Editing Tzitzimitl

{{Short description|Female celestial deities}}
A '''Tzitzimītl'''{{efn|{{IPA|nah|t͡siˈt͡simiːt͡ɬ}}}} (plural '''Tzitzimīmeh'''{{efn|{{IPA|nah|t͡sit͡siˈmiːmeʔ}}}})<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.malinal.net/lexik/nahuatlTZ.html#TZITZIMITL | title=Lexique TZ }}</ref> is a type of celestial deity associated with stars in [[Aztec mythology]]. They were depicted as skeletal female figures wearing skirts often with skull and crossbones designs. In post-conquest descriptions they are often described as "[[demon]]s" or "devils", but this does not necessarily reflect their function in the prehispanic belief system of the Aztecs.<ref>See Klein 2000 for an analysis of the nature of the Tzitzimimeh in relation to the Aztec belief system.</ref> 
[[Image:Tzitzimitl.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Depiction of a Tzitzimitl from the [[Codex Magliabechiano]].]][[Image:Itzpapalotl 1.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Depiction of [[Itzpapalotl]], Queen of the Tzitzimimeh, from the [[Codex Borgia]].]]

The Tzitzimimeh were female deities and related to fertility. They were associated with the [[Cihuateteo]] and other female deities such as [[Tlaltecuhtli]], [[Cōātlīcue]], [[Citlālicue]] and [[Cihuacōātl]], and they were worshipped by midwives and parturient women. The leader of the tzitzimimeh was the goddess [[Itzpapalotl]], who was the ruler of [[Tamoanchan]], the paradise where the Tzitzimimeh resided.

The Tzitzimimeh were also associated with the stars and especially the stars that can be seen around the Sun during a solar eclipse. This was interpreted as the Tzitzimimeh attacking the Sun, thus causing the belief that during a [[solar eclipse]], the ''tzitzimime'' would descend to the earth and possess men. It was said that if the Tzitzimimeh could not start a bow fire in the empty chest cavity of a sacrificed human at the end of a 52-year calendar round, the fifth sun would end and they would descend to devour the last of men.<ref>Sahagún 1997, p. 153: {{Verse translation|lang=nci|''cenca nemauhtiloya mitoaya intla quitlamiz in quiqua tonatiuh quilmach çentlaiovaz valtemozque in ţiţimime techquazque''|There was great fear. It was said that if [the moon] finished eating the sun, so it was said, all would be in darkness; the ''Tzitzimimeh'' would descend here; they would devour us.}}</ref> The Tzitzimimeh were also feared during other ominous periods of the Aztec world, such as during the five unlucky days called [[Nemontemi]] which marked an unstable period of the [[xiuhpōhualli]] (solar year count) and during the [[New Fire ceremony]] marking the beginning of a new calendar round; both were periods associated with the fear of change.

The Tzitzimimeh had a double role in Aztec religion: they were protectresses of the feminine and progenitresses of mankind. They were also powerful and dangerous, especially in periods of cosmic instability.<ref>This is the conclusion reached by Cecelia Klein (2000) based on an investigation of the iconographical depictions of Tzitzimimeh by the Aztecs.</ref>{{page needed|date=September 2018}}

==In popular culture==
*Tzitzimitl was one of 8 monsters from around the globe to appear as antagonists in the ''[[Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!]]'' episode titled "Mysteries On The Disorient Express."

*Tzitzimitl is depicted as a high-level demon in the [[roguelike]] game ''[[Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://crawl.chaosforge.org/Tzitzimitl|title=Tzitzimitl - CrawlWiki|website=crawl.chaosforge.org}}</ref>

*Tzitzimitl is also what the Warlady Skyy Appletini is referred to in the popular webcomic [[Erfworld]].

*In the tabletop RPG [[Pathfinder Roleplaying Game|Pathfinder]], the Tzitzimitl are powerful undead creatures associated with outer space.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://legacy.aonprd.com/bestiary3/tzitzimitl.html|title=Tzitzimitl|website=legacy.aonprd.com|access-date=2018-12-28}}</ref>

*Tzitzimitl are featured on the [[Cartoon Network]] series ''[[Victor and Valentino]]'' as recurring antagonists. In the episode "A New Don", they are depicted as tall black figures with multiple heads, a constellation style texture, and also have the ability to enter a person's body and control them with sunlight being their weakness. They reappear in "Starry Night" where they take over the bodies of Vic and Val's friends and try to glean information about their grandmother from them. In "Carmelita" it is revealed that they can also take over inanimate objects as one took over a car. They also appear to be in league with the series' main antagonist Tez. It is revealed in season 3's episode "Another Don" that prominent character Isabella has been Tzitzimitl in disguise since the beginning of the series.

*The tzitzimimeh are antagonists in ''[[Onyx Equinox]]'', though they are associated with [[Mictecacihuatl]]. Though mostly highly aggressive and murderous, an allusion to their role in childbirth can be seen when they calm down the still infant goddess.

*Tzitzimilitl are demons that can be summoned by the player in numerous video games of the ''[[Megami Tensei]]'' franchise, including ''[[Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse]]'', ''[[Persona 4]]'' and its upgraded version ''Persona 4 Golden'', and the PSP version of ''[[Persona 2: Innocent Sin]]''. They are depicted in [[Kazuma Kaneko]]'s artwork as red-robed female figures with countless arms sprouting from their skull, their many hands catching stars from the sky, while their bodies end at a distended belly containing the stars they have devoured. A single Tzitzimitl can be found in the first area of ''[[Shin Megami Tensei 5]]'' with an subquest where she asks the protagonist to catch stars spread out in the area for her.

==Notes==
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==References==

{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
*{{cite book |last1=Sahagún |first1=Bernardino de |author1-link=Bernardino de Sahagún |last2=Sullivan |first2=Thelma D. |author2-link=Thelma D. Sullivan |last3=Nicholson |first3=H. B. |author3-link=H. B. Nicholson |year=1997 |title=[[Primeros Memoriales]] |location=Norman |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press }}
* {{cite journal |author=Klein, Cecelia F |year=2000 |title=The Devil and the Skirt: an iconographic inquiry into the prehispanic nature of the Tzitzimime|journal=Estudios de Cultura Náhuatl |publisher=Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mèxico |pages=17–62 |volume=31 |url=https://nahuatl.historicas.unam.mx/index.php/ecn/article/download/9222/8600 |format=PDF |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119062830/https://nahuatl.historicas.unam.mx/index.php/ecn/article/download/9222/8600 |archive-date=2021-11-19 }}

{{Aztec mythology}}

[[Category:Aztec goddesses]]
[[Category:Drought goddesses]]
[[Category:Fertility goddesses]]
[[Category:Stellar goddesses]]
[[Category:Female demons]]
[[Category:Native American demons]]
[[Category:North American demons]]