Goddess of the Month: Xochiquetzal (‘Quetzal Flower’)

Xochiquetzal is pronounced Sho.chi.ket.sal. This name comes from two Náhuatl words: Quetzalli (quetzal [a bird of splendid feathers] or precious feather), and Xóchitl (flower).

Pic 1: Xochiquetzal as a synthesis [aspect] of Tonacacíhuatl, Codex Telleriano-Remensis

XOCHIQUETZAL FACT FILE

Names:

Xochiquetzal (Quetzal Flower), Tetetoinnan ("Our Mother" after whom many goddesses of fertility were named). Tonacacíhuatl (female aspect of the divine couple, Ometéotl).
Origin:

The worship of Xochiquetzal probably came from Oaxaca or Tabasco on the Gulf coast of Mexico. Mythically, this goddess was born and dwelled in the godly paradise of Tamoanchan, one of thirteen Aztec heavens.

Family:

Once married to Piltzintecuhtli (also called Xochipilli) and then Tlaloc, Xochiquetzal became Tezcatlipoca's lover. She is also the mother of Cintéotl, corn god.
Special festivities:

Atamalqualiztli - A large ceremony dedicated to the harvest. It took place during harvest once every eight years. Tepeílhuitl (also known as Hueypachtli) - the thirteenth festival month of the solar calendar. This festivity also celebrated the gods of pulque, a sacred alcoholic drink made from the Maguey cactus. Xochíhuitl - the second ceremony of the 260 day ritual calendar.

Pic 3: Clues for recognising Xochiquetzal, based on an image of her in the Codex Fejérváray-Mayer (see main picture, above)

As a paradise, Tamoanchan was not fluffy clouds and trimmed lawns. In fact it had a killer breeze of obsidian knives and a tree that represented the entire world!

Xochiquetzal's home was also that of many other gods in the Aztec pantheon. Although this was also where the first humans, Cipactonal and Oxomoco, were created, Tamoanchan was off limits to humankind, whose descendants were fated to spend their days on earth. Tezcatlipoca, crafty and defiant creator of the earth, could travel between worlds at his will. Xochiquetzal herself was born there, made from two hairs on her husband, Piltzintecuhtli's, head. However, she spent time on earth listening to and absolving [forgiving] the crimes of humans.

Although Tamoanchan has been described in codices as the "country of cold, delicate and frozen gusts" it was also the home of a tree called "Xochitlicacan", The Flowering Tree (Picture 5), whose every bloom was an amulet of love...

Pic 5: Xochitlicacan, the tree of life, Codex Telleriano-Remensis

Sinners would enter the temple with as many pieces of straw as the crimes they had to confess. After piercing a hole in their tongue, they would pass each straw through the opening and then throw them onto the floor behind them.

The priests gathered all the bloody straws and cast them onto a fire destined to destroy these discarded 'sins'. So although nobody but the goddess would ever know what type of crimes a person had committed, people nearby could count how many there were by the amount of straws that landed on the floor!
Once absolved, those who had confessed returned to their communities and purified themselves by bathing in rivers and springs.

Pic 7: Stone sculpture of a flower representing Xochiquetzal, National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City

A surprising turn of events, however, took place this morning in Tamoanchan. Xochiquetzal was retuned unharmed by the cad-like Tezcatlipoca. For now, she will resume her life of leisure, surrounded by helpers and maidens who give her everything her heart desires. The word 'relief' doesn't begin to describe what she must be feeling! The last time Tezcatlipoca got his hands on earth goddess, Tlaltecuhtli, he ripped her in two and flung her into the sky!

Unfortunately for us, Xochiquetzal will no longer be seen on earth as she has now vowed never to leave home again.

In an interview this afternoon, she declared, "As long as I have music and dance I will be happy. Oh, yes, and I love to spin and weave colourful new designs. All I ask is that the charlatan, Tezcatlipoca, leave me in peace!"
Scandalous allegations have arisen amongst the press, suggesting that Piltzintecuhtli could, in fact, be Tezcatlipoca in disguise. He is known to have a penchant for goddesses of fertility, so Xochiquetzal must stay aware!

Pic 9: Tezcatlipoca, Tlaloc and Xochipilli (a.k.a. Pilztintecuhtli)

In one ritual, children dressed as hummingbirds and butterflies wound their way amongst the bouquets, their vibrant colours and the original design of each costume intending to draw the crowds' attention. The creatures went from tree to tree pretending to suck the nectar from the flowers before them.
Shortly after, emerging from the inside of the temple, came priests dressed as the Aztec gods. They spread out and began to 'hunt' the butterflies and hummingbirds. This activity only drew to a halt upon the arrival of the final god, Xochiquetzal.

To each of the gods she offered the perfume of the incense she carried, along with garlands of roses. After honouring them, she sat amidst the bushes and trees of flowers whilst her many attendants danced happily in front of the spectators. The dance they performed was apparently the largest, most important of its kind, and it symbolised the sexual union between flowers and the birds and insects that delicately draw the pollen from between their petals. A harvest festivity, Atamalqualiztli strove to secure the germination and healthy growth of future crops.

Pic 11: The festivities of Atamalqualiztli, Codex Primeros Memoriales