Aztec mythology Aztec mythology is the body or collection of myths of the Aztec civilization of Central Mexico. The Aztecs were a culture living in central Mexico and much of their mythology is similar to that of other Mesoamerican cultures. According to legend ...

, Xolotl () was a god of

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...

and

lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...

. He was commonly depicted as a dog-headed man and was a soul-guide for the dead. He was also god of

twins Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two e ...

, monsters, death, misfortune, sickness, and deformities. Xolotl is the canine brother and twin of Quetzalcoatl, the pair being sons of the virgin Chimalma. He is the

dark Darkness is the condition resulting from a lack of illumination, or an absence of visible light. Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low luminance because the hue-sensitive photoreceptor cells on the retina are ...

personification of

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

, the evening star, and was associated with heavenly fire. The

axolotl The axolotl (; from ) (''Ambystoma mexicanum'') is a neoteny, paedomorphic salamander, one that Sexual maturity, matures without undergoing metamorphosis into the terrestrial adult form; adults remain Aquatic animal, fully aquatic with obvio ...

is named after him.

Myths and functions

Xolotl was the sinister god of monstrosities who wears the spirally-twisted wind jewel and the ear ornaments of Quetzalcoatl. His job was to protect the sun from the dangers of the underworld. As a double of Quetzalcoatl, he carries his

conch Conch ( , , ) is a common name of a number of different medium-to-large-sized sea snails. Conch shells typically have a high Spire (mollusc), spire and a noticeable siphonal canal (in other words, the shell comes to a noticeable point on both ...

-like ehecailacacozcatl or wind jewel. Xolotl accompanied Quetzalcoatl to Mictlan, the land of the dead, or the underworld, to retrieve the bones from those who inhabited the previous world (Nahui Atl) to create new life for the present world,

Nahui Ollin Nahui Ollin is a concept in Aztecs, Aztec/Mexica cosmology with a variety of meanings. Nahui translates to "four" and Ollin translates to "movement" or "motion." Ollin was primarily portrayed in Aztec codices as two interlaced lines which are eac ...

, the sun of movement. In a sense, this re-creation of life is reenacted every night when Xolotl guides the sun through the underworld. In the tonalpohualli, Xolotl rules over day Ollin (movement) and over

trecena A trecena (From Spanish: trece) is a 13-day period used in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican calendars. The 260-day Mayan calendar (the '' tonalpohualli'') was divided into 20 trecenas. Trecena is derived from the Spanish chroniclers and translates to ...

1-Cozcacuauhtli (vulture). His empty eye sockets are explained in the legend of

Teotihuacan Teotihuacan (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Teotihuacán'', ; ) is an ancient Mesoamerican city located in a sub-valley of the Valley of Mexico, which is located in the State of Mexico, northeast of modern-day Mexico City. Teotihuacan is ...

, in which the gods decided to sacrifice themselves for the newly created sun. Xolotl withdrew from this sacrifice and wept so much his eyes fell out of their sockets. According to the creation recounted in the Florentine Codex, after the Fifth Sun was initially created, it did not move. Ehecatl ("God of Wind") consequently began slaying all other gods to induce the newly created Sun into movement. Xolotl, however, was unwilling to die in order to give movement to the new Sun. Xolotl transformed himself into a young

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

plant with two stalks (xolotl), a doubled maguey plant (mexolotl), and an amphibious animal (

). Xolotl is thus a master transformer. In the end, Ehecatl succeeded in finding and killing Xolotl. In art, Xolotl was typically depicted as a

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...

-headed man, a

skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of most animals. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is a rigid outer shell that holds up an organism's shape; the endoskeleton, a rigid internal fra ...

, or a deformed monster with reversed feet. An

incense burner A censer, incense burner, perfume burner or pastille burner is a vessel made for burning incense or perfume in some solid form. They vary greatly in size, form, and material of construction, and have been in use since ancient times throughout t ...

in the form of a skeletal canine depicts Xolotl. As a

psychopomp Psychopomps (from the Greek word , , literally meaning the 'guide of souls') are creatures, spirits, angels, demons, or deities in many religions whose responsibility is to escort newly deceased souls from Earth to the afterlife. Their role is ...

