• Ilhuicatl-Teotlatlauhco (Eleventh Heaven) • Calpulli (the center of the four cardinal directions)
Gender
Male
Region
Mesoamerica
Ethnic group
Aztec (Nahua)
Personal information
Parents
Created by the Tezcatlipocas[1] (Codex Zumarraga)
Siblings
None
Consort
Chāntico (Codex Zumarraga)[1]
Children
With Chāntico: Xiuhxoxoauhqui (blue fire), Xiuhcozauhqui (yellow fire), Xiuhiztac (white fire) and Xiuhtlatlauhqui (red fire)[1]
Equivalents
Maya equivalent
K'awiil (God K)
Statue of Xiuhtecuhtli in the British Museum.[2]
In Aztec mythology, Xiuhtēcuhtli[ʃiʍˈteːkʷt͡ɬi] ("Turquoise Lord" or "Lord of Fire"),[3] was the god of fire, day and heat.[4] In historical sources he is called by many names, which reflect his varied aspects and dwellings in the three parts of the cosmos.[5] He was the lord of volcanoes,[6] the personification of life after death, warmth in cold (fire), light in darkness and food during famine. He was also named Cuezaltzin[kʷeˈs̻aɬt͡sin̥] ("flame") and Ixcozauhqui[iːʃkoːˈsaʍkiˀ],[7] and is sometimes considered to be the same as Huehueteotl ("Old God"),[8] although Xiuhtecuhtli is usually shown as a young deity.[9] His wife was Chalchiuhtlicue. Xiuhtecuhtli is sometimes considered to be a manifestation of Ometecuhtli, the Lord of Duality, and according to the Florentine Codex Xiuhtecuhtli was considered to be the father of the Gods,[10] who dwelled in the turquoise enclosure in the center of earth.[11] Xiuhtecuhtli-Huehueteotl was one of the oldest and most revered of the indigenous pantheon.[12] The cult of the God of Fire, of the Year, and of Turquoise perhaps began as far back as the middle Preclassic period.[13] Turquoise was the symbolic equivalent of fire for Aztec priests.[14] A small fire was permanently kept alive at the sacred center of every Aztec home in honor of Xiuhtecuhtli.[14]
The Nahuatl word xihuitl means "year" as well as "turquoise" and "fire",[11] and Xiuhtecuhtli was also the god of the year and of time.[15][16] The Lord of the Year concept came from the Aztec belief that Xiuhtecuhtli was the North Star.[17] In the 260-day ritual calendar, the deity was the patron of the day Atl ("Water") and with the trecena 1 Coatl ("1 Snake").[15] Xiuhtecuhtli was also one of the nine Lords of the Night and ruled the first hour of the night, named Cipactli ("Alligator").[18] Scholars have long emphasized that this fire deity also has aquatic qualities.[13] Xiuhtecuhtli dwelt inside an enclosure of turquoise stones, fortifying himself with turquoise bird water.[19] He is the god of fire in relation to the cardinal directions, just as the brazier for lighting fire is the center of the house or temple.[20] Xiuhtecuhtli was the patron god of the Aztec emperors, who were regarded as his living embodiment at their enthronement.[21] The deity was also one of the patron gods of the pochteca merchant class.[22]
Stone sculptures of Xiuhtecuhtli were ritually buried as offerings, and various statuettes have been recovered during excavations at the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan with which he was closely associated.[23] Statuettes of the deity from the temple depict a seated male with his arms crossed.[24] A sacred fire was always kept burning in the temples of Xiuhtecuhtli.[25] In gratitude for the gift of fire, the first mouthful of food from each meal was flung into the hearth.[21]
Xiuhtecuhtli is depicted in the Codex Borgia.[26]
^ abcCecilio A. Robelo (1905). Diccionario de Mitología Nahoa (in Spanish). Editorial Porrúa. p. 351. ISBN 970-07-3149-9.
^Website of the British Museum. Archived May 23, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
^Fernández 1992, 1996, p.104. Matos Moctezuma & Solis Olguín 2002, p.476. Miller & Taube 1993, 2003, p.189.
^Matos Moctezuma & Solis Olguín 2002, p.433.
