Tlaltecuhtli

Tlaltecuhtli (Classical Nahuatl Tlāltēuctli, Nahuatl pronunciation: [t͡ɬaːl.teːkʷ.t͡ɬi]) is a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican deity worshipped primarily by the Mexica (Aztec) people. Sometimes referred to as the "earth monster," Tlaltecuhtli's dismembered body was the basis for the world in the Aztec creation story of the fifth and final cosmos. In carvings, Tlaltecuhtli is often depicted as an anthropomorphic being with splayed arms and legs. Considered the source of all living things, she had to be kept sated by human sacrifices which would ensure the continued order of the world. In the creation of the Earth, the gods did not tire of admiring the cosmic ocean, no oscillations, no movements, but Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl realized creation needed dry land that could be inhabited. And for this, they defeated Cipactli, making her into the world. That primordial leviathan became known, over time, as Tlaltecuhtli, 'ruler of the earth' according to several post-conquest manuscripts that survey Mexica mythology and belief systems, such as the Histoyre du méchique, Florentine Codex, and Codex Bodley, both compiled in the sixteenth century.