, Xolotl would guide the dead on their journey to Mictlan the

afterlife The afterlife or life after death is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's Stream of consciousness (psychology), stream of consciousness or Personal identity, identity continues to exist after the death of their ...

in myths. His two spirit animal forms are the Xoloitzcuintli dog and the water salamander species known as the

Axolotl The axolotl (; from ) (''Ambystoma mexicanum'') is a neoteny, paedomorphic salamander, one that Sexual maturity, matures without undergoing metamorphosis into the terrestrial adult form; adults remain Aquatic animal, fully aquatic with obvio ...

. Xolos served as companions to the Aztecs in this life and also in the after-life, as many dog remains and dog sculptures have been found in Aztec burials, including some at the main temple in

Tenochtitlan , also known as Mexico-Tenochtitlan, was a large Mexican in what is now the historic center of Mexico City. The exact date of the founding of the city is unclear, but the date 13 March 1325 was chosen in 1925 to celebrate the 600th annivers ...

. Dogs were often subject to ritual sacrifice so that they could accompany their master on his voyage through Mictlan, the underworld. Their main duty was to help their owners cross a deep river. It is possible that dog sculptures also found in burials were also intended to help people on this journey. Xoloitzcuintli is the official name of the

Mexican Hairless Dog The Xoloitzcuintle (or Xoloitzquintle, Xoloitzcuintli, or Xolo) is one of several breeds of hairless dog. It is found in standard, intermediate, and miniature sizes. The Xolo also comes in a coated variety, totally covered in fur. Coated and hair ...

(also known as ''perro pelón mexicano'' in

Mexican Spanish Mexican Spanish () is the variety of dialects and sociolects of the Spanish language spoken in Mexico and its bordering regions. Mexico has the largest number of Spanish speakers, more than double any other country in the world. Spanish is spo ...

), a

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

canine breed from

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area that begins in the southern part of North America and extends to the Pacific coast of Central America, thus comprising the lands of central and southern Mexico, all of Belize, Guatemala, El S ...

dating back to over 3,500 years ago. This is one of many native dog breeds in the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

and it is often confused with the Peruvian Hairless Dog. The name "Xoloitzcuintli" references Xolotl because this dog's mission was to accompany the souls of the dead in their journey into

eternity Eternity, in common parlance, is an Infinity, infinite amount of time that never ends or the quality, condition or fact of being everlasting or eternal. Classical philosophy, however, defines eternity as what is timeless or exists outside tim ...

. The name "Axolotl" comes from Nahuatl, the Aztec language. One translation of the name connects the Axolotl to Xolotl. The most common translation is "water-dog" . "Atl" for water and "Xolotl" for dog. In the Aztec calendar, the ruler of the day, Itzcuintli ("Dog"), is Mictlantecuhtli, the god of death and lord of Mictlan, the afterlife.

Origin

Xolotl is sometimes depicted carrying a torch in the surviving

Maya codices Maya codices (: ''codex'') are folding books written by the Pre-Columbian era, pre-Columbian Maya civilization in Maya script, Maya hieroglyphic script on Mesoamerican Amate, bark paper. The folding books are the products of professional scribes ...

, which reference the Maya tradition that the dog brought fire to mankind. In the Mayan codices, the dog is conspicuously associated with the god of death, storm, and lightning. Xolotl appears to have affinities with the Zapotec and

Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...

lightning-dog, and may represent the lightning which descends from the thundercloud, the flash, the reflection of which arouses the misconceived belief that lightning is "double", and leads them to suppose a connection between lightning and twins. Xolotl originated in the southern regions, and may represent fire rushing down from the heavens or light flaming up in the heavens. Xolotl was originally the name for lightning beast of the Maya tribe, often taking the form of a dog. The dog plays an important role in Maya manuscripts. He is the lightning beast, who darts from heaven with a torch in his hand. Xolotl is represented directly as a dog, and is distinguished as the deity of air and of the four directions of the wind by Quetzalcoatl's breast ornament. Xolotl is to be considered equivalent to the beast darting from heaven of the Maya manuscript. The dog is the animal of the dead and therefore of the Place of Shadows. File:Förstemann Dresden Codex Fire Dog (p.6).jpg,

Dresden Codex The ''Dresden Codex'' is a Maya book, which was believed to be the oldest surviving book written in the Americas, dating to the 11th or 12th century. However, in September 2018 it was proven that the Maya Codex of Mexico, previously known as th ...

