Aztec god of fire and creator of all life.
With Chantico, his feminine counterpart, he was believed to be a representation of Ometecuhtli . Xiuhtecuhtli's festivals coincided with the two extremes in the climatological cycle, the heat of August and the cold of January. He was also the centre of a ritual transfer of fire from temple to temple that occurred once every 52 years, at the end of the Aztec calendar cycle.