In Mexica mythology, as in many other Mesoamerican traditions, animals hold a central place in the structuring of the world and the understanding of human and cosmic cycles. The dog has a singular symbolic relevance, shown notably in the Legend of the Suns and other stories. In the version in the Chimalpopoca Codex, humans are turned into different animals after every cataclysm. Throughout the passage of eras and cycles, dog’s symbolism becomes that of a mediator in the processes of death and regeneration.
The Legend of the Suns describes that, during the fourth sun, Nahui Atl or Sun of the Water:
Then they uncovered themselves and saw a fish; they made fire from the sticks (throwing away the smut) and grilled the fish for themselves. The gods Citlallinicue and Citlallatónac looked this way and exclaimed, “Gods! Who made the fire? Who made the sky smoky?” At this point, Titlacahuan came down, Tezcatlipoca scolded them and said: “What are you doing, Tata? What are you both doing?” Then he cut their necks and patched the heads onto the buttocks, and so they turned into dogs. Therefore, the sky was made smoky in the year 2 acatl (Leyenda de los Soles: 120).
The transgression of united the sky with the earth (smoky sky and eating the fish) caused the destruction of humanity and the transformation of Tata and Nene into dogs. In Mesoamerican cosmovision, animals represent the movement between polar opposites: life and death, day and night, water and earth. This transitional characteristic is embodied by deities like Xótotl, Quetzalcóatl’s twin god, associated with the cycles of nature and the underworld.