XIPE TOTEC

(Nahuatl: Our Lord the Flayed One), pre-Columbian Mexican god of spring (the beginning of the rainy season) and of new vegetation; he was also the patron of goldsmiths. As a symbol of the new vegetation, Xipe Totec wore the skin of a human victimthe new skin that covered the Earth in the spring. His statues and stone masks always show him wearing a freshly flayed skin. Described as anauatl iteouh (god of the coast), Xipe Totec was originally a deity of the Zapotec and Yopi Indians in the present states of Oaxaca and Guerrero, an area believed to be particularly rich in gold. Among the Zapotecs he was considered a vegetation god and was associated with the Feathered Serpent (Quetzalcatl). Xipe Totec was considered a foreign god, and his temple bore the name Yopico, or the Yopi Place. Representations of Xipe Totec first appeared at Xolalpan, near Teotihuacn, and at Texcoco, in connection with the Mazapan culturethat is, during the post-Classic Toltec phase (9th12th century AD). The Aztecs later adopted his cult under the reign of Axayacatl (146981). During the second ritual month of the Aztec year, Tlacaxipehualiztli (Flaying of Men), the priests killed human victims by removing their hearts. They flayed the bodies and put on the skins, which were dyed yellow and called teocuitlaquemitl (golden clothes). Other victims were fastened to a frame and put to death with arrows; their blood dripping down was believed to symbolize the fertile spring rains. A hymn sung in honour of Xipe Totec called him Yoalli Tlauana (Night Drinker) because beneficent rains fell during the night; it thanked him for bringing the Feathered Serpent, symbol of plenty, and for averting drought.