Tlazoltéotl, known as the “goddess of trash (or dirt),” was associated with sexual practices and behaviors, as well as with carnal and passionate love.
Tlazoltéotl is believed to be of Huasteco origin. She was called Ixcuina by the Mexicas, a name that references the four sisters or goddesses of carnality: the first born, Tiacapan, followed by Teicu, Tlaco and the youngest, Xucotzin. Their names meant “all women fit for the carnal act” (Sahagún, 2006: 34) The group of four has been interpreted as the phases of the moon, therefore widening Tlazoltéotl’s symbolic field, associating her with fertility, seasonal cycles, human and vegetable cycles, as well as with childbirth. Her priests were responsible for naming newborn infants, and she was “worshipped by doctors, diviners and sorcerers.” Likewise, as patroness of medicine, she was venerated by Temazcatlteci devotees, the “grandmother of the temazcal [sweat lodges].”
While her link to licentiousness prevails, Tlazoltéotl was part of a system with other female deities, such as the Cihuateteo (women who died in childbirth), Xochiquétzal (goddess of fertility and beauty), Chalchiuhtlicue (goddess of water) and Chantico (goddess of the hearth), among others. Her lunar, maternal and therapeutic features mean she can also be associated with Toci “our grandmother,” deity of the earth. They both share attire and symbols related to sexuality and agriculture, brought out during the feast of Ochpaniztli, dedicated to harvests, the renewal of the earth and the birth of maize. Sweeping rituals were performed during these celebrations, symbolizing cleanliness and regeneration.
In the sources, Tlazoltéotl appears with distinctive features: spindles as a headdress, and cotton earflaps, which reaffirm her link to the feminine and to “spinning destiny”; a half-moon shaped nose ring, to symbolize the moon’s affect on fertility and water; her lips painted with resin, a sign of her purifying character as “the one who eats dirty things” – including carnal sins and illnesses --; and a broom used in cleaning rituals.