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Tláloc-Tlaltecuhtli

Tl·loc-TlaltecuhtliTlaloc-Tlaltecuhtli. This relief shows the association of water with earth. It represents two superimposed images, which is why two faces and two bodies in the same position may be seen. The figure below, that is to say Tlaloc, has a body in the form of water currents, which recalls the Nahuatl myth according to which the Earth formed part of the body of Tlaltecuhtli, when this deity spread out over the primordial waters; the image above, Tlaltecuhtli, has the ollin symbol, which signifies movement, at the height of the womb; the breasts and skirt with skulls and crossed bones identify the figure as feminine. This way of representing Tlaloc and Tlaltecuhtli is not unusual and in fact several examples are known, because Tlaloc was also related to the Earth and the Underworld. The photograph was taken soon after the discovery.

Last Modified: January 14, 1998.
Museo del Templo Mayor, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e História, México.
Seminario #8, Centro Histórico. Cuauhtémoc, México, D.F. 06060
©Copyright 1997
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