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Trolley bomb?

31st Dec 2021

A Mixtec deity of the night

A god-like character seemingly intent on planting a bomb in a trolley and pushing it into a building?
No, this is the third of nine nocturnal deities depicted in the Codex Borgia (a detail from p. 14) (Compiled by Ian Mursell/Mexicolore)

He’s Piltzintecuhtli, god of youth (a solar deity), and the night hour is no. 3, House (seen horizontal at the bottom of the image). All nine in the sequence ‘represent the supernatural rulers of the nine hours of the night. Each of the gods stands offering a bundle of sticks, a rubber ball and a quetzal feather as the components of a burnt offering that perhaps symbolises the night in some way.’

• Image and quote taken from The Codex Borgia: A Full-Colour Restoration of the Ancient Mexican Manuscript by Gisele Díaz and Alan Rodgers, Dover Publications, 1993.

Comments (2)

Taytay

11th Jun 2023

Oh! Interesting! Most online sources say that Cipactonal and Oxomoco are the first human couple- I had no idea that they were actually the creators of humanity! Thank you!

Mexicolore

Well this is a kind of mythical ‘grey area’. Here’s what two scholars have written about this: ‘In their identification with the powerful, sacred arts of curing and divination, the aged ancestral couple merges into the original pair of male and female creator gods. The Quiché Maya “Popol Vuh” mentions a similar pair of aged diviners who, although not described as the first humans, are referred to as grandparents. This aged pair, Xpiyacoc and his consort Xmucane, play an active role in the creation of people. By divining with cast “tzite” seeds, this couple instruct the creator gods how to fashion humankind.’

Taytay

7th Jun 2023

I’ve seen it stated that Piltzintecuhtli’s parents were the first humans. I was wondering if that was true?

Mexicolore

Strictly, Piltzintecuhtli was the first son of the divine creator couple Oxomoco and Cipactonal - they created the first humans! According to Robelo’s ‘Diccionario de Mitología Nahuatl’, as he was the first son - and had no female ‘other half’ - the gods gave him a partner created from the hair of Xochiquetzal. He was also, incidentally, the Aztec name for the planet Mercury.

A Mixtec deity of the night