Coyolxauhqui : Aztec Goddess

Like the use of Aztec symbols in the Chicano movement and Chicano art, Chicanas have resurrected an old symbol from Aztec mythology: Coyolxauhqui. In An Illustrated Dictionary of the Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya, she is described as the evil older sister of Huitzilopochtli (the national god of the Mexicas), as well as one of the major gods of Aztec mythology. Her mother, Coatlicue (mother goddess of the earth, “Serpent Skirt”) became pregnant after tucking a tuft of feathers under her/div>

bosom. Embarrassed by this dishonor, Coyolxauhqui went ahead and lead her 400 younger brothers (a.k.a. the Centzon Huitznahua) to kill their mother at the top of the hill of Coatepec. Once there, they managed to kill their mother right as Huitzilopochtli burst from the womb, fully armored, and attacked his siblings in defense of himself. His borhters were routed, and Coyolxauhqui was decapitated, dismembered, and thrown down the hill. The battle would later be re-enacted as part of the ceremony that was the ritual of heart sacrifice practiced on a large scale at the Templo Mayor in Tenochtitlan. Decapitated victims would be thrown down the steps along with their bodies.

The first findings of images of Coyolxauhqui occurred in 1978. A massive disk with her image carved into it was found at the base of the Templo Mayor. In Tenochtitlan, location of the Templo and capital of the Aztec empire, a depiction of her severed body (possibly the same disk that was found) was kept at the edge of the city as a warning to visitors or possible invaders. Another large sculpture of her that is presented only as the head of Coyolxauhqui, demonstrates what she represented through the images carved into her head, face, and base of the entire piece. Much of her costume and iconography appears to be derived from the patron of Xochimilco: Chantico, goddess of the hearth.

According to the researchers at the J Paul Getty Museum, the symbols on her cheeks (as seen in other images of her) are the “coyolli” (bells) which she is named after, the top disks are the symbols for gold.The closed eyes seen in the statue, depict her as being dead. The triumph of Huitzilopochtli represents the rise of the Aztec people. The symbols on her ears and mouth signify the agricultural and solar cycles, as well as the element of fire. The fire gives Coyolxauhqui themes of war and destruction. Her headdress represents her noble status, while the soft feather images carved at the back of her head indicate sacrifice–the sacrifice of the goddess for the Aztec people. The base of the statue which can’t be seen when on display, also has carvings that embody the conflict between opposites at the center of Aztec mythology and cosmology; e.g. fire and water, creation and destruction. Although she is often thought of as goddess of the moon, recent study suggests that she may in fact be the goddess of the milky way.

Additional Sources:
http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/aztec/interactive/index.html
Miller, Mary Ellen., and Karl A. Taube. An Illustrated Dictionary of the Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya. New York: Thames and Hudson, 2011. Print.
Image source:
http://www.art-prints-on-demand.com/a/aztec/head-of-coyolxauhqui-from.html