Coyolxauhqui

The Aztec gods were a group of supreme entities that had the function of ruling over the entire cosmovision of the Mexica world and were also responsible for maintaining an adequate balance . They all had very important and specific functions and an example of them was Coyolxauhqui whose name means ” painted with bells ” and who was also Huitzilopochtli‘s sister.

Coyolxauhqui Characteristics

Among its main characteristics are the following:

• His name had several meanings, one of them was ” golden bells ” and the other ” that of the bells on the cheek .”
• She was the daughter of the goddess of the earth called Coatlicue ir also sister of the God of the sun.
• She was also the mother of the four hundred Surianos or Centzon Huitznáhuac , who were the southern star gods.
• It was she who wanted revenge on her mother and for this she planned her murder.
• She was an Aztec warrior .

History

The story of Coyolxauhqui begins with his mother, Coatlicue, who lived on Cerro Coatepec, also known as Cerro de la Serpent , a place where he did penance sweeping. One day, while sweeping, she found a beautiful down that had fallen from the sky, she decided to pick it up and store it in one of her breasts. When he finished sweeping, he decided to look for the pen but realized that it was no longer in the place and also that she had become pregnant .

It was Coyolxauhqui who was in charge of convincing his brothers that they should kill their mother because of the disgrace it had caused in the family and then they began to prepare and plan the attack. Cuahuitlicac , who was one of the Southerners, regretted what his brothers were up to and decided to go tell his mother everything . Huitzilopochtli , who was already in the woman’s womb, heard everything, gave her comfort and promised that he would protect her and that she should not be afraid. Meanwhile Cuahuitlicac was in charge of warning his mother and brother that the warriors were near the sacred mountain.

When the attack began, Huitzilopochtli was born from Coatlicue’s womb as a Warrior he was accompanied by a fire serpent which followed all his instructions. It was then that wounded at Coyolxauhqui and then he cut off his head . The warrior’s body rolled down the mountain in pieces and then her head was thrown into the sky becoming the moon .

What was she goddess of

Coyolxauhqui was the goddess of the moon.

What role did Coyolxauhqui play?

Within Nahua mythology , she was the goddess of the moon and as such had the antagonistic function of the sun, in other words, she was in charge of making the moon have different phases , the new moon, the crescent, the waning and the full moon because it was she who was responsible for the moon splitting , dismembered or dismembered .

Who killed Coyolxauhqui

The person responsible for his death was his brother Huitzilopochtli when he realized his plans to want to kill his mother.

Can

It had the power to make the moon change its phases and it also had to carry out all the cycles related to the movement of translation and the planet earth, also maintaining a good position and relationship to the sun.

How is it represented?

He was represented with bells adorning his face , in his hair feathers and on his body a serpent which was called Maquizcóatl, which was also related to the brother of the goddess who had been responsible for killing him. 

Temples

Its temple is located in the Templo Mayor, where the remains of what was the main building of ancient Tenochtitlán are located . It is in this place where the monolith is also found, which has been of great importance for archaeologists and for culture.

Symbols

The symbols of Coyolxauhqui can be observed in the monolith that was found in a quarry which has the shape similar to a full moon . In this monolith you can see the goddess with her arms , head and legs separated from her body, a situation that reflects the myth that was told by the culture. Fanged masks can be seen on their knees and arms , a common feature of terrestrial deities. You can also see several snakes that are tied around its arms and legs and a skull located next to him that symbolizes death, earth and defeat.

His headdress is shaped like a radial flower , a flower known in Nahuatl as cempalxochtli or calendula . Many associate the flower with death as these are found next to down balls placed in her hair which symbolize the sacrifice associated with the impregnation of her mother.

Importance of Coyolxauhqui

She was a very important goddess for the people because when she died she became the moon , one of the main satellites that also gave life to the culture. In addition, with the discovery of its monolith , it has become a figure of great importance for all world history and for archeology, since it is considered to have been built between the years 1469 and 1481 AD.