Editing Chicomecōātl

{{short description|Aztec deity}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = aztec
| name = Chicōmecōātl
|image=File:Chicomecoatl 1.jpg
|caption='''Chicōmecōātl''', as depicted in the [[Codex Borgia]]
|gender=female
}}
In [[Aztec mythology]], '''Chicōmecōātl''' {{IPA|nah|t͡ʃikoːmeˈkoːaːt͡ɬ|}} "Seven Serpent", was the Aztec goddess of agriculture during the Middle Culture period.<ref>{{cite book|last=Aguilar-Moreno|first=Manuel|title=Handbook to Life in the Aztec World|url=https://archive.org/details/handbooktolifein0000agui|url-access=registration|year=2006|publisher=Facts on File|location=New York, NY|isbn=978-0816056736|pages=[https://archive.org/details/handbooktolifein0000agui/page/197 197–8]}}</ref>  She is sometimes called "goddess of nourishment", a goddess of plenty and the female aspect of [[maize]].<ref name=Gregg>{{cite book|last=Gregg|first=Susan|title=The Complete Encyclopedia of Angels: A Guide to 200 Celestial Beings to Help, Heal, and Assist You in Everyday Life|publisher=Fair Winds Press|location=Beverly, Mass.|isbn=9781592334667|page=239|date=2011-03-01}}</ref>

More generally, Chicōmecōātl can be described as a deity of food, drink, and human livelihood.<ref name=":0" />

She is regarded as the female counterpart of the maize god ''[[Centeotl|Centeōtl]]'', their symbol being an ear of corn. She is occasionally called ''Xīlōnen'',{{r|Coulter2000|r={{cite book|last1=Coulter|first1=Charles Russell|last2=Turner|first2=Patricia|title=Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities|year=2000|publisher=McFarland|location=Jefferson, N.C.|isbn=978-0786403172}}}} (meaning doll made of corn), who was married also to ''[[Tezcatlipoca]]''.{{r|Coulter2000|p=508}}

== Significance of Name ==
Chicomecōātl's name, "Seven Serpent", is thought to be a reference to the duality of the deity.  While she symbolizes the gathering of maize and agricultural prosperity, she also is thought to be harmful to the Aztecs, as she was thought to be of blame during years of poor harvest.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Book of the Gods and Rites and the Ancient Calendar.|last=Durán |first=Diego |date=1971|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|isbn=978-0806108896|edition=1st|location=Norman|oclc=149976}}</ref>

== Appearance & Depiction ==
Her appearance is mostly represented with red ochre on the face, paper headdress on top, water-flowers patterned shirt, and foam sandals on the bottom. She is also described as carrying a sun flower shield.<ref name=":0">Bernardino de Sahagún, ''Florentine Codex: General History of the Things of New Spain'' (Translation of and Introduction to Historia General de Las Cosas de La Nueva España; 12 Volumes in 13 Books ), trans. Charles E. Dibble and Arthur J. O Anderson (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1950-1982), p.4</ref>

She is also often appeared with attributes of ''[[Chalchiuhtlicue]]'', such as her headdress and the short lines rubbing down her cheeks. Chicomecōātl is usually distinguished by being shown carrying ears of maize.<ref name="Gregg" />  She is shown in three different forms:

* As a young girl carrying [[Flower|flowers]]
*As a woman who brings death with her embraces
*As a mother who uses the [[sun]] as a shield<ref name="Gregg" />
<gallery>
File:Chicomecoatl 2.jpg|'''Chicomecōātl''', as depicted in [[Codex Magliabechiano]]
File:Relief with Maize Goddess (Chicomecóatl).jpg|''Relief with  Maize Goddess (Chicomecóatl''), Stone, Aztec.
File:Maize Deity (Chicomecoatl) MET DT5110.jpg|Maize Deity (Chicomecoatl), basalt
File:Chicomecoatl (Museo Nacional de Antropologia).jpg|(Museo Nacional de Antropologia)
File:Chicomecoatl Iconographic Annotation.png|An annotation highlighting the main iconographic features of the Aztec deity, Chicomecoatl, based on the features present on the 15th–early 16th-century basalt statue from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
</gallery>

== Festivals ==
She is particularly recognized during Huey Tozoztli, the first of sequence of three festivals held in high season marking the harvest.  During the festival, her priestesses designate seed corn that is to be planted in the coming season.  To appease the deity, as well as to ask for good harvest, priests often engaged in [[Child sacrifice in pre-Columbian cultures|child sacrifice]].<ref name=":1" />  Dried seed maize, harvested and retained for the following year, bore the title Chicomecōātl, while maize consumed following harvest season was generally referred to as [[Cinteotl]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Townsend |first=Richard F. |title=The Aztecs |edition=3rd |date=2009 |orig-date=1st ed. 1992 |publisher=[[Thames & Hudson]] |location=London |isbn=9780500287910 |oclc=286447216}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Centeotl|Centeōtl]] (Aztec god of maize)
*[[Maya maize god]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/08/canm/ho_00.5.51.htm|title=Maize Deity (Chicomecoatl)|publisher=[[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]|accessdate=9 September 2008}}

{{Aztec mythology}}
{{mesoamerica-myth-stub}}

[[Category:Aztec goddesses]]
[[Category:Agricultural goddesses]]
[[Category:Death goddesses]]
[[Category:Solar goddesses]]
[[Category:Food deities]]
[[Category:Food goddesses]]
[[Category:Triple goddesses]]