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Centéotl, a name that can also be found written as Cintéotl or Tzintéotl, and that can also be identified with Xochipilli (the prince of flowers), was one of the main Mexica gods: the god of corn. The word Centéotl means “god of the ear of corn” ( centli , ear of corn; teotl , god or goddess). Other Aztec gods that were related to this crop, fundamental in the life of the Mesoamerican peoples, were Xilonen, the goddess of sweet corn and tamales (tender corn), Chicomecoátl (seven serpents), the goddess of corn seed , and Xipe Tótec, the fierce god of fertility and agriculture.
Centéotl is the Aztec form of an older pan-Mesoamerican deity. Sometimes he is considered as a dual deity, since both female and male representations of Centéotl have been found. Previous Mesoamerican cultures such as the Olmec and Maya worshiped the god of maize as one of the most important sources of life and reproduction. In Teotihuacán, several statuettes have been found representing a corn goddess, with a hairstyle that resembles a tasselled ear. In many Mesoamerican cultures, royalty was associated with the god of corn.
The images of the god of corn
In the Mexica codices, documents written in colonial times that collected pre-Columbian traditions and legends, Centéotl is represented brandishing a scepter with green cob leaves
Between the years of 1540 and 1585, the Spanish Franciscan missionary Bernardino de Sahagún wrote the ethnographic manuscript Historia general de las cosas de Nueva España , today known as the Florentine Codex, since it is preserved in a library in Florence, Italy. In this book there are illustrations of Centéotl as the god of harvests and crops.
Centéotl could take the form of the monkey god Oçomàtli, who was the deity of sports, dance, fun and good luck in games. In a carved stone in the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts, Centéotl can be seen receiving or observing a human sacrifice. The god’s head resembles that of a monkey and his figure has a tail. The god is standing or floating on the chest of a prone figure. A large headdress, which occupies more than half of the carving on the stone, rises above Centéotl’s head, made of corn and agave plants.
the god of corn
One of the most accepted versions of the origin of Centéotl says that he was the son of Tlazoltéotl or Toci, the goddess of fertility and childbirth, and Piltzintecuhtli, god of storms.
Like many Aztec deities, the maize god had dual significance and could be considered both male and female. Many Nahua (the Aztec language) sources tell that the maize god was born in the form of a goddess, later becoming a male god with the name Centéotl and that he had a female counterpart, the goddess Chicomecoátl. Centéotl and Chicomecoátl were involved with different stages of growth and maturation of maize.
According to Aztec mythology, the god Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent, gave corn to humans. The myth relates that during the fifth sun, Quetzalcoátl saw a red ant carrying a grain of corn. The god followed the ant and reached the place where corn grew, Tonacatepetl (which means “the mountain of sustenance”). There, Quetzalcoátl was transformed into a black ant; he stole a grain of corn and brought it to the humans, who were then able to start cultivating it.
According to the stories collected in the work of Bernardino de Sahagún, Centéotl made a trip to the underworld and returned with many goods for humans: cotton, sweet potatoes, huauzontle (a plant with edible flowers that belongs to the chenopodiaceae family) and drink. alcoholic drink made from the sap of the agave or pita called octli or pulque. Due to this legend associated with the creation of Aztec food, Centéotl is related to the planet Venus, the morning star. According to Sahagún, there was a temple dedicated to Centéotl in the sacred precinct of Tenochtitlán.
Celebrations and rituals dedicated to the god of corn
The fourth month of the Aztec calendar, which was about 20 days long and fell between the end of April and the beginning of May of our calendar, was called Huei Tozoztli (“long vigil”) and was dedicated to the maize gods, Centéotl and Chicomecoátl. . During this period, different ceremonies were held in honor of the deities, including self-sacrifices in which believers drew blood to sprinkle it later in their homes. In addition, young women adorned themselves with necklaces made of corn seeds. Ears and grains of corn were taken from the field; the ears of corn were placed in front of the images of the gods, while the grains of corn were stored as seeds for the following season’s crops.
The cult of Centéotl was combined with the cult of Tlaloc, who was the god responsible for the rainy season; In this way, the Aztecs included the deities of the heat of the sun, flowers, banquets and pleasure. As the son of the fertility goddess, Centéotl was honored along with Chicomecoatl and Xilonen during the eleventh month of the year, Ochpaniztli, which began around September 27 in our calendar. The ceremonies included the sacrifice of a woman, whose skin was used to make a mask for the priest responsible for revering Centéotl.
Sources
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- Cavallo, AS A Totonac Palmate Stone . Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts 29.3, pages 56-58, 1949.
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