Xolotl: The Dog God of the Aztecs
Xolotl was the dog god of the Mexica people, commonly known as the Aztecs. He is represented in codices, statuary, and other extant examples of Aztec art as a dog or a god with the head of a dog. While this figure might seem obscure, his name and role echo into the present day through a critically endangered amphibian, a scruffy but loyal companion on an adventure to the afterlife, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, a breed of hairless dog.
Etymology & Associations
The name Xolotl comes from the Nahuatl language and is pronounced "SHOH-lot", with the emphasis on the penultimate syllable as is usual with words in Nahuatl. Xolochaui, another word in the Nahuatl language, means "to wrinkle or double over," and Xolotl himself is often depicted in art with deep grooves in the skin of his face.
His name was synonymous with the Nahuatl term for twin, xolotl, and appeared in the word for the double maguey, mexolotl, a plant that had a number of uses in Aztec culture, including bloodletting rituals, the creation of fibrous rope, and the brewing of pulque.
While twins were generally seen as a bad omen and viewed with trepidation in the Aztec civilization, Xolotl was the patron god of twins and individuals with physical abnormalities, which were a subject of fascination in Mesoamerican cultures. "In Olmec art representations of dwarves and hunchbacks abound. Rather than being objects of derision, these individuals are often portrayed with great supernatural powers" (Miller & Taube, 75). According to one source, individuals with physical abnormalities were referred to as xolome. Indeed, xolotl is also the Nahuatl name for courtly pages. These pages were often individuals with physical abnormalities, some of whom, like those in the court of Motecuhzoma II (commonly known as Montezuma), entertained the tlatoani and sometimes advised him on matters pertaining to Aztec religion and government. Likely referencing Xolotl, two-headed dogs and figures with hunched backs and dwarfism appear frequently in the Protoclassical ceramic art of West Mexico.
Read More
⇒ Xolotl: The Dog God of the Aztecs
