Tlaloc

Family Tree

The Five Tlalocs

As with many Aztec gods, there are multiple Tlalocs. An Aztec story recounts how Tlaloc and his wife resided in a great house with a patio containing a series of pots. The other Tlalocs, or Tlaloques, stood in each corner of the patio and chose which pot to break. Each pot was filled with a different type of water which, when broken, would dictate the type of rain the crops would receive.

The Aztecs desired the “fine gentle rains for sprouting crops,” as each of the other types of rain could spell ruin for the harvest. Depending on the legend, these other types of rain would include:^[7]

• Blighted rain, which would bring fungus and rot

• Frost rain

• Fire rain or drought

• Wind rain

Tlalocan: A Heavenly Paradise

The Aztecs believed that heaven was divided into thirteen levels, with a deity or group of deities associated with each. Tlaloc ruled over the first level, called Tlalocan.

In general, the various levels of heaven were reserved for those who died violent deaths; Tlalocan was no exception. Those who experienced a water-related death such as drowning, getting struck by lightning, or succumbing to a water-related disease would end up in Tlalocan. Those who died due to physical deformities associated with Tlaloc would also find themselves in his realm. Tlalocan itself was depicted as a verdant landscape replete with edible plants; the realm existed in perpetual springtime.^[8]

The Temple atop Mount Tlaloc

In order to secure the rain their crops needed, the Aztecs offered annual sacrifices at a temple atop Mount Tlaloc. Notably, the sacrifice victims for these ceremonies were children. In most cases these children were richly adorned, and “their tears were viewed as positive signs of imminent and abundant rain.”^[9]

The mountaintop temple, which was also likely used for astrometric and meteorological observations, was torn down after the Spanish conquest. In addition to a key temple location, the mountain offered the Aztec panoramic views of the east, allowing them to note changing weather patterns and forecast the rains their freshly-planted crops would require.

Piedra de los Tecomates

In the town of San Miguel Coatlinchan (sometimes just called Coatlinchan) a massive statute of Tlaloc was discovered in the late 1880s. The monolith was identified as Tlaloc in 1903, and locals soon began venerating it as a symbol of the deity. The locals referred to this monolith as Piedra de los Tecomates, named after its gourd-like crevices. The statue was regarded as having prophetic powers: water accumulating in the tecomates indicated forthcoming rain. Additionally, the accumulated water itself was regarded as having curative powers.^[12]

In 1963, the 168-ton statue was relocated to Mexico City during the dry season. Allegedly, on the day the statue arrived in Mexico City, “the heaviest thunderstorm ever recorded during this time of year swept over the valley. Incessant rain poured from the sky for days in what some claimed could only be a supernatural event.”^[13]

The statue can still be visited in Chapultepec Park, Mexico City.

Tlalocan: A Temple Rebuilt

The temple atop Tlalocan was destroyed, likely by the Spanish Inquisition or their supporters, during the early 1500s. The archaeological record shows that, following the temple’s destruction, the mountaintop went seemingly unused for centuries. That changed in the 20th century, however, when a research group discovered that a small temple had been rebuilt sometime between 1957 and 1982.