| Object Name: | Coatlicue, the Earth Goddess |
|
|---|---|---|
| Creation Date: | 1325-1521 A. D. | |
| Culture: | Aztec, Post-Classic | |
| Site: | ||
| Material: | ||
| Repository: | ||
| Image source: | ||
| According to the Aztec belief, the mother of Huitzilopochtli was Coatlicue, "She of the Serpent Skirt", the Earth Goddess. In Aztec accounts, Coatlicue was miraculously impregnated with a ball of feathers while sweeping at Coatepec. Her children Coyolxauhqui and the Centzon Huitznahua were furious at her condition and decided to kill her. At the moment of her death, Coatlicue gave birth to the fully armed Huitzilopochtli, who, armed with his Xiuhcoatl weapon, dismembered Coyolxauhqui and routed the Centzon Huitznahua at the hill of Coatepec. Depictions of Coatlicue are fairly rare in Aztec art. The Most famous representation, and one of the most powerful Aztec sculptures, is the colossal figure discovered in1790 alongside the Cathedral of Mexico. Standing on huge taloned feet, Coatlicue wears a dress of woven rattlesnakes. Her pendulous breasts are partially obscured behind a grisly necklace of severed hearts and hands. Writhing coral snakes appear in place of her head and hands, denoting gouts of blood gushing from her throat and wrists. The two great snakes emerging from her neck face one another, creating a face of living blood. A monument of cosmic terror, Coatlicue stands violated and mutilated, her wounds mutely demanding revenge against her enemies. | ||
