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Tláloc
Now we find ourselves at the halfway point of our tour of the Templo Mayor Museum. We have left the halls dedicated to ritual, sacrifice, warfare and the commercial and tributary domination of the Mexicas, represented by Huitzilopochtli.
Now we enter the world of agriculture, fertility of the earth--together with its economic implications--which permitted man to feed himself. Many deities, presided over by Tlaloc, intervened in this process.
The god Tlaloc, "He who Makes Things Grow," was personified by the divine and fertile water of the earth, and who resided in the tallest mountains where clouds form. He was a benevolent deity who also had his negative side by sending lightning, frost, floods and hail, all of which could destroy crops. The main festivals celebrated in his honor were during the months Atemoztli, Atlcahualo, Tezoztontli, Etzalcualiztli and Tepeilhuitl, and his most important shrine is located at the Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan, beside that of Huitzilopochtli. His cult was very important because the sustenance of agricultural societies depended on him, a concern that goes back to the times of the Olmec culture of La Venta. Among the Mayas he was called Chac; among the Zapotecs, Cocijo, and among the Totonacs, Tajín.
Ometecuhtli, dual creator god par excellence, granted the organization of life-giving water to Tlaloc, for the waters of the sky and to his companion and sister Chalchiuhtlicue, for terrestrial waters. Tlaloc had his helpers called tlaloque
. Children (mostly sick infants) were sacrificed in honor of Tlaloc, due to their physical affinity with the tlaloque, little gods with small bodies.
Without doubt Tlaloc is the most frequently represented deity found to date in the Templo Mayor. Due to his aquatic character, this deity was associated with different objects, such as representations of whirlpools and lightning; shells of different kinds, coral, fish, and frogs, an infinity of stone jars with his effigy, among others. Many of these pieces come from different tributary regions of the Mexica empire.
Of this large group of objects found on the side corresponding to Tlaloc, what stands out is the so-called Tlaloc vessel, the representation of a Chac Mool, the sculpture of a seashell, and a relief of Tlaloc-Tlaltecuhtli which is particularly interesting. Also relevant to the discussion are representations of the old god of fire, Huehueteotl-Xiuhtecuhtli, found in the majority of offerings and that accompanied this god.
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Last Modified: January 11, 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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