving tools. She carried tools along with bouquets of flowers.

She was depicted in rich clothing, jewels, and sandals. This showed her high status amongst the gods. She also had a rather large nose piercing, which was also a status symbol. A small clay Xochiquetzal statue can be found in Museo Amparo, Mexico. This statue portrays her not as fearsome but as beautiful. She often wore a jeweled necklace, feathered headdress, and patterned skirt. Ancient Origins has been quoted by:. At Ancient Origins, we believe that one of the most important fields of knowledge we can pursue as human beings is our beginnings.

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