Coyolxauhqui

She of the Bells

Coyolxauhqui ("She of the Bells on Her Cheeks") was the Aztec moon goddess and daughter of the earth mother Coatlicue. Her name comes from the golden bells (coyolli) she wore on her face. Her violent dismemberment by her brother Huitzilopochtli is one of the central myths of Aztec religion.

The Attack on Coatepec

When Coatlicue became miraculously pregnant with Huitzilopochtli, Coyolxauhqui rallied her 400 brothers (the Centzon Huitznahua, the stars of the southern sky) to murder their mother for this disgrace. She led the army up the sacred mountain Coatepec (Serpent Hill) to kill Coatlicue before she could give birth.

The Birth of Huitzilopochtli

At the moment the attackers reached the summit, Huitzilopochtli sprang fully formed and armed from his mother's womb. Wielding Xiuhcoatl, the fire serpent, he struck off Coyolxauhqui's head and hurled her body down the mountainside, where it shattered into pieces.

The Coyolxauhqui Stone

In 1978, workers discovered the massive Coyolxauhqui Stone at the base of the Templo Mayor in Mexico City. The circular stone shows her dismembered body with severed limbs, bells on her cheeks, and skull at her belt. It lay at the foot of the pyramid exactly as her body lay at the foot of Coatepec.

Cosmic Significance

Coyolxauhqui's defeat by Huitzilopochtli represents the daily victory of the sun over the moon and stars. Each sunrise reenacts the moment of her death. The Aztecs performed human sacrifices at the Templo Mayor and rolled the victims' bodies down the steps, ritually recreating Coyolxauhqui's fall.