Mayahuel
Mayahuel | |
---|---|
Goddess ofmaguey | |
Member of theNauhtzonteteo | |
Abode | the volcanoPopocatépetl[1] |
Gender | Female |
Region | Mesoamerica |
Ethnic group | Aztec(Nahoa) |
Genealogy | |
Parents | Omecihuatl(Emerged by Tecpatl) |
Siblings | theNauhtzonteteo(1,600 gods) |
Consort | Patecatl[1] |
Children | Centzon Tōtōchtin(400 rabbits) |
Mayahuel(Nahuatl pronunciation:[maˈjawel]) is the female deity associated with themagueyplant among cultures of central Mexico in the Postclassic era ofpre-ColumbianMesoamerican chronology,and in particular of theAzteccultures. As the personification of the maguey plant, Mayahuel is also part of a complex of interrelated maternal and fertility goddesses inAztec religionand is also connected with notions of fecundity and nourishment.[2]
Description
[edit]Origins from the maguey plant
[edit]Maguey is a flowering plant of the genusAgave,native to parts of southwestern modern United States and Mexico. The depictions of Mayahuel in theCodex Borgiaand theCodex Borbonicusshow the deity perched upon a maguey plant. The deity's positioning in both illustrations, as well as the same blue pigment used to depict her body and the body of the maguey plant on Page 8 of the Codex Borbonicus, give the sense that she and the plant are one. Furthermore, the Codex Borbonicus displays Mayahuel as holding what looks like rope, presumably spun from the maguey plant fibers. Rope was only one of the many products extracted from the maguey plant. Products extracted from the maguey plant were used extensively across highlands and southeasternMesoamerica,with the thorns used in ritual bloodletting ceremonies and fibers extracted from the leaves worked into ropes, netting, bags, and cloth.[4][5]Yet, perhaps the maguey product most well-known and celebrated by the Aztecs is the alcoholic beverageoctli,or later namedpulque,[6]produced from the fermented sap of the maguey plant and used prominently in many public ceremonies and on other ritual occasions. By extension, Mayahuel is also often shown in contexts associated with pulque. Although some secondary sources describe her as a "pulque goddess," she remains most strongly associated with the plant as the source, rather than pulque as the end product.[7]
Gallery of depictions in primary sources
[edit]-
Mayahuel as depicted in theCodex Borgia.
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Mayahuel as depicted in theCodex Ríos.
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Mayahuel as depicted in theCodex Borbonicus(on the upper left side of Page 8).
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Mayahuel as depicted in theCodex Magliabechiano(on page 58 recto).
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The accompanying description of Mayahuel in theCodex Magliabechiano(on page 57 verso). Translation: "The next demon was called Mayahuel, which means maguey, because the juice that comes from it was an intoxicant. And they dance."[8]
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Carving of Mayahuel displayed at theGreat Pyramid of Tenochtitlan,now displayed at the Templo Mayor Museum in Mexico City.
Notes
[edit]- ^abOtilia Meza (1981).El Mundo Mágico de los Dioses del Anáhuac(in Spanish). Editorial Universo. p. 105.ISBN968-35-0093-5.
- ^Miller & Taube (1993, p.111); see alson.87 to folio 265r ofPrimeros memoriales(Sahagún 1997, p.110).
- ^"General History of the Things of New Spain by Fray Bernardino de Sahagún: The Florentine Codex — Viewer — World Digital Library".www.wdl.org.Retrieved2018-10-07.
- ^Miller & Taube (1993, p.108)
- ^Townsend, Richard F. (2009).The Aztecs: Ancient Peoples and Places(3rd ed.). London: Thames & Hudson. pp. 120, 178.ISBN9780500287910.OCLC286447216.
- ^InNahuatl languages:octli.Pulque is derived from a fermentation of the sweet liquidsapextracted from the plant (inSpanish:aguamiel,"honey-water" ). See Miller & Taube (1993, p.108) and Townsend (2009, p.178).
- ^Miller & Taube (1993, pp.108,138)
- ^Elizabeth Hill Boone (1983).The Codex Magliabechiano and the lost prototype of the Magliabechiano group.Berkeley: University of California Press.ISBN0520045203.OCLC8113016.
References
[edit]- Boone, Elizabeth Hill(2007).Cycles of Time and Meaning in the Mexican Books of Fate.Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long series in Latin American and Latino art and culture. Austin:University of Texas Press.ISBN978-0-292-71263-8.OCLC71632174.
- Carrasco, David (1982).Quetzalcoatl and the Irony of Empire: Myths and Prophecies in the Aztec Tradition.Chicago, IL:University of Chicago Press.ISBN0-226-09487-1.OCLC0226094871.
- Miller, Mary;Karl Taube(1993).The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya: An Illustrated Dictionary of Mesoamerican Religion.London:Thames & Hudson.ISBN0-500-05068-6.OCLC27667317.
- Sahagún, Bernardino de(1997) [ca.1558–61].Primeros Memoriales.Civilization of the American Indian series, vol. 200, part 2.Thelma D. Sullivan(English trans. and paleography of Nahuatl text), withH.B. Nicholson,Arthur J.O. Anderson,Charles E. Dibble,Eloise Quiñones Keber,and Wayne Ruwet (completion, revisions, and ed.). Norman:University of Oklahoma Press.ISBN978-0-8061-2909-9.OCLC35848992.
- Townsend, Richard F. (2009).The Aztecs: Ancient Peoples and Places (3rd ed).London:Thames & Hudson.ISBN978-0-500-28791-0.