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Chalchiuhtlicue


Chalchiuhtlicue [t͡ʃaːɬt͡ʃiwˈt͡ɬikʷeː] (from chālchihuitl [t͡ʃaːɬˈt͡ʃiwit͡ɬ] "jade" and cuēitl [kʷeːit͡ɬ] "skirt") (also Chalciuhtlicue, Chalchiuhcueye, or Chalcihuitlicue) ("She of the Jade Skirt") was an Aztec goddess of water, rivers, seas, streams, storms, and baptism, related to another water god, Chalchiuhtlatonal.

Reputedly universally revered at the time of the Spanish conquest, she was an important deity figure in the Postclassic Aztec realm of central Mexico. Chalchiuhtlicue was also patroness of childbirth. She was also called Matlalcueitl by the Tlaxcalans, enemies of the Aztecs.

Chalchiuitlicue's name literally means "Jade her skirt", but it is usually translated as "she of the jade skirt". She was also known as Matlalcueitl "Owner of the green skirt". This goddess was the wife (in some myths, sister) of the rain god, Tlaloc. Like other water deities, she was often associated with serpents. She was the mother of Tecciztecatl, an Aztec moon god. He was called "he who comes from the land of the sea-slug shell" because of the similarity between the moon and the slug. Tecciztecatl was portrayed as an old man who carries a large white seashell on his back.Most legends of Chalchiuhtlicue say that she was married to the god of rain, Tlaloc. In some myths she was his sister. Chalchiuhtlicue helped Tlaloc rule the kingdom of Tlalocan. It is believed that Tlaloc was one of the first 'abuser' gods and because of this Chalchiuhtlicue retaliated by releasing 52 years of rain, causing a giant flood which caused the fourth world to be destroyed. She built a bridge linking heaven and earth and those who were in Chalchiuhtlicue's good graces were allowed to traverse it. The other residents of the earth were turned into fish so they wouldn't drown. Chalchiuhtlicue used the flood as an act of purification of human kind. Because of this flood we are believed to live in the Fifth World. In some myths, Chalchiuhtlicue was wife of Xiuhtecuhtli, senior deity of the Aztec pantheon. According to Aztec legend, Chalchiuhtlicue at one point devoured the sun and moon.


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