Chicomecoatl
|
|
Chicomecoatl_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_14993.jpg
In Aztec mythology, Chicomecoatl ("Seven Serpent", also the name of a day of the Aztec calendar) was a goddess of food and produce, especially maize and, by extension, a goddess of fertility.
Every September, she received a sacrifice of young girl, decapitated. The sacrifice's blood was poured on a statue of Chicmecoatl and her skin was worn by a priest. She was thought of as a female counterpart to Centeotl and was also called Xilonen ("the hairy one", which referred to the hairs on unshucked maize), who was married to Tezcatlipoca.
She often appeared with attributes of Chalchiuhtlicue, such as her headdress and the short lines rubbing down her cheeks. She is usually distinguished by being shown carrying ears of maize. She is shown in three different forms:
- as a young girl carrying flowers
- as a woman who brings death with her embraces
- as a mother who uses the sun as a shieldTemplate:Myth-stub