Aztec Calendar › What is it, Characteristics, Types, Months
Aztec calendar
What is the Aztec Calendar?
The Aztec calendar is a time measurement system created by the Aztecs, also called Mexica, a Mesoamerican population that lived between the 14th and 16th centuries.
There are two types of Aztec calendars to calculate days, months, years and centuries based on two cycles:
- The ritual calendar : 260 days, it had a divinatory character. A priest kept track of the days.
- The solar or civil calendar : 365 days, indicated the dates to honor the deities and pay tribute to the seasons or natural phenomena.
The origin of the Aztec calendar is unclear, but it has antecedents in other Mesoamerican cultures, such as the Mayans. They had a 365-day solar calendar with 20-day months called Haab , and a 260-day ritual calendar called Tzolkin .
Like the Mayans, the function of the Aztec calendar was linked to its social organization. It was the guide for agricultural activities, collective celebrations, dates of gathering or rituals.
For a long time it was assumed that the Stone of the Sun, a monolith found in Mexico City by the Spanish, was the calendar of the Aztecs. But this hypothesis has been rejected.
Solar or civil calendar ( Xiuhpōhualli )
It was a 365-day calendar divided into 18 months called cempohuallapohuallis , of 20 days each. At the end of each year five days called nemomtemi were added , considered "empty" days, so they were dedicated to fasting and rest.
The solar calendar served to guide the Aztec people in many questions of daily life. The calendar indicated the best time to cultivate or harvest, the appropriate date to make offerings or sacrifices to the gods, or the time of beginning and closing of cycles.
It was also used to define the date of certain social events, such as parties to celebrate a deity, to honor the dead, or to indicate the initiation of children in certain activities.
Ritual or sacred calendar ( Tonalpohualli )
It was a type of Aztec calendar dedicated to dates considered mystical and was organized based on a 260-day year, with 20 months of 13 days each.
This calendar functioned as a record of auspicious dates for relevant events, such as the best days to sow, harvest, or take expeditionary trips. It used to be written on deerskin or greaseproof paper.
In the Tonalpohualli , each of the 260 days of the year had a name created from a system that combined the names of the 20 days of the solar calendar with a numbering between 1 and 13. This system avoided the repetition of the Names.
In this way, the first week of the civil calendar began on 1 Cipactli (1-cayman) and ended on 13 Acatl (13-reed). The second week began in 1 Ocelotl (1- Jaguar) and the third in 1 Mázatl (1- deer).
Months of the Aztec calendar and their meaning
In the Aztec solar or civil calendar, each of the 18 months or cempohuallapohualli had a name associated with the deity to which tribute would be paid during the 20 days that the month lasted.
The images are details from the Codex Tovar , a 16th century manuscript by the Mexican Jesuit Juan de Tovar with more than 50 paintings on Aztec rites.
1. Cuahuitlehua: the waters stop or the trees rise
In this month, tribute was paid to Tlaloc , the god of rain, and to the deities associated with the tlatoques or mountains named after gods.
Associated rituals included water sacrifices, corn cake offerings, and the raising of stakes with colored paper.
2. Tlacaxipehualiztli: skinning of men
Month of the calendar dedicated to Xipe Tótec , god of life, death and resurrection. The rituals of the month were the sacrifice of prisoners of war and a procession to ask the god for the cure of any illness or disease.
3. Tozoztontli: little vigil
Month dedicated to Coatlicue , the goddess of life and death. The rituals consisted of a vigil in the cornfields from dusk to midnight to ask for a good harvest. Dances were also performed, flowers were offered to the earth and birds were sacrificed.
The third month was also the initiation of girls and boys into social life, for which they were given bracelets and necklaces made with thread and tasks were assigned to them according to their age.
4. Huey Tozoztli : great vigil
During the fourth month the bird sacrifices and the celebrations for the corn crops continued, but the rites were directed to the god of corn Cintéotl and his feminine duality Chicomecóatl .
The main rite consisted of going to the crops and taking a tender plant, to which various foods were offered. These plants were taken to the temple of Chicomecóatl together with a representation of Cintéotl that contained the seeds of the next sowing.
5. Toxcatl: dryness or drought
The fifth month was dedicated to Tezcatlipoca and Huitzilopochtli , another dual deity associated with the Sun. For the Mexica, Huitzilopochtli was the founder of México-Tenochtitlán, which is why he was considered one of their most important gods.
To celebrate the founding god, a large figure of the god was made with a mixture of amaranth and honey. The figure was carried in a procession and then distributed among the population to eat the mixture.
6. Etzalcualiztli: eztalli is eaten
It was a month to thank Tlaloc , the god of rain, for the abundance that the earth had generated. For this, eztalli was prepared , a stew made with beans and corn and carried in small pots that were taken with one hand, while in the other a cob was carried.
Another ritual was to thank the tlaloques , mountains named after gods, for the generosity with which they had filled the land, expressed in the food harvested. To do this, young people and men dressed up as tlaloques and requested food from door to door.
7. Tecuilhuitontli : little feast of the gentlemen
In this twenties Huixtocíhuatl , the goddess of salt, was worshiped . The rite consisted of the sacrifice of a woman from the families of the salineros, and who during that month would personify the goddess and receive offerings and dances in her name.
8. Huey Tecuilhuitl: great feast of the gentlemen
The eighth month was the continuation of the celebration of abundance of the previous twenty. In this case, those venerated were Xilonen , goddess of young corn, and Xochipilli , god of joy and of the nobles or "lords." The celebrations included a large distribution of food and the sacrifice of two slaves representing the aforementioned deities.
