The Tlalocan is the paradise where the souls of people who died drowned, struck down by lightning or diseases arrived. related to water. It is one of the most paradisiacal sites described by the Mexicas.
This place is ruled by Tlaloc, god of lightning, rain, earthquakes and agriculture.. This deity is one of the most important in the Aztec pantheon.
Its name Tlaloctli, means in Nahuatl “nectar of the Earth”, the wine that intoxicates it so that it produces exuberant vegetation.
In figures and codices, Tlaloc appears with his face covered by a mask composed of two serpents. Both form a twist like a nose with the bodies coiled around the eyes and their tails serving as whiskers. In addition, he is assigned the color blue, which is that of the waters.
What is the Tlalocan?
The Tlalocan is a pleasant enclave of Mexica mythology in which abundance becomes manifest. All kinds of fruit trees grow there, corn, squash, tomatoes, chiles, among other things. Due to these characteristics, described in the texts of Fray Bernardino de Sahagún, life in this place is completely happy.
Later, a mural was discovered in Teotihuacán in which there is a representation of what the indigenous people narrated to Fray Bernardino. This discovery allowed us to know graphically what the writings narrated.
In addition, it is a word from Nahuatl that means “the place of the nectar of the earth” or “the place of Tlaloc”, a deity who ruled the site together with Chalchiuhtlicue, his consort. It is important to point out that it is considered the first level of the Thirteen Heavens of the Aztecs.
Tlalocan was accessed by the souls of those people who died by drowning or due to other manifestations of water, struck by lightning, floods or diseases associated with water. It was even the place reserved for those who died physically deformed.