Chīmalmā

Chimalman or Chīmalmā /t͡ʃiːmalmaː/ is a goddess in Aztec mythology, and was considered by the Aztecs to be the mother of the Toltec gods Quetzalcoatl and Xolotl. Her name means "shield-hand."

Chimalma
Goddess of fertility, patroness of life and death, guide of rebirth
Chimalma displayed in the Codex Laud
Other names	Chimalmatl, Chimalman
Gender	Female
Region	Mesoamerica
Ethnic group	Aztec, Toltec (Nahoa)
Genealogy
Parents	Tlaltecuhtli and Tlalcihuatl (Codex Zumarraga)[1]
Siblings	Coatlicue and Xochitlicue (Codex Ríos)[2]
Consort	Mixcoatl (Codex Chimalpopoca)[3]
Children	• With Mixcoatl: Quetzalcoatl and Xolotl (Codex Chimalpopoca)[3]

Chīmalmā, Códice Laud

Several oral traditions say that Chimalman is a spirit which accompanied the Azteca from the homeland of Aztlán. Huitzilopochtli and Quetzalcoatl were spiritual entities adopted from the Toltec legacy when the Azteca lived among the Chichimeca. As with many Aztec myths, there are multiple versions of the Chīmalmā story depending on which tribe and time period is examined.

Mother of Quetzalcoatl

Main article: Ce Acatl Topiltzin

According to the Manuscript of 1558, section 7, the begetting of Quetzalcoatl happened in this way:

"And then when Mixcoatl went to... Huitznahuac, the woman Chimalman came out to confront him... She stood naked, without skirt or shift." While she stood thus, Mixcoatl shot an arrow "between her legs"—on two occasions. "And when this had occurred, he took the woman of Huitznauac, the one who is Chimalman, and lay with her and so she became pregnant."^[4] Another version^[5] indicates that Mixcoatl saw Chimalman while hunting in the Morelos valley and fell in love with her. When his efforts to approach her failed, he became angry and shot five arrows at her, all of which she caught in her bare hand. She was given the name "shield-hand" and they were later married, but unable to conceive a child. After praying on the altar of Quetzalcoatl, the priest told Chimalman to swallow a small precious stone, after which she became pregnant. This angered Quetzalcoatl's brother, Tezcatlipoca, such that he persuaded others to kill Mixcoatl. Chimalman fled to her hometown of Tepoztlan and died giving birth to her son Topiltzin. Topiltzin would later discover his identity as Quetzalcoatl and that he was sent to help the Toltec civilization. This version is similar to the Codex Chimalpopoca, that indicated, "...Quetzalcoatl was placed in her belly when she swallowed a piece of jade."^[6]

References

1. Otilia Meza (1981). El Mundo Mágico de los Dioses del Anáhuac (in Spanish). Editorial Universo. ISBN 968-35-0093-5.
2. Susan D. Gillespie (1989). Los Reyes Aztecas: La Construcción del Gobierno en la Historia Mexica (in Spanish). Siglo XXI Editores. p. 192. ISBN 968-23-1874-2.
3. Cecilio A. Robelo (1905). Diccionario de Mitología Nahoa (in Spanish). Editorial Porrúa. pp. 345–436. ISBN 970-07-3149-9.
4. Miguel León-Portilla & Earl Shorris: In the Language of Kings. Norton & Co., NY, 2001. Page 62.
5. Koch, Peter O. (2005-11-18). The Aztecs, the Conquistadors, and the Making of Mexican Culture. McFarland. ISBN 9781476621067.
6. John Bierhorst: History and Mythology of the Aztecs; the Codex Chimalpopoca. University of Arizona Press, Arizona, 1992, p. 28.