The day after Thanksgiving in America is National Maize Day so who else would POTM talk about but the Maize Cob God and the Seven Serpent Goddess.
Centeotl (translates to Maize Cob God in Nahuatl the Aztec language) and Chicomecoatl (Seven Serpent Goddess) are the two deities that watched over the growing of corn in all its stages but have you ever seen them in the same room? Some scholars believe the two were actually one deity...that Chicomecoatl grew up to be Centeotl. This isn't too far fetched since MesoAmerica did not think in the binary when it came to gender, however, most scholars still believe the two to were consorts and not the same being.
Either way, as gods and goddesses ofttimes do, they demanded offerings to keep the corn coming. Centeotl's offering was a lot less bloody than his female counterpart's, where five elderly women were sent off to the fields to pick an ear of corn each. Those five cobs were carefully brought back and babied by the people to appease their Maize Cob God.
Chicomecoatl preferred blood from a decapitated virgin which was gathered and poured over a figurine of her. After, the virgin's body was flayed and the priest donned the skin making them the impostor deity of Chicomecoatl.
These two were not the only Aztec deities related to corn. Quetzacoatl, the feathered serpent, brought the highly demanded crop to the people by transforming into a black ant. Might need to talk about that story the next corn holiday.
Centeotl (translates to Maize Cob God in Nahuatl the Aztec language) and Chicomecoatl (Seven Serpent Goddess) are the two deities that watched over the growing of corn in all its stages but have you ever seen them in the same room? Some scholars believe the two were actually one deity...that Chicomecoatl grew up to be Centeotl. This isn't too far fetched since MesoAmerica did not think in the binary when it came to gender, however, most scholars still believe the two to were consorts and not the same being.
Either way, as gods and goddesses ofttimes do, they demanded offerings to keep the corn coming. Centeotl's offering was a lot less bloody than his female counterpart's, where five elderly women were sent off to the fields to pick an ear of corn each. Those five cobs were carefully brought back and babied by the people to appease their Maize Cob God.
Chicomecoatl preferred blood from a decapitated virgin which was gathered and poured over a figurine of her. After, the virgin's body was flayed and the priest donned the skin making them the impostor deity of Chicomecoatl.
These two were not the only Aztec deities related to corn. Quetzacoatl, the feathered serpent, brought the highly demanded crop to the people by transforming into a black ant. Might need to talk about that story the next corn holiday.
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