^Olvera, Silvia Limón. "Fire Deities." In David Carrasco (ed).The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures. : Oxford University Press, 2001
^Coe & Koontz 2002, p.55.
^Sahagún 1577, 1989, p.47. (Book I, Chapter XIII).
In Aztec mythology, Xiuhtēcuhtli [ʃiʍˈteːkʷt͡ɬi] ("Turquoise Lord" or "Lord of Fire"), was the god of fire, day and heat. In historical sources he is called...
Gods of creation Ōmeteōtl/Tōnacātēcuhtli: creator gods Huehuetéotl/Xiuhtecuhtli: meaning "old god" and "turquoise lord", god of origin, time, fire and...
god of the blue fire. Xiuhtecuhtli, related god of fire and time. His face is painted with black and red pigment. Xiuhtecuhtli-Huehueteotl, the connection...
[ʃiʍˈkoːaːt͡ɬ] was a mythological serpent, regarded as the spirit form of Xiuhtecuhtli, the Aztec fire deity sometimes represented as an atlatl or a weapon...
his body to the priests. Sahagún compared it to the Christian Easter. Xiuhtecuhtli is the god of fire and heat and in many cases is considered to be an...
harpoon and net Atlahua, god of water, a fisherman and archer Fire deities Xiuhtecuhtli, god of fire and time Chantico, goddess of firebox and volcanoes Xolotl...
another aspect of, a central Mexican/Aztec deity associated with fire, Xiuhtecuhtli. In particular the Florentine Codex identifies Huehueteotl as an alternative...
female stars Citlalatonac, god of male stars Tianquiztli, star goddesses Xiuhtecuhtli, god of fire, day, and heat Coquihani, god of light Inti, god of the...
of 29 days each. The Nine Lords of the Night in Aztec mythology are: Xiuhtecuhtli ("Turquoise Lord/Lord of Fire") Tezcatlipoca ("Smoking Mirror") Piltzintecuhtli...
and volcanoes. Chantico, goddess of the hearth fires and volcanoes. Xiuhtecuhtli, god of fire, day, heat, volcanoes, food in famine, the year, turquoise...
and volcanoes Mixcoatl, hunting god who introduced fire to humanity Xiuhtecuhtli, god of fire, day, heat, volcanoes, food in famine, the year, turquoise...
rejuvenation, vegetation and spring, lord of the seasons, ruler of the East. Xiuhtecuhtli, god of fire and time. Ehecatl, god of wind. Tzontemoc, god who resided...
touch the other. Ancient Aztecs performed a fire dance dedicated to Xiuhtecuhtli, the god of fire. The Aztec fire dance is performed today for tourists...
with caves such as Tepeyolotl, an Earth deity, and the God of fire, Xiuhtecuhtli, who was believed to call a cave at the center of the Earth his abode...
the Aztec moon god Tecciztecatl. In other texts, she was the wife of Xiuhtecuhtli, who was a senior deity for the Aztecs. In Aztec religion, Chalchiuitlicue...
(Mictlan) by Mictlantecuhtli and Mictecacihuatl; and the fire by Xantico and Xiuhtecuhtli. Xipe Totec is also recognized as Camaxtle. Quetzalcoatl was also related...
In this detail from the late 15th century Codex Borgia, the Aztec god Xiuhtecuhtli brings a rubber ball offering to a temple. The balls each hold a quetzal...
Xipe Totec (a deity of fertility and the natural cycle); Huehueteotl or Xiuhtecuhtli (a fire god); Tlazolteotl (a female deity tied to childbirth and sexuality);...
also a festival in the Aztec religion, for which the principal deity is Xiuhtecuhtli the fire God. Old people are honored this month and it is known as Rebirth...
temple of Huitzilopochtli A lightning bolt destroying the straw temple of Xiuhtecuhtli The appearance of fire, or comets, streaming across the sky in threes...
Turquoise mosaic mask of Xiuhtecuhtli, the Aztec god of fire. The Aztecs differentiated turquoise based on quality: xihuitl, a more mundane version used...
beginning with the day One Rabbit (ce tochtli in Nahuatl), alongside Xiuhtecuhtli, the god of fire. Xipe Totec proper is the patron of the trecena beginning...
Global Information
