Goddess of the water sculpture (Chalchiutlicue)
Credits
You are facing a sculpture made of a single, large rock. Unfortunately, the face of this personage is extremely damaged. Nevertheless, we can still see th folds over the adomen, a rectangular opening at mid-chest, a necklace with three strands of square beads as well as some teeth, the nose and eyes.
This is the Goddess Chalchiutlicue, Tlaloc's (God of storms and lightening) companion. Because she is located next to the Plaza's central altar, it is possible that rituals and ceremonies associated to water and life were conducted here as offerings to this Goddess.
Chalchiuhtlicue
Credits
Chalchiuhtlicue (also spelled Chalciuhtlicue, Chalchiuhcueye, or Chalcihuitlicue) ("She of the Jade Skirt") is an Aztec deity of water, rivers, seas, streams, storms, and baptism.[citation needed] Chalchiuhtlicue is associated with fertility, and she is the patroness of childbirth. Chalchiuhtlicue was highly revered in Aztec culture at the time of the Spanish conquest, and she was an important deity figure in the Postclassic Aztec realm of central Mexico. Chalchiuhtlicue belongs to a larger group of Aztec rain gods, and she is closely related to another Aztec water god called Chalchiuhtlatonal.
Religious significance
Chalchiuitlicue directly translates to "Jade her skirt"; however, her name is most commonly interpreted as "she of the jade skirt." She was also known as Chalchiuhtlatonac (chalchihu[itl]-tla-tona-c) "She who shines like jade" and Matlalcueye "Possessor of the Blue Skirt" by the Tlaxcalans, an indigenous group who inhabited the republic of Tlaxcala.
Chalchiuitlicue was the wife or sister of the Aztec god of rain Tlaloc, depending on the text. Tlaloc and Chalchiuitlicue share similar attributes as they are both water deities; however, Chalchiuitlicue was often associated with groundwater, unlike Tlaloc.
She was also the mother of 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 helps Tlaloc to rule the paradisial kingdom of Tlalocan. Chalchiutlicue brings fertility to crops and is thought to protect women and children.
According to myths, Chalchiuhtlicue once ate the sun and the moon. She is often associated with serpents, as most Aztec water deities are. It is thought that her association with water and fertility speaks to the Aztecs' association with the womb and water. She often withheld a dual role in Aztec mythology as both a life-giver and life-ender. In the Aztec creation myth of the Five Suns, Chalchiuhtlicue presided over the Fourth Sun or the fourth creation of the world. It is believed that Chalchiuhtlicue retaliated against Tlaloc's mistreatment of her by releasing 52 years of rain, causing a giant flood which caused the Fourth Sun to be destroyed. She built a bridge linking heaven and earth and those who were in Chalchiuhtlicue's good graces were allowed to traverse it, while others were turned into fish. Following the flood, the Fifth Sun developed. The Fifth Sun is the world which we now occupy. It is important to note that the Aztecs first began to use maize under her reign, which became a paramount staple to the Aztec diet and economy.
Chalchiutlicue was associated with the many fasciates of water as well as being credited with being involved with the death of those who died in drowning accidents.
In addition to water-related deaths, Chalchiuhtlicue presided over birth rituals, bathing of sacrificial victims and ceremonial actors, judiciary purification, royal investiture, and the recycling of ritual waste.
Chalchiuhtlicue was often depicted as "a river, out of which grew a prickly pear cactus laden with fruit, which symbolized the human heart." (Schwartz 2018, 14). She was believed to be the personification of youth, beauty, and zeal, although she should not be confused with Tlazolteotl (also known as Ixucuina or Tlaelquani), who was the Aztec goddess of midwives, steam baths, purification, sin, and was the patroness of adulterers. Although the two goddesses often overlapped, they were distinct from one another.