Dog (p. 7) File:Förstemann Dresden Codex Fire Dog (p.68).jpg, Dog (p. 39) File:Förstemann Dresden Codex Fire Dog (p.69).jpg, Dog (p. 40)

Ollin and Xolotl

Eduard Seler associates Xolotl's portrayal as a dog with the belief that dogs accompany the souls of the dead to Mictlan. He finds further evidence of the association between Xolotl, dogs, death, and Mictlan in the fact that Mesoamericans viewed twins as unnatural monstrosities and consequently commonly killed one of the two twins shortly after birth. Seler speculates that Xolotl represents the murdered twin who dwells in the darkness of Mictlan, while Quetzalcoatl ("The Precious Twin") represents the surviving twin who dwells in the

light Light, visible light, or visible radiation is electromagnetic radiation that can be visual perception, perceived by the human eye. Visible light spans the visible spectrum and is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400– ...

of the sun. In manuscripts the setting sun, devoured by the earth, is opposite Xolotl's image. Quetzalcoatl and Xolotl constitute the twin phases of Venus as the morning and evening star, respectively. Quetzalcoatl as the morning star acts as the harbinger of the Sun's rising (rebirth) every

dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the diffuse sky radiation, appearance of indirect sunlight being Rayleigh scattering, scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc ha ...

, Xolotl as the evening star acts as the harbinger of the Sun's setting (death) every

dusk Dusk occurs at the darkest stage of twilight, or at the very end of astronomical twilight after sunset and just before nightfall.''The Random House College Dictionary'', "dusk". At predusk, during early to intermediate stages of twilight, enoug ...

. In this way they divide the single life-death process of cyclical transformation into its two phases: one leading from birth to death, the other from death to birth. Xolotl was the patron of the

Mesoamerican ballgame The Mesoamerican ballgame (, , ) was a sport with ritual associations played since at least 1650 BC by the pre-Columbian people of Ancient Mesoamerica. The sport had different versions in different places during the millennia, and a modernized ...

. Some scholars argue the ballgame symbolizes the Sun's perilous and uncertain nighttime journey through the underworld. Xolotl is able to help in the Sun's rebirth since he possesses the power to enter and exit the underworld. In several of the manuscripts Xolotl is depicted striving at this game against other gods. For example, in the

Codex Mendoza The Codex Mendoza is an Aztec codices, Aztec codex, believed to have been created around the year 1541. It contains a history of both the Aztec rulers and their conquests as well as a description of the daily life of pre-conquest Aztec society. ...

we see him playing with the moon-god, and can recognize him by the sign ollin which accompanies him, and by the gouged-out eye in which that symbol ends. Seler thinks "that the root of the name ollin suggested to Mexicans the motion of the rubber ball ''olli'' and, as a consequence, ball-playing." Ollin is pulsating, oscillating, and centering motion-change. It is typified by

bouncing ball The physics of a bouncing ball concerns the physical behaviour of bouncing balls, particularly its motion before, during, and after impact against the surface of another body. Several aspects of a bouncing ball's behaviour serve as an introd ...

s, pulsating hearts, labor contractions,

earthquakes An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they c ...

, flapping butterfly wings, the undulating motion of weft activities in

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...

, and the oscillating path of the Fifth Sun over and under the surface of the earth. Ollin is the motion-change of cyclical completion. A jade statue of a skeletal Xolotl carrying a solar disc bearing an image of the Sun on his back (called "the Night Traveler") succinctly portrays Xolotl's role in assisting the Sun through the process of death, gestation, and rebirth. Xolotl's association with ollin motion-change suggests proper completions and gestations must instantiate ollin motion-change. Ollin-shaped decomposition and integration (i.e., death) promote ollin-shaped composition and integration (i.e., rebirth and renewal).

Nanahuatzin and Xolotl

A close relationship between Xolotl and Nanahuatzin exists. Xolotl is probably identical with Nanahuatl (Nanahuatzin). Seler characterizes Nanahuatzin ("Little Pustule Covered One"), who is deformed by

syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms depend on the stage it presents: primary, secondary, latent syphilis, latent or tertiary. The prim ...

, as an aspect of Xolotl in his capacity as god of monsters, deforming diseases, and deformities. The syphilitic god Nanahuatzin is an avatar of Xolotl.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * * *

External links

''The Gods and Goddesses of the Aztecs''
{{Aztec mythology Aztec gods Death gods Underworld gods Fire gods Thunder gods Solar gods Dog gods Psychopomps Venusian deities Divine twins Plague gods Stellar gods Night gods Fortune gods Quetzalcoatl