Petlacóatl. In Book XI of his Historia General de las Cosas de Nueva España, Frair Bernardino de Sahagún describes a monstrous, serpentine being, known as the petlacóatl. The text reads:
There is another serpent monster called petlacóatl; it is said that many snakes come together and interweave themselves like a petate (reed mat), moving from place to place because all their heads face outward. This mat is surrounded by the heads of snakes. Several superstitions are told about these serpents...
For the ancient Nahuas, encountering this mat-like assemblage of serpents was considered an omen of a person’s death, a warning of impending danger, or a sign that an individual would attain the rank of Tecuhtli, a high governmental office. The believer was required to sit on the petlacóatl until it disbanded. The monstruous nature of the petlacóatl derives from the manner in which snakes mate and become physically entwined.
Coatlicue, “She of the Serpent Skirt,” is one of the earth goddesses who embodies the complexity of the feminine as a source of both life and death. Her iconography reflects the significance of processes of regeneration and, among other attributes, her hybrid character, which unites human and serpentine elements, bringing us closer to the “sacred essence” of Mother Earth. a figure who encompasses diverse manifestations and numinous qualities, including human and vegetal fertility, life and death, and lunar associations. Other dimensions of Coatlicue’s symbolism relate to warfare and the legitimization of state power, as she was the mother of Huitzilopochtli, the solar patron god of the Mexica.
The celebrated sculpture of Coatlicue, now displayed at the Museo Nacional de Antropología, has been the subject of numerous descriptions reflecting both its artistic and cultural significance and the controversy surrounding its appearance and complex symbolism. Since its discovery on August 13, 1790, during roadworks in Mexico City, the 2.52-meter-tall andesite monolith, distinguished by its elaborate carving, was perceived by many inhabitants of colonial New Spain as representing the “dark” and negative side of Mexica society: a “monstrous, idolatrous and bloodthirsty” past. This perception contrasted sharply with the favorable reception of the Piedra del Sol (Sun Stone), which was associated with knowledge of time and space. As a result, the sculpture was reburied shortly after its discovery and placed on the southeastern side of what is now Mexico City’s Zócalo.
The goddess represented by the monolith belongs to the group of four tzitzimime ilhuicatzitzquique, celestial-supporting goddesses characterized by nocturnal, celestial and terrestrial attributes. This group also includes Yollotlicue, “She of the Heart Skirt,” another manifestation of Mother Earth as a complex ideological construct. To express their cosmic function, sculptures of these deities were positioned at the corners of the summit of the Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlán. Coatlicue bears a highly complex iconography associated with the earth and the forces of fertility. She wears a skirt composed of intertwined rattlesnakes, a symbol of terrestrial fertility and generative power. The garment is secured by a maquizcóatl, a two-headed serpent associated with death. Around her neck hangs a necklace composed of severed hands, hearts and a skull, symbolizing her connection to sacrifice and death as processes that ensure the continuity of the world.
The sculpture features a bicephalous head formed by two facing serpents emerging from her severed neck. These serpents create a diamond-shaped pattern the evokes the goddess’s nature as the living earth that both gives birth and devours life. Her body is marked by sagging breasts and an enlarged, flaccid abdomen, signs of her status as a primordial creator. Her limbs display animal characteristics, including eagle talons, claws, and serpent heads, all associated with the earth monster and the tzitzimime. On her back, the deity bears a citlalicue, an insignia of the tzitzimime, while the underside of the sculpture is carved with an image of Tlaltecuhtli in his male aspect, together with the date 1-Rabbit, reaffirming her association with the creation of the world.