Ahuiateteo

Macuiltonaleque, Codex Borgia.

Ahuiateteo (Nahuatl pronunciation: [awiyateteo]) or Macuiltonaleque (Nahuatl pronunciation: [makʷiɬtonaleke]) were a group of five Aztec gods of excess and pleasure. They also represented the dangers that come along with these. These five gods were also invoked by diviners and mystics. They were associated with the Tzitzimimeh, a group of frightening beings that personified death, drought, and war.

The five gods are:

• Macuilcozcacuauhtli (Nahuatl pronunciation: [makʷiɬkoskawtɬin]; Five vulture), the god of gluttony
• Macuilcuetzpalin (Nahuatl pronunciation: [makʷiɬkʷetspalin̥]; Five lizard)
• Macuilmalinalli (Nahuatl pronunciation: [makʷilmalinalli]; Five grass)
• Macuiltochtli (Nahuatl pronunciation: [makʷiɬtotʃtɬi]; Five rabbit), the god of drunkenness
• Macuilxochitl (Nahuatl pronunciation: [makʷiɬʃotʃitɬ]; Five flower), the god of gambling and music and an aspect of Xōchipilli

Bibliography

• Miller, Mary; Karl Taube (2003, 1993). An Illustrated Dictionary of the Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-27928-4. OCLC 28801551
• Pohl, John M. D. (Spring 1998). Themes of Drunkenness, Violence, and Factionalism in Tlaxcalan Altar Paintings. RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics No. 33, Pre-Columbian States of Being, pp. 184–207. The President and Fellows of Harvard College acting through the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology JSTOR 20167008 (subscription required)