The Aztec Twin Gods of Flowers and Prostitutes (16th C AD)
According to the ancient Aztecs, things like beauty, love, dance, and flowers were not necessarily associated with femininity, as they are in modern times. Instead, the Aztecs had their own male god to represent these things for them: Xochipilli was the god of games, maize, dance, love, beauty and flowers, and was also sometimes referred to as “Macuilxochitl”, which actually means ‘five flowers’.
Xochipilli’s name was formed out of two words from the Nahuatl language: xochitl, which means ‘flower’, and pilli, which means ‘child’ or ‘prince’. So, the god was quite literally a “flower child” (or “flower prince”, which is somewhat less demeaning to the modern ear)! In addition, the god was married to a goddess named Mayahuel, who was responsible for looking after maguey plants and fertility – literally a ‘womb protector’.
However, Xochipilli was not solely responsible for all the flowers and dancing, instead he shared this responsibility with his twin sister, the goddess Xochiquetzal (meaning “flower feather”), who looked after fertility, games, dancing, craftsmen, flowers… and also prostitutes and pregnant women (apparently the two went hand-in-hand to the ancient Aztec mind…).
It was in the mid-1800s when a statue of Xochipilli was discovered that dated to the 16th century, and it showed a single figure sitting on a base that looked somewhat like a temple. The interesting thing is that the carvings on the side of the base, as well as on the figure itself, are not only flowers – which is, of course, appropriate for this god – but are actually psychoactive flowers and plants associated with hallucinogenic effects.
These plants include mushrooms, tobacco, sinicuichi, and several other flowers – which may explain why the figure is depicted with his head tilted upward, his mouth half open and jaw tensed, and his arms raised skyward: the statue probably depicts the god while he’s high. The expression of the body, in combination with these plants that are known to have been used by the Aztecs in sacred rituals, almost certainly support this interpretation.
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