Toci (; nci, tocih, , “our grandmother”) is a deity figuring prominently in the religion and mythology of the

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, ...

Aztec civilization The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl l ...

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica ...

. In

Aztec mythology Aztec mythology is the body or collection of myths of the Aztec civilization of Central Mexico. The Aztecs were Nahuatl-speaking groups living in central Mexico and much of their mythology is similar to that of other Mesoamerican cultures. Accord ...

, she is seen as an aspect of the mother goddess Coatlicue or

Xochitlicue Xochitlicue (meaning in Nahuatl 'the one that has her skirt of flowers') is the Aztec goddess of fertility, patroness of life and death, guide of rebirth, younger sister of Coatlicue, Huitzilopochtli's mother according Codex Florentine; and Chima ...

and is thus labeled “mother of the gods” ( nci, tēteoh īnnān). She is also called Tlalli Iyollo ( nci, tlālli īyōlloh, , “heart of the earth”).

Characteristics and associations

Although considered to be an aged deity, Toci is not always shown with specific markers of great age. Toci is frequently depicted with black markings around the mouth and nose, wearing a headdress with

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...

spools (Miller and Taube 1993, p. 170). These are also characteristic motifs for Tlazolteotl, a central Mesoamerican goddess of both purification and filth (''tlazolli'' in Nahuatl) and the two deities are closely identified with one another. Toci was also associated with healing and venerated by curers of ailments and

midwives A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...

. In the 16th century ''

Florentine Codex The ''Florentine Codex'' is a 16th-century ethnographic research study in Mesoamerica by the Spanish Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagún. Sahagún originally titled it: ''La Historia General de las Cosas de Nueva España'' (in English: ''Th ...

'' compiled by

Bernardino de Sahagún Bernardino de Sahagún, OFM (; – 5 February 1590) was a Franciscan friar, missionary priest and pioneering ethnographer who participated in the Catholic evangelization of colonial New Spain (now Mexico). Born in Sahagún, Spain, in 1499, ...

, Toci is identified with ''

temazcal A temazcal is a type of sweat lodge, which originated with pre-Hispanic indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica. The term ''temazcal'' comes from the Nahuatl language, either from the words (to bathe) and (house), or from the word (house of heat ...

li'' or sweatbaths in which aspect she is sometimes termed ''

Temazcalteci In the Aztec mythology, Temazcalteci (, Nahuatl ''temāzcalli'' 'sweat bath' + ''tecitl'' 'grandmother') was the goddess of steam baths. According to Sahagún, this goddess was the goddess of medicine, Toci Toci (; nci, tocih, , “our grandmo ...

'' or "Grandmother of sweatbaths". Tlazolteotl also has an association with ''temazcalli'' as the "eater of filth" and such bathhouses are likely to have been dedicated to either Tlazolteotl or Toci/Temazcalteci.Sections of the

Codex Magliabechiano The Codex Magliabechiano is a pictorial Aztec codex created during the mid-16th century, in the early Spanish colonial period. It is representative of a set of codices known collectively as the ''Magliabechiano Group (others in the group include t ...

indicate that the god

Tezcatlipoca Tezcatlipoca (; nci, Tēzcatl ihpōca ) was a central deity in Aztec religion, and his main festival was the Toxcatl ceremony celebrated in the month of May. One of the four sons of Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl, the God of providence, he is a ...

served as tutelary god for ''temazcalli'', however its illustrations also clearly show the face of Tlazolteotl above the doorway; see discussion in Miller and Taube (1993, p.159). Toci also had an identification with war and had also the epithet "Woman of Discord".

Traditions in mythology

By one Mexica-Aztec legendary tradition, at some point during their long peregrinations after leaving the mythical homeland Aztlan, the Mexica served as mercenaries to the Culhua at their capital of Culhuacan. The Culhua ruler bestowed his daughter upon the Mexica for an intended marriage with one of the Mexica nobility; however the Mexica's guiding and chief deity Huitzilopochtli intervened and ordered that she be flayed and sacrificed, instead. When this was done she transformed into Toci. The Mexica were expelled from Culhuacan by the Culhua ruler for the act, and the Mexica were pressed on towards

Lake Texcoco Lake Texcoco ( es, Lago de Texcoco) was a natural lake within the "Anahuac" or Valley of Mexico. Lake Texcoco is best known as where the Aztecs built the city of Tenochtitlan, which was located on an island within the lake. After the Spanish con ...

. It was here that shortly thereafter they founded their capital

Tenochtitlan , ; es, Tenochtitlan also known as Mexico-Tenochtitlan, ; es, México-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. The date 13 March 1325 was ...

, from which base they would later grow in power to form the Aztec Empire and exert their dominion over the

Valley of Mexico The Valley of Mexico ( es, Valle de México) is a highlands plateau in central Mexico roughly coterminous with present-day Mexico City and the eastern half of the State of Mexico. Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the Valley of Mexico w ...

(Miller and Taube 1993).

Festivals and rites

During the ''

veintena A veintena is the Spanish-derived name for a 20-day period used in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican calendars. The division is often casually referred to as a "month", although it is not coordinated with the lunar cycle. The term is most frequently used ...

'' of

Ochpaniztli Ochpaniztli is the Eleventh Month of the Aztec calendar. It is also a festival in the Aztec religion dedicated to Toci and Tlazolteotl and is also the month of cleaning or sweeping away. Meaning Ochpaniztli was largely concerned with swe ...

in the Aztec calendar, harvest-time festival rites were held to honor Toci in her aspect as "Heart of the Earth" (Miller and Taube 1993).

Notes

References

* * {{Aztec mythology Aztec goddesses Earth goddesses Health goddesses Mother goddesses

Characteristics and associations

Traditions in mythology

Festivals and rites

See also

Notes

References