Known as the lady of the dead, the lady of the umbilical cord cut or simply the lady of death; Mictecacihuatl is the goddess who rules the other world and to which some will be held accountable sooner or later.
Together with her husband, the lord of death Mictlantecuhtli, Mictecacihuatl receives in the Mictlán the souls that died naturallyto watch over his bones and watch over his sleep for all eternity.
In addition, his power extends throughout the land of the dead and even the world of the living; because he is capable of sending blessings, curses and messages from his dimension, in the afterlife. Of the 2 rulers of the underworld, Mictecacihuatl appears to be the more flexible of the two deities., because it is she who gives permission to the deceased to return from Mictlan; a gesture that does not go unnoticed on the earthly plane, since the celebration of the dead in pre-Hispanic cultures was an honor to this goddess.
Everything about the Day of the Dead and how it is celebrated in Mexico, here!
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The legend of Mictecacihuatl, the lady of the dead
Mictecacihuatl is the queen in Mictlán, like her husband Mictlantecuhtli is the maximum alderman. Both were born as creations of the gods Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipocaalthough some sources say they were the plumed serpent and Huitzilopochtli those responsible for creating the deities in charge of the world of the dead.
Mictecacihuatl died at birth, so its connection to death was immediate, right at the moment it began to exist. Despite having the same responsibilities as the god of death, Mictecacihuatl is a little more benevolent than Mictlantecuhtli and allows souls to return to the world of the living during the celebrations of Day of the Deadsince it is the main person responsible for watching over their rest and that nothing and nobody disturbs the bones of those who have reached eternal sleep.
What awaits us after death? Here the answer, according to the Mexican cosmogony.
The power of Mictecacihuatl, the goddess of death
As we already mentioned, Mictecacihuatl it is the one that allows the souls of the dead to return to visit their families on the earthly plane. In addition to being in charge of ensuring the eternal sleep of the deceased, once they arrive at Mictlan.
However, the goddess of the underworld remains attentive and expectant before the journey of each of the souls that travel along the path to Mictlán. Along with Mictlantecuhtli, Mictecacihuatl remains vigilant of the 9 levels of the underworldsending messages and blessings to the world of the living with the help of the hummingbirds that inhabit the Mictlan, and that are actually souls of those who already rest in peace and are now messengers of the gods.
In addition to Mictlán, the underworld that is reached when one dies of natural causes; there are other netherworlds that one can reach, depending on the manner in which they died. Regardless of the latter, it is to Mictecacihuatl to the deity that one could pray and ask for help, in case of being in a life or death situation.
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Mictecacihuatl and the catrina
It is believed that the picture of Mictecacihuatl may have inspired the Mexican catrinaas both are female representations of death and symbolize the end that we will all inevitably reach.
Also, the goddess Mictecacihuatl was the hostess of the celebration of the dead in pre-Hispanic Mexico and its image, mainly of a emaciated skull; It has always been the icon of everything that death means in Mexico, even before the conquest.
The catrín, faithful companion of the catrina in the party and in death
The Matlazihua, a version of Mictecacihuatl or the Xtabay?
another legend about the goddess of death, MictecacihuatlIts the the Matlazihua, a female entity of monstrous origin. It is about a specter that seduces men, urging them to sin and leading them to a horrible death.
The legend of the Matlazihua remembers the Xtabayan apparition originating in Yucatan that is believed to have been originally one of the Mayan goddesses ixchel, the supreme Mayan goddess or xtabhis sister and Mayan deity of suicide.
The story of the Xtabay is similar, since it is a woman who comes out of the Ceiba tree; (the sacred tree of the Mayans) in search of drunken and lustful men whom she can lead into sin and end their lives. The Matlazihua on the other hand, it leads them to a ravine; where only those who are worthy survive, without remembering anything that happened.
3 Mexican mythological creatures and their legends
The description of the Matlazihua It is very similar to that of the dark feminine specters in which the conquerors turned the deities of ancient Mexico, in an attempt to impose their religion on the beliefs of the pre-Hispanic world. She is a woman who hides her face with long hair, long white clothes, although sometimes she can appear half-naked. Her task is to lead sinful men to her lair, be it a ravine, a cave or a tree; once there, she kills them and it is believed that her souls will never be saved.
It is believed that the ancient prehispanic gods did not disappear. It is said that they are only asleep and that they can be awakened with faith and prayers. The legends of mexico They say that one day, the children of the corn woke up and along with them their ancient spiritual guides. All of this may sound like fantasy, however; are the celebrations like Day of the Deadthose that show us that there may be some truth in the amazing way of seeing life of our original peoples.