Tlalteutli
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tlalteutli was an Aztec goddess who embodied raging chaos before creation. She had fierce biting jaws in every joint of her body. She was dismembered by Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca in the guise of two great serpents. From the pieces of her body they created the lands and oceans. The myth has an obvious and close parallel in the Mesopotamian story of how Tiamat, a monstrous chaotic pre-creation goddess, was rent in half by Marduk, who created the oceans from half of her body and dry land from the other half.
A more distant parallel is that of the Japanese myth of Izanagi and Izanami, though there are two major differences: The parts of creation are derived from the body of the male, Izanagi, not of the female, Izanami. Also, the creative emanations do not happen by violence, but as a result of the purification ceremonies after Izanagi escapes the violence.
Recently a monolith of this Goddess was unearthed in Mexico. [1]This Mexico City site is part of Templo Mayor.
[edit] Sources
- Primitive Mythology, by Joseph Campbell, pp 224-5, quoting a French manuscript of the 16th century.
 |
This article relating to a myth or legend from Mesoamerica is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
