Chalchiuhtlicue (deity)
Chalchiuhtlicue is the Nahua goddess associated with lakes, streams, rivers, and standing water, revered primarily by the Aztecs in central Mexico. Her name translates to "She Who Wears a Jade Skirt," symbolizing her connection to water and fertility. Mythologically, she is often described as either the wife or sister of Tlaloc, the god of storms and rain, and is said to have emerged during a series of world creations. In various tales, Chalchiuhtlicue plays a vital role in controlling fresh water, and in some versions, she is also linked to the ocean.
Chalchiuhtlicue and Tlaloc are believed to govern Tlalocan, a paradise in the mountains where they control water supplies, providing life-sustaining rain or potentially causing floods. The goddess is also associated with the protection and cleansing of newborns, as rituals involving her water are believed to ward off evil. The importance of water in the semi-arid climate of Central Mexico is reflected in the several ceremonies and festivals dedicated to Chalchiuhtlicue, often involving sacrifices to ensure adequate rainfall. Artistic representations of her typically showcase her adorned in a green skirt, elaborate headdress, and often depict flowing water, emphasizing her significance in Nahua cosmology.
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Chalchiuhtlicue (deity)
Symbols: Jade skirt
Culture: Nahua/Aztec
Children: Tlaloques
Chalchiuhtlicue (pronounced chal-chee-oot-LEE-kway) was the Nahua goddess of lakes, streams, rivers, and standing water. Her name means "She Who Wears a Jade Skirt." The Nahua were groups of Nahuatl-speaking people who lived in central Mexico. The Aztecs were the best known of the Nahua, and it was primarily among the Aztecs that Chalchiuhtlicue was worshipped.
One tale says Chalchiuhtlicue was created by the gods Huitzilopochtli (wee-tsee-loh-POCH-tlee) and Quetzalcoatl (kehts-ahl-koh-WAH-tle); then Chalchiuhtlicue gave birth to other water deities. Another common story relates that Chalchiuhtlicue came into existence during a series of destructions and recreations of the world. In this tale, Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca (tez-kat-lee-POH-kaa) were the sons of two creator beings who battled across time. Each victory by one or the other creator would create a new world with a new sun. Tezcatlipoca ruled over the first world and the sun of earth. Quetzalcoatl reigned over the second world and the sun of wind. When this world was destroyed, the rain god Tlaloc ruled the third world and sun of rain. It was in the fourth world that Chalchiuhtlicue appeared. In this world, she reigned over the sun of water. However, she was also described as the wife of Tlaloc by this time, so she may have appeared before the fourth world began and was simply placed in charge by Quetzalcoatl.
In Mythology
Stories of Chalchiuhtlicue vary among different groups and time periods. For example, Tlaloc, who is the god of storms, lightning, and rain, appears in some tales as the husband of Chalchiuhtlicue. In this version of the myth, the Tlaloques (tla-LO-kays) are their children. In other stories, Chalchiuhtlicue is the older sister of Tlaloc and the Tlaloques. In most descriptions, Chalchiuhtlicue controlled only fresh water, but in later tales, she was sometimes given responsibility for the ocean. In pre-Aztec myths, Huixtocihuatl (we-stoke-WAH-tle), or Salt Lady, was the goddess of salt and saltwater. In these earlier tales, Huixtocihuatl is identified as the older sister of Tlaloc and the mother of the Tlaloques, so it appears that details about the two goddesses became blended over time.
Chalchiuhtlicue, Tlaloc, and the Tlaloques lived in a paradise called Tlalocan that was located in the mountains. This group of deities controlled both the giving and withholding of water, sometimes as a river or sometimes as rain. All water was kept in huge pots in the mountains, specifically in the caves where these deities lived, and from there, Chalchiuhtlicue could pour out mountain streams or send gentle rains to water the crops. She could also stir up the water to overturn boats and drown people. When whirlpools would form on Lake Texcoco, they were blamed on Chalchiuhtlicue. For Tlaloc to make rain using water that was obtained from Chalchiuhtlicue, clouds would be gathered around the mountains. However, Chalchiuhtlicue could withhold water from the clouds, bringing drought and ruining crops. While Chalchiuhtlicue could work alone, she sometimes joined forces with Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent whose powers included controlling the wind and whose winds could move the waters, either gently or violently.
In addition to water, Chalchiuhtlicue was also responsible for protecting newborn infants and curing those who were sick. Both infants and the sick would be bathed in water that was believed to come from Chalchiuhtlicue. It was believed that this water could wash away potential harm or illness. A strand of jade would be placed around the neck of a newborn after washing, and for the infirm, gifts of jade were considered appropriate for the goddess in the jade skirt. In addition to the ritual washing of infants, on the day a child was named, a prayer would be said to Chalchiuhtlicue. Then the midwife would rinse the child’s mouth with water to make certain that Chalchiuhtlicue had cleansed the child of evil or possible future misfortune.
When Quetzalcoatl ended the third world by raining fire from the sky (possibly referring to a volcanic eruption), the fourth world began, with Chalchiuhtlicue reigning over the fourth sun. However, in some versions of the story, she actually became the water sun. She remained the water sun for 312 years. When the sun of water was destroyed in a great flood, the people living at that time became fish. The fifth world, the age when the current race of humans appeared, was a time when the gods of all previous ages were still active and had to be worshipped.
Origins and Cults
The climate of Central Mexico is semiarid, and water is vital for survival. As a result, it is natural that people would want to find some way of predicting or guaranteeing adequate rain and other sources of water.
Because water was so important, about one-third of the Aztec calendar included a festival or ceremony honoring the water gods. When the dry season began in mid-February, there was a ceremony dedicated to Chalchiuhtlicue and Tlaloc. During this ceremony, children and captives were sacrificed to these gods. Another festival beginning in late March and running until mid-April was also dedicated to Tlaloc and Chalchiuhtlicue, and it involved sacrificing infants in the mountains where the water deities were believed to live. These sacrifices were seen as a form of payment since life was considered to be a debt that people owed the rain gods. But the people also believed that the sacrifices served as food for the gods who might not otherwise be able to bring the rain on time. Two more celebrations, with the sacrifice of additional infants and prisoners, led up to the beginning of the rainy season.
Images of Chalchiuhtlicue created by the Aztecs show the goddess wearing an elaborate headdress, a green skirt (to represent jade), a large turquoise nose plug, and a traditional shawl, known as a quechquemitl. This shawl was trimmed with tassels. Usually, the images also included rivers of water flowing from her skirt.
Bibliography
Aguilar-Moreno, Manuel. Handbook to Life in the Aztec World. New York: Oxford UP, 2007. Print.
Díaz, Gisele, and Alan Rodgers. The Codex Borgia: A Full-Color Restoration of the Ancient Mexican Manuscript. Mineola: Dover Publications, 1993. Print.
León-Portilla, Miguel. Aztec Thought and Culture: A Study of the Ancient Nahuatl Mind. Trans. Jack Emory Davis. 1963. Norman: Oklahoma Press, 1990. Print.
Read, Kay Almere, and Jason J. Gonzalez. Mesoamerican Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals and Beliefs of Mexico and Central America. New York: Oxford UP, 2002. Print.
Taube, Karl. Aztec and Maya Myths. Austin: U of Texas Press, 2003. Print.