TYPE: Chthonic creator goddess
ORIGIN: Aztec (Classical Mesoamerican) [Mexico]
INFORMATION: In Aztec cosmogony, Tlaltecuhtli is a monstrous, toad-like figure whose body is cleaved in two by the gods Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl to fashion heaven and earth. The ruler of the second of the thirteen heavens known at the time of the Spanish conquest, Ilhuicatl Tlalocan Ipan Metztli (the heaven of paradise of the rain god over the moon), she is also one of the group classes as the Michtlatecuhtli complex. She is said to swallow the sun each evening and disgorge it in the dawn. She also devours the blood and hearts of sacrificial victims and the souls of the dead. See also Cipactli.