Editing Xolotl (section)

== Myths and functions ==
[[File:Xolotl muz.jpg|thumb|left|Xolotl statue displayed at the [[Museo Nacional de Antropología]] in [[Mexico City]].]]
[[File:Kodeks borbonic.jpg|thumb| [[Codex Borbonicus]] (p. 16) Xolotl is depicted as a companion of the Setting Sun.<ref>{{harvnb|Milbrath |2013 |p= 84}}</ref> He is pictured with a knife in his mouth, a symbol of death.<ref>{{harvnb|Neumann |1975 |p=16}}</ref>]]

Xolotl was the sinister god of [[Monster|monstrosities]] who wears the spirally-twisted wind jewel and the ear ornaments of Quetzalcoatl.<ref>{{harvnb|Seler |2010 |p= 290}}</ref> His job was to protect the sun from the dangers of the underworld. As a double of Quetzalcoatl, he carries his [[conch]]-like ehecailacacozcatl or wind jewel. Xolotl accompanied Quetzalcoatl to [[Mictlan]], the land of the dead, or the underworld, to retrieve the bones from those who inhabited the previous world (Nahui Atl) to create new life for the present world, [[Nahui Ollin]], the sun of movement. In a sense, this re-creation of life is reenacted every night when Xolotl guides the sun through the underworld. In the [[tonalpohualli]], Xolotl rules over day Ollin (movement) and over [[trecena]] 1-Cozcacuauhtli (vulture).<ref>{{cite web |publisher= azteccalendar.com
 |url= https://www.azteccalendar.com/god/Xolotl.html
 |title= Xolotl, the Twin}}</ref>

His empty eye sockets are explained in the legend of [[Teotihuacan]], in which the gods decided to sacrifice themselves for the newly created sun. Xolotl withdrew from this sacrifice and wept so much his eyes fell out of their sockets.<ref name="Seler 2010 p. 94">{{harvnb|Seler |2010 |p= 94}}</ref>
According to the creation recounted in the [[Florentine Codex]], after the [[Fifth Sun]] was initially created, it did not move. [[Ehecatl]] ("God of Wind") consequently began slaying all other gods to induce the newly created Sun into movement. Xolotl, however, was unwilling to die in order to give movement to the new Sun. Xolotl transformed himself into a young [[maize]] plant with two stalks (xolotl), a doubled [[Agave americana|maguey]] plant (mexolotl), and an amphibious animal ([[axolotl]]). Xolotl is thus a master transformer. In the end, Ehecatl succeeded in finding and killing Xolotl.<ref name="auto1"/>

In art, Xolotl was typically depicted as a [[Dogs in Mesoamerican folklore and myth|dog]]-headed man, a [[skeleton]], or a deformed monster with reversed feet. An [[incense burner]] in the form of a skeletal canine depicts Xolotl.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper= [[World History Encyclopedia]]
 |url= https://www.worldhistory.org/image/4104/
 |title= Xolotl (Illustration)|last1= Wiener
 |first1= James Blake
 }}</ref> As a [[psychopomp]], Xolotl would guide the dead on their journey to [[Mictlan]] the [[afterlife]] in myths. His two spirit animal forms are the [[Mexican Hairless Dog|Xoloitzcuintli]] dog and the water salamander species known as the [[Axolotl]].<ref>{{cite web |publisher= mexicolore.co.uk
 |url= http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/stories/story-of-the-fifth-sun
 |title=Story of the Fifth Sun}}</ref> Xolos served as companions to the Aztecs in this life and also in the after-life, as many dog remains and dog sculptures have been found in Aztec burials, including some at the main temple in [[Tenochtitlan]]. Dogs were often subject to ritual sacrifice so that they could accompany their master on his voyage through Mictlan, the underworld.<ref>{{cite web |publisher= mexicolore.co.uk
 |url= http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/flora-and-fauna/dog
 |title= Dog}}</ref> Their main duty was to help their owners cross a deep river. It is possible that dog sculptures also found in burials were also intended to help people on this journey. Xoloitzcuintli is the official name of the [[Mexican Hairless Dog]] (also known as ''perro pelón mexicano'' in [[Mexican Spanish]]), a [[pre-Columbian]] canine breed from [[Mesoamerica]] dating back to over 3,500 years ago.<ref>{{cite web
 |publisher= xoloitzcuintliclubofamerica.org
 |url= http://www.xoloitzcuintliclubofamerica.org/about_xolos
 |title= About Xolos
 |access-date= 2016-01-31
 |archive-date= 2019-01-07
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190107181326/http://www.xoloitzcuintliclubofamerica.org/about_xolos
 |url-status= dead
 }}</ref> This is one of many native dog breeds in the [[Americas]] and it is often confused with the [[Peruvian Hairless Dog]]. The name "Xoloitzcuintli" references Xolotl because this dog's mission was to accompany the souls of the dead in their journey into [[eternity]]. The name "Axolotl" comes from Nahuatl, the Aztec language. One translation of the name connects the Axolotl to Xolotl. The most common translation is "water-dog" . "Atl" for water and "Xolotl" for dog.<ref>{{cite web |publisher= axolotl.org
 |url= http://www.axolotl.org
 |title= Introduction}}</ref>

In the Aztec calendar, the ruler of the day, Itzcuintli ("Dog"), is [[Mictlantecuhtli]], the god of death and lord of Mictlan, the afterlife.<ref name=azteccalendar>{{cite web|title=Mictlantecuhtli|url=http://www.azteccalendar.com/god/Mictlantecuhtli.html|website=azteccalendar.com}}</ref>