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Mictlan
Mictlan was
located in the ninth level of the underworld, and it was the destination
for those persons who did not die in war, nor in childbirth (for they went
to Tonatiuhichan or the House of the Sun), nor by death related to water
(for they went to Tlalocan or the House of the god Tlaloc). All those who
died a common death went to Mictlan. Presiding over Mictlan was Mictlantecuhtli,
who has a feminine counterpart called Mictlancihuatl. He is represented
with a skeletal face and sometimes parts of his body are fleshless. His
skeletal parts are decorated with yellow circles with red points, which
simulate traces of decaying flesh. His existence in a cold, dark place
such as Mictlan is not meant to imply a moral connotation, nor is he meant
to represent the devil; he is simply the guardian of the bones of those
who have died a common death. Image from the Codex Borbonicus.
Last Modified: January 14, 1998.
Museo del Templo Mayor, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e História,
México.
Seminario #8, Centro Histórico. Cuauhtémoc,
México, D.F. 06060
©Copyright
1997
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