Tepoztecatl
In Aztec mythology, Tepoztecatl [tepos'teːkat͡ɬ] (from tepoztli "workable metal" [te'post͡ɬi] and tēcatl "person" ['teːkat͡ɬ] ) or Tezcatzontecatl [teːskat͡son'teːkat͡ɬ] (from tēzcatl [teːskat͡ɬ] "mirror", tzontli "four hundred" ['t͡sont͡ɬi] and tēcatl "person" ['teːkat͡ɬ]) was the god of pulque, of drunkenness and fertility. The deity was also known by his calendrical name, Ometochtli ("two-rabbit").[1] He is a consort of Mayahuel, who is a mask-avatar of Xochiquetzal.
According to Aztec myth, Tepoztecatl was one of the Centzon Totochtin,[2] the four hundred children of Mayahuel, the goddess of the maguey plant, and Patecatl, the god that discovered the fermentation process.[1] As a deity of pulque, Tepoztecatl was associated with fertility cults and Tlaloc.[1] Tepoztecatl was also associated with the wind, hence deriving an alternative name of Ehecacone, son of the wind.[1]
Tepoztecatl appears in the Mendoza Codex carrying a copper axe.[1]
El Tepozteco, in the Mexican state of Morelos, is an archaeological site named after the deity. The site was a sacred place for pilgrims from as far as Chiapas and Guatemala.[1] This site has a small pyramid built on a platform 9.5 meters high, located on a mountain overlooking the town of Tepoztlan.
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- Canto Aguilar, Giselle (1998). El Tepozteco, Morelos (Miniguía). Mexico: Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia. (Spanish)
- Fernández, Adela (1992, 1996). Dioses Prehispánicos de México. Mexico City: Panorama Editorial. ISBN 968-38-0306-7. OCLC 59601185. (Spanish)
