stone sculpture, Late Postclassic period
Tlaltecuhtli (“Earth Lord”) was a large earth monster in Aztec mythology described as female, who desires flesh and has mouths at her elbows, knees, and other joints.
According to the Histoyre du Mechique, Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl agree that they can’t continue with their re-creation of the world with her around, so they decide to destroy her. Transforming into two great serpents, one snake seizes her left hand and right foot while the other seizes her right hand and left foot. They then rip the monster apart – her upper body becoming the earth and her lower half is thrown into the sky to create the heavens.
This act of violence angers the other gods, and in order to console the earth, it is decided that all plants needed for human life will be created out of her body. The trees, flowers, & herbs come from her hair. The grasses and smaller flowers come form her skin. The mountain ridges and valleys are made from her nose. Her eyes become the source of wells, springs and small caves, while her mouth becomes the source for great rivers and caverns. It is said she still screams for blood during the night & can only be soothed with sacrificial flesh and blood.
Tezcatlipoca