Editing Itztlacoliuhqui

{{short description|Aztec god}}
{{More citations needed|date=May 2020}}
{{infobox deity
|name=Itztlacoliuhqui
|type=Aztec
|deity_of=frost
|image=Itztlacoliuhqui from Codex Borgia.jpg
|caption=Itztlacoliuhqui in the [[Codex Borgia]]
|gender=male
}}
In [[Aztec mythology]], '''Itztlacoliuhqui''' is the [[deity|god]] of [[frost]]. He also represents matter in its lifeless state.

The [[Nahuatl language|Nahuatl]] name ''Itztlacoliuhqui'' is usually translated into English as "curved obsidian blade". J. Richard Andrews contends that this is a [[mistranslation]] and that the correct interpretation is "everything has become bent by means of coldness" or "plant-killer-frost".<ref>Andrews 2003, pp. 599–600.</ref>

In the [[Aztec calendar]], Itztlacoliuhqui is the lord of the thirteen days from 1 Lizard to 13 Vulture. The preceding thirteen days are ruled over by [[Patecatl]] and the following thirteen by [[Tlazolteotl]].

The creation of this god appeared in the Aztec myth of creation. [[Tonatiuh]], the sun god, demanded obedience and sacrifice from the other gods before he will move. Enraged at his arrogance, the god of dawn and the planet Venus, [[Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli]], shoots an arrow at the sun. However, the dart misses its mark and the sun throws his own back at the morning star, piercing the Lord of Dawn through the head. At this moment, Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli is transformed into the god of obsidian stone and coldness, Itztlacoliuhqui.
[[File:Itzlacoliuhque.jpg|thumb|Itztlacoliuhqui in the [[Codex Borgia]]]]

Itztlacoliuhqui's iconography depicts a straw broom (''[[wiktionary:izquiztli|tlachpānōni]]'') in his hand, symbolizing the function of this wintry death deity as the cleaner of the way for new life to emerge thereafter.<ref>{{cite web|title=Did the Aztecs have a god of snow?|url=http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/ask-experts/did-the-aztecs-have-a-god-of-snow|website=MexicoLore.co.uk}}</ref>
[[File:Itztlacoliuhqui.jpg|thumb|250px|Itztlacoliuhqui in the [[Codex Telleriano-Remensis]]]]

==See also==
*[[Deities and personifications of seasons]]
*[[Februus]]
*[[List of death deities]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*{{cite book |author=Andrews, J. Richard |year=2003 |title=Introduction to Classical Nahuatl |edition=Revised |location=Norman |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press}}

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

[[Category:Aztec gods]]
[[Category:Death gods]]
[[Category:Ice and snow deities]]
[[Category:Winter deities]]