TYPE: Chthonic underworld god
ORIGIN: Aztec (Classical Mesoamerican) [Mexico]
INFORMATION: The creator of the underworld, Mictlan. Depicted with a skull-like appearance and protruding teeth. Also one of a pair of deities with Mictecacihuatl. In the primeval waters of the cosmos, they generated the monstrous goddess Cipactli, from whom the earth was formed. In alternative tradition he is the god of the sixth of the thirteen heavens, Ilhuicatl Mamalhuazocan (the heaven of the fire drill), or he is one of the gods who support the lowest heaven at the four cardinal points. Mictlantecuhtli is perceived to reside in the south (codices Borgia and Vaticanus B). He is also one of the four great temple deities (codices Borgia, Cospi and Fejevery-Mayer).