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Description

Itztlacoliuhqui-Ixquimilli is a deity from traditional Nahua cosmology associated with the winter, cold, decay and judgment. He rules over the group of thirteen days starting with Ce Cuetzpalin ("1 Lizard") in the Tonalpohualli (the Nahua version of the divinatory 260-days cycle Mesoamerican calendar, composed by two wheels, one with the 20 Tonal day signs, and the other with the 13 numbers - pictured behind the god).

Itztlacoliuhqui once was Tlahuizcapantecuhtli - the Lord of Venus, the Morning Star, an aspect of Quetzalcoatl (the Feathered Serpent, oldest deity known to have been praised in Mesoamerica. Associated with the wind, culture, and the western direction), before he turned against Tonatiuh, the Fifth and current sun. Tonatiuh once was Nanahuatzin, a humble god who was the first to sacrifice himself on the fire to become a new sun, years after the end of the Fourth Sun Era (a.k.a Nahui Atl / 4 Water). Reborn from the fires as Tonatiuh, before inaugurating the Fifth and current Sun Era (the Nahui Ollin "4 Movement" or Ollin Tonatiuh "Movement of the Sun"), his first command was that the other Teteoh (deities - some considered ancestors by the Nahua) gathered there (generally considered to have taken place in Teotihuacan - a city from the 2nd century b.c, mostly abandoned by the 6th century CE. In the time of the Mexica / Aztecs it was found in ruins, but was associated with deities and ancestors of the Nahua peoples from that time) sacrificed themselves to feed him, so he could start moving as the Sun to feed Earth and its inhabitants with his Tonalli ("heat", also one out of tree different vital energies from traditional Nahua cosmology. An energy associated with one's fate and the brain, and another name for day or sunlight).

Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, witnessing humble Nanahuatzin turning into a hubris filled new Sun, defied him, in his pride, throwing a spear against him. However, the dart missed its mark and the sun throws his own back at the morning star, piercing the Lord of Dawn through the head. At this moment, Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli is thrown into Itztepetl, the obsidian mount, close to Cehueloyan, the place from where the cold comes, at Mictlán, the underworld, and transformed into the god of obsidian stone and coldness, Itztlacoliuhqui, revered and feared. Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli's refusal to feed the sun is a story of rebellion that can draw parallels with other figures from distinct mythologies, including Lucifer, the light-bearer, in Latin, also associated with the morning star.

Mixed media illustration (ink drawing on paper + digital painting) & animation by Zamahel, 2022

Animated version minted and available in the Tezos Blockchain (current floor: 100 XTZ)

Description

Itztlacoliuhqui-Ixquimilli is a deity from traditional Nahua cosmology associated with the winter, cold, decay and judgment. He rules over the group of thirteen days starting with Ce Cuetzpalin ("1 Lizard") in the Tonalpohualli (the Nahua version of the divinatory 260-days cycle Mesoamerican calendar, composed by two wheels, one with the 20 Tonal day signs, and the other with the 13 numbers - pictured behind the god).

Itztlacoliuhqui once was Tlahuizcapantecuhtli - the Lord of Venus, the Morning Star, an aspect of Quetzalcoatl (the Feathered Serpent, oldest deity known to have been praised in Mesoamerica. Associated with the wind, culture, and the western direction), before he turned against Tonatiuh, the Fifth and current sun. Tonatiuh once was Nanahuatzin, a humble god who was the first to sacrifice himself on the fire to become a new sun, years after the end of the Fourth Sun Era (a.k.a Nahui Atl / 4 Water). Reborn from the fires as Tonatiuh, before inaugurating the Fifth and current Sun Era (the Nahui Ollin "4 Movement" or Ollin Tonatiuh "Movement of the Sun"), his first command was that the other Teteoh (deities - some considered ancestors by the Nahua) gathered there (generally considered to have taken place in Teotihuacan - a city from the 2nd century b.c, mostly abandoned by the 6th century CE. In the time of the Mexica / Aztecs it was found in ruins, but was associated with deities and ancestors of the Nahua peoples from that time) sacrificed themselves to feed him, so he could start moving as the Sun to feed Earth and its inhabitants with his Tonalli ("heat", also one out of tree different vital energies from traditional Nahua cosmology. An energy associated with one's fate and the brain, and another name for day or sunlight).

Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, witnessing humble Nanahuatzin turning into a hubris filled new Sun, defied him, in his pride, throwing a spear against him. However, the dart missed its mark and the sun throws his own back at the morning star, piercing the Lord of Dawn through the head. At this moment, Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli is thrown into Itztepetl, the obsidian mount, close to Cehueloyan, the place from where the cold comes, at Mictlán, the underworld, and transformed into the god of obsidian stone and coldness, Itztlacoliuhqui, revered and feared. Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli's refusal to feed the sun is a story of rebellion that can draw parallels with other figures from distinct mythologies, including Lucifer, the light-bearer, in Latin, also associated with the morning star.

Mixed media illustration (ink drawing on paper + digital painting) & animation by Zamahel, 2022

Animated version minted and available in the Tezos Blockchain (current floor: 100 XTZ)