9. Tlaxochimaco : offering of flowers or small festival of the dead
The gods worshiped in the ninth twenty were the god of darkness, Tezcatlipoca, the god of the sun and war, Huitzilopochtli , and Mictlantecuhtli , the god of the dead. The celebrations included offering flowers to the gods and the dead, dancing, and the preparation of special foods such as corn cakes and axolotls.
In this month, a large log called xocotl was carried to the Templo Mayor, where it remained until the next twenty
10. Xocotlhuetzi : the fruit falls or great feast of the dead
Month consecrated to the gods of heat and fire ( Xiuhtecuhtli), of merchants ( Yacatecuhtl) and of the dead ( Mictlantecuhtli). In this month people fasted for three days in honor of the deceased and there was a kind of contest with the xocotl , the trunk that had been introduced into the Templo Mayor the previous month.
At the top of the trunk was placed a figure made of tzoalli, a mass made of amaranth. Young people competed to reach the figure, and whoever did so threw it into the crowd. Then the xocotl was shot down.
11. Ochpaniztli : sweeping
This score of twenty was devoted to renewal, so it has been suggested that perhaps for some time the solar calendar began in this month. The deities worshiped were Atlatonan , goddess of water, Chicomecóatl , goddess of corn and Toci "mother of the gods" or "our grandmother".
In his honor, a series of sacrifices were made that ended with the cleaning of statues, temples, buildings and houses to welcome a new cycle.
12. Teotleco : arrival of the gods
In this month, the arrival of the gods to Earth was expected and celebrated. For this reason, sacrifices of prisoners of war were carried out.
13. Tepeilhuitl : the festival of the mountains
The celebration of this twenty was focused on the tlatoques , the mountains and the mountains in general, since it was believed that within them was the water and therefore, from there life arose.
14. Quecholli: spear of war or precious plume
This twenty was dedicated to Mixcóatl, god of war. The rituals consisted of making spears during the first half of the twenties, which were later used to honor deceased warriors.
15. Panquetzaliztli: raising of flags
It is a month in which the main god of the Mexica, Huitzilopochtli , is honored . During the entire score, songs and dances were performed, while the masters of the slaves who would be sacrificed had to do a fast. In the last days of the twenty slaves and captives were offered to the god.
16. Atemoztli: the waters go down
It is a month to honor Tláloc , god of rain, since it was the time of year when the water level reached its lowest point. Representations of the mountains were made with a mixture of amaranth and honey and homage was paid to those who died in the water.
Those who had ailments related to water or humidity made images that represented them, and added a seed that made the heart.
Then a priest used a wooden knife to open the figure and "extract" the heart. The seeds were gathered and thrown into the whirlpool of Pantitlán, as an offering to the lords of the waters.
17. Title: wrinkled
Month to honor Ilamatecuhtli , the "old lady" and Mixcóatl , warrior god and patron of hunters. During that twenty or so sour bread called xocotamalli was made and a sour- flavored drink made with purple corn was drunk.
18. Izcalli : resurrection or renewal
Last twenty of the solar calendar. It was dedicated to Xiuhtecutli , god of fire, and the “death” of a cycle and the beginning of a new one were celebrated.
Nemontemi (5 fatal days)
They were days of recollection and reflection. Leaving the houses and doing important activities were avoided, as it was considered to bring bad luck.
Aztec calendar days and their meaning
The Aztec calendar had 20 days in total in each month. Each of those days corresponded to a different meaning associated with a deity:
- Cipactli (alligator)
- Ehecatl (wind)
- Calli (house)
- Cuetzpallin (lizard)
- Cóatl (snake)
- Miquiztli (death)
- Mazatl (deer)
- Tochtli (rabbit)
- Atl (water)
- Itzcuintli (dog)
- Ozomatli (monkey)
- Malinalli (grass)
- Ácatl (reed)
- Ocelotl (jaguar)
- Cuauhtli (eagle)
- Cozcaquauhtli (vulture)
- Ollín (movement)
- Tecpátl (obsidian)
- Quiahuitl (rain)
- Xochitl (flower)
Why is the Stone of the Sun not the Aztec calendar?
The Sun Stone, popularly called the Aztec calendar, was long believed to be a representation of the way the Mexica kept track of days.
The Stone of the Sun, a monolith made by the Mexica between the 13th and 15th centuries, contains in itself symbols that led us to suppose that it was used as a calendar. The 20 days of the solar calendar, for example, are represented in it.
However, the absence of other elements, such as the months of the solar calendar or the ritual cycle, confirm the idea that the Sun Stone was not used as a calendar.
The Stone of the Sun, in fact, represents the worldview of the Mexica people, that is, the conception they had of time, of their origin as a people and of their history on Earth.
Therefore, although in the Stone of the Sun there was a representation of the way in which the Aztecs understood time, nothing indicates that it was used as a calendar.
Update date: 08 February 2021.
Recommended content
- Science » What it is, Characteristics, Classification
- Sugars: properties, types, functions and
characteristics
- Sulfur - What is it, Characteristics, properties,
uses
- Sun stone (Piedra del Sol) › What is it,
Characteristics, Symbols
- The 4 forms of love according to the Greeks and their
meaning
- The Second World War: causes and consequences
- The nervous system: constitution and functioning
- Understand the concept of respect in 10 points
- Valentine's Day: best gifts and their meanings
- Verbal communication: What is it, Characteristics,Types