30 May 2025 / 10 House
Article suitable for older students
Find out moreWhat’s the connection between Xiuhtecuhtli, Huehueteotl and Chantico?
Three figures of the Aztec god of fire, Templo Mayor Museum, Mexico City
ORIGINAL QUESTION received from - and thanks to - Chengwen: I want to know more about the story of the Aztec god of fire. At present, I have found the god Xiuhtecuhtli, Huehueteotl and the goddess Chantico in the data. What is the connection and story between them? Please tell me! (Answered by Ian Mursell/Mexicolore).
All three Mexica deities belong to what has been classified as the ‘Xiuhtecuhtli complex’ of fire gods (follow the link below to learn more) and yes, it is confusing! The first two overlap and are by far the best known, as you’ll be aware. Huehueteotl (‘Old Old God’) is generally depicted as a venerable old being, with wrinkles, something that reflects his status as probably the most ancient of all Mesoamerican deities; he carries a brazier on his head (see pic 1). He is portrayed on incense burners as early as 500 BCE in Puebla. He is in a way the only one of this trio to carry a single association - the element of fire itself, wherever it should occur. Xiuhtecuhtli (‘Turquoise Lord’), however, is usually associated with youthful warriors, with time, and with rulership; he shows no signs of old age and bears a fierce xiuhcóatl (fire serpent) as his animal companion spirit on his back.
Xiuhtecuhtli appears in the centre of the most famous page in ancient American literature (follow the second link below...) - see pic 2 - as explained by Alfonso Caso: ‘He was the god of the centre position in relation to the four cardinal points of the compass, just as the tlecuil, or brazier for kindling fire, was the centre of the indigenous home and temple.’
Like the gods of wind and water, he was both ‘feared and revered’: he could cause devastating and destructive fires, yet simultaneously provide a beneficial force that could heat bodies, cook foods, make salt, evaporate water in the steam bath, help dry and clean clothes, leaving them like new...
Chantico (‘In The Home’) is perhaps more enigmatic. She is the goddess of heat, fire in the hearth of the home, but also patroness of warriors (particularly from the Xochimilco area), of jewellers and of chiles - quite a portfolio! One of her most distinguishing features (see pic 3) is the symbol of war - atl-tlachinolli or ‘water-fire’, including a fire butterfly (symbolising the flickering of flames), in her headdress. She is best known as being the protector of the domestic fire, keeping the flames alive and covering it with ash to ensure it would last until the following day. Her connections with chiles may seem random, but then chiles are renowned for their ability to produce a burning sensation in the human body.
In terms of war associations, Chantico’s speciality was the use of deadly fire lances to set enemy buildings alight. The turquoise nose-piece has additional connections with fire, representing the blue flame at the centre of a blaze.
Some consider her to be the consort of Xiuhtecuhtli, in the same way that Chalchiuhtlicue is the consort of Tlaloc.
Sources:-
• Caso, Alfonso (1958) The Aztecs - People of the Sun, University of Oklahoma Press
• Mateos Higuera, Salvador (1992) Los dioses supremos, Enciclopedia gráfica del México antiguo, Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público, Mexico City
• Miller, Mary & Taube, Karl (1993) The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya, Thames & Hudson Ltd., London
• Taube, Karl (1993) Aztec and Maya Myths, British Museum Press.
Picture sources:-
• Main pic: photo by Ian Mursell/Mexicolore
• Pic 1: photo by Ana Laura Landa/Mexicolore
• Pic 2: image scanned from our copy of the ADEVA facsimile edition of the Codex Fejérváry-Mayer, Graz, Austria, 1971
• Pic 3: image scanned from our own copy of the Codex Borbonicus (ADEVA facsimile edition, Graz, Austria, 1974).
Comments (2)
Taytay
21st May 2023
Makes sense! Thank you!
Taytay
20th May 2023
Hi again! Is Chantico the goddess of personal treasures?
Mexicolore
To the extent that she was the patron goddess of jewellers and polishers of gems and stones, then yes.
Three figures of the Aztec god of fire, Templo Mayor Museum, Mexico City
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