In Aztec mythology, Tlazolteotl is a deity of vice, purification, steam baths, lust, filth, and a patroness of adulterers. She is known by three names, Tlahēlcuāni and Tlazōlmiquiztli, and Ixcuina or Ixcuinan, the latter of which refers to a quadripartite association of four sister deities. Tlazōlteōtl is the deity for the 13thtrecena of the sacred 260-day calendar Tōnalpōhualli, the one beginning with the day Ce Ōllin, or First Movement. She is associated with the day sign of the jaguar. Tlazolteotl played an important role in the confession of wrongdoing through her priests.
Aztec religion
Tlazolteotl may have originally been a Huaxtec deity from the Gulf Coast who would have been assimilated into the Aztec pantheon.
Quadripartite Deities
Under the name of Ixcuinan she was thought to be, composed of four sisters of different ages known by the names Tiyacapan, Tēicuih, Tlahco and Xōcotzin. When conceived of as four individual deities, they were called ixcuinammeh or tlazōltēteoh; individually, they were deities of luxury.
Sin
Encouragement of Sin
According to Aztec belief, it was Tlazolteotl who inspired vicious desires and who likewise forgave and cleaned away sin. She was also thought to cause disease, especially STDs. It was said that Tlazolteotl and her companions would afflict people with disease if they indulged themselves in forbidden love. The uncleanliness was considered both on a physical and moral level and could be cured by steam bath, a rite of purification, or calling upon the Tlazōltēteoh, the deities of love and desires.
Purification
For the Aztecs there were two main deities thought to preside over purification: Tezcatlipoca, because he was thought to be invisible and omnipresent, therefore seeing everything; and Tlazolteotl, the deity of lechery and unlawful love. It is said that when a man confessed before Tlazolteotl everything was revealed. Purification with Tlazolteotl would be done through a priest. One could only receive the "mercy" once in their life which is why the practice was most common among the elderly. , this shows the 13th trecena of the Aztec sacred calendar. The deity Tlazolteotl, is wearing a flayed human skin and giving birth to Cinteotl. The 13 day-signs of this trecena, starting with 1 Earthquake, begin at the bottom left and wrap around. The priest would be consulted by the penitent and would consult the 260-day ritual calendar to determine the best day and time for the purification to take place. On the day of, he would listen to the sins confessed and then render judgment and penance, ranging from fasts to presentation of offerings and ritual song and dance, depending on the nature and the severity of the sin.
Dirt eating
Tlazōlteōtl was called "Deity of Dirt" and "Eater of Ordure" with her dual nature of deity of dirt and also of purification. Sins were symbolized by dirt. Her dirt-eating symbolized the ingestion of the sin and in doing so purified it. She was depicted with ochre-colored symbols of divine excrement around her mouth and nose. In the Aztec languagethe word for sacred,, comes from tzintli, the buttocks, and religious rituals include offerings of "liquid gold" and "divine excrement", which Klein jocularly translated to English as "holy shit". Through this process, she helped create harmony in communities.
Festival
Tlazōlteōtl was one of the primary Aztec deities celebrated in the festival of Ochpaniztli that was held September 2–21 to recognize the harvest season. The ceremonies conducted during this timeframe included ritual cleaning, sweeping, and repairing, as well as the casting of corn seed, dances, and military ceremonies.
