How Tlaloc Got His Groove

Summary

One of the distinctive features of one of the principal Maya solar deities, the Jaguar God of the Underworld, is the twisted cord—nicknamed "cruller" for the German doughnut over 100 years ago by Eduard Seler—that loops under the eyes (with their characteristic inward curl for pupils) and twists between them, sometimes ending under the deity’s jaguar ears. This feature, perhaps to be associated with fire and burning, takes up its place on the nose of a different deity, Tlaloc, in Central Mexico, in the Late Postclassic. How is it that Tlaloc took on this attribute, and what did it mean in the context of the Mexica? No image of Tlaloc from Tula features the cruller: in all likelihood the cruller takes on its role in the mid-15th century, during the period of Mexica expansion.

In this study, the iconography meaning of the twisted cord will be examined, its meaning in both Maya and Central Mexican contexts, and a possible motivation for transmission. The study will revisit the fundamental union of fire and water at the heart of Tenochtitlan, in the twinned temple of Tlaloc and Huizilopochtli.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 20046