Lords of the Night: Difference between revisions
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{{See also|Lords of the Day}} |
{{See also|Lords of the Day}} |
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[[File:Codex Borgia page 14.jpg|thumb|Lords of the Night in [[Codex Borgia]] (1a) Tlaloc, (1b) Tepeyollotl, (1c) Tlazolteotl, (2a) Centeotl, (2b) Mictlantecuhtli, (2c) Chalchiuhtlicue, (3a) Piltzintecuhtli, (3b) Itztli, (3c) Xiuhtecuhtli.]] |
[[File:Codex Borgia page 14.jpg|thumb|Lords of the Night in [[Codex Borgia]] (1a) Tlaloc, (1b) Tepeyollotl, (1c) Tlazolteotl, (2a) Centeotl, (2b) Mictlantecuhtli, (2c) Chalchiuhtlicue, (3a) Piltzintecuhtli, (3b) Itztli, (3c) Xiuhtecuhtli.]] |
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In [[ |
In [[Mesoamerican mythology]] the '''Lords of the Night''' are a set of nine [[deity|gods]] who each ruled over every ninth night forming a calendrical cycle. Each lord was associated with a particular fortune, bad or good, that was an omen for the night that they ruled over.<ref>Anthony F. Aveni. 2001. Skywatchers: A Revised and Updated Version of Skywatchers of Ancient Mexico. University of Texas Press. pp. 156-57</ref> |
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The lords of the night are known in both the [[Aztec calendar|Aztec]] and [[Maya calendar]], although the specific names of the Maya Night Lords are unknown.<ref>Gabrielle Vail, Christine L. Hernández. 2010. Astronomers, Scribes, and Priests: Intellectual Interchange Between the Northern Maya Lowlands and Highland Mexico in the Late Postclassic Period. Harvard University Press p. 291</ref> |
The lords of the night are known in both the [[Aztec calendar|Aztec]] and [[Maya calendar]], although the specific names of the Maya Night Lords are unknown.<ref>Gabrielle Vail, Christine L. Hernández. 2010. Astronomers, Scribes, and Priests: Intellectual Interchange Between the Northern Maya Lowlands and Highland Mexico in the Late Postclassic Period. Harvard University Press p. 291</ref> |
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Cycles of Time and Meaning in the Mexican Books of Fate. University of Texas Press pp. 44-45</ref>: |
Cycles of Time and Meaning in the Mexican Books of Fate. University of Texas Press pp. 44-45</ref>: |
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: [[Xiuhtecuhtli]] (Turqoise/year lord) |
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: Itztli/Tecpatl (Obsidian/Flint) |
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: [[Piltzintecuhtli]] (Prince Lord) |
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: [[Centeotl]] (Maize God) |
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# [[Centeotl]], goddess<ref>{{cite book|title=Dioses Prehispánicos de México|editor=Panorama Editorial|authorlink=Adela Fernández|language=Spanish|year=1998|location=Mexico|page=131|isbn=968-38-0306-7}}</ref>,<ref>{{cite book|title=Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses|editor=Library of Congress|author=Michael Jordan|langue=English|year=2004|location=United States|page=61|isbn=0-8160-5923-3}}</ref> or god{{citation needed|date=September 2012}} of maize. Also recognized as [[Chicomecoatl]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Diccionario de Mitología Nahua|editor=Biblioteca Porrúa. Imprenta del Museo Nacional de Arqueología, Historia y Etnología|author=Cecilio Agustín Robelo|language=Spanish|year=1905|location=Mexico|page=72|isbn=978-9684327955}}</ref>, goddess of agriculture. |
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: [[Mictlantecuhtli]] (Lord of the Underworld) |
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: [[Chalchiuhtlicue]] (Jade her-Skirt) |
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: [[Tlazoteotl]] (Filth God) |
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: [[Tepeyollotl]] (Mountain heart) |
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: [[Tlaloc]] (Rain God) |
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Revision as of 17:18, 24 September 2012
In Mesoamerican mythology the Lords of the Night are a set of nine gods who each ruled over every ninth night forming a calendrical cycle. Each lord was associated with a particular fortune, bad or good, that was an omen for the night that they ruled over.[1]
The lords of the night are known in both the Aztec and Maya calendar, although the specific names of the Maya Night Lords are unknown.[2]
The glyphs corresponding to the night gods are known and mayanists identify them with labels G1 to G9, the G series. Generally, these glyphs are frequently used with a fixed glyph coined F. The only Mayan light lord that has been identified is the God G9,Pauahtun the Aged Quadripartite God.[3] [4]
The existence of a 9 nights cycle in Mesoamerican calendrics was first discovered in 1904 by Eduard Seler. The Aztec names of the Deities are known because their names are glossed in the Codex Telleriano-Remensis and Codex Tudela. Seler argued that the 9 lords each corresponded to one of the nine levels of the under world and ruled the corresponding hour of the night time, this argument has not generally been accepted, since the evidence suggests that the lord of a given night ruled over that entire night.[5] Zelia Nuttall argued that the Nine Lords of the Night represented the nine moons of the Lunar year. [6] The cycle of the Nine Lords of the Night held special relation to the Mesoamerican ritual calendar of of 260-days and nights or -night which includes exactly 29 groups of 9 nights each, and also, approximately, 9 vague lunations of 29 days each. The number of 260 days is also a close approximation of the duration of human gestation, which corresponds to 9 lunar cycles.
The Nine Lords of the Night in Aztec mythology are[5]:
- Xiuhtecuhtli (Turqoise/year lord)
- Itztli/Tecpatl (Obsidian/Flint)
- Piltzintecuhtli (Prince Lord)
- Centeotl (Maize God)
- Mictlantecuhtli (Lord of the Underworld)
- Chalchiuhtlicue (Jade her-Skirt)
- Tlazoteotl (Filth God)
- Tepeyollotl (Mountain heart)
- Tlaloc (Rain God)
Sources
- ^ Anthony F. Aveni. 2001. Skywatchers: A Revised and Updated Version of Skywatchers of Ancient Mexico. University of Texas Press. pp. 156-57
- ^ Gabrielle Vail, Christine L. Hernández. 2010. Astronomers, Scribes, and Priests: Intellectual Interchange Between the Northern Maya Lowlands and Highland Mexico in the Late Postclassic Period. Harvard University Press p. 291
- ^ Lynn V. Foster. 2005. Handbook to Life in the Ancient Maya World. Oxford University Press. p. 259
- ^ http://www.pauahtun.org/Calendar/gglyph.html Night Gods discussion in Pauahtun
- ^ a b Elizabeth Hill Boone. 2007. Cycles of Time and Meaning in the Mexican Books of Fate. University of Texas Press pp. 44-45
- ^ Zelia Nuttall. 1904. The Periodical Adjustments of the Ancient Mexican Calendar. American Anthropologist , New Series, Vol. 6, No. 4 pp. 486-500
