The cóyotl, or coyote (Canis latrans), is a small wild species that, to this day, continues to play a prominent role in the worldviews, mythologies, and ritual practices of Mesoamerican peoples. In pre-Hispanic times, this canid was regarded as an ambivalent figure: a symbol of cunning and transgression, as well as a god of the Hñahñus (Otomis), endowed with gifts such as song and music. These attributes make it one of the doubles of Tezcatlipoca.
In sixteenth-century sources, the coyote shares qualities with humans, for it is vengeful when deprived of its prey but shows gratitude toward those who assist it. The ancient Nahuas used parts of the animal as remedies; for example, the tail was rubbed against aching teeth, while an ointment made from ground brain and bile was prepared to alleviate the fatigue brought on by the work of governing. Likewise, its pelt and hair were paid as tribute for the manufacture of precious objects such as seats and garments. Its association with artisans may be related to the presence of coyote skeletons in various offerings connected with crafts and luxury manufactures, as well as with the god Coyotlináhual, deity of featherworkers.
In myths and iconography, the coyote appears associated with the god Huehuecóyotl, “Old Coyote,” an ancient deity of music and sexual drive, a generative excess that gives rise to maize and warfare, a relationship also evident in the regalia of warriors. The canid's connection with music has been documented among present-day Hñahñus (Otomis) through the ritual use of the huéhuetl, a vertical drum covered with coyote skin. Likewise, in pictorial sources, Huehuecóyotl bears solar insignia that associate him with the god of fire, both among the Mexica and the Otomí.
Historical and iconographic studies have noted that Huehuecóyotl and Tezcatlipoca often share the role of tricksters or deceivers who sow discord. This characteristic is reversed in contemporary Otomí myths, in which the coyote is deceived by the Virgin. Even so, its connection with fire remains, for he is the one who descends into the underworld to steal the fire and deliver it to the Hñahñu peoples.
The coyote-man likewise occupied a prominent place in the symbolic universe of the Purépecha. The ceremonial center of Ihuatzio (one of the three capitals of the Purépecha Empire) means “Place of Coyotes.”
Some specialists propose that the coyote may be associated with power, lineage, or a ruling dynasty.
Roberto Martínez observes:
At Ihuatzio, sculptural representations of coyotes with anthropomorphic torsos have been found (Pollard 1993, 159); considering that this canid appears in the name of the city, this would tend to identify it as its representative. In this case, it is noteworthy that its configuration is similar to the manner in which the god Coyotlináhual [whose name means “the coyote is his nahualli”] is represented in the Florentine Codex (1950–63, IX), with a human torso and a canid head. Today, it is said that in Ihuatzio the spirits of the priests of the Sun and the Moon (one pyramid was dedicated to Tatá Huriata and another to Naná Cutsi) still visit the site's yácatas with considerable frequency during the night, transformed into coyotes [...] “Here,” said my interlocutor, an elderly Purépecha man, “we say I-ya hiuatzmintzitani to indicate that coyotes are the messengers of the gods” (Hurtado Mendoza 1986, 206).
According to Villavicencio (2008, pers. comm.), the phrase I-ya hiuatzmintzitani could mean “the soul-heart of the coyote,” which would indicate a spiritual bond with the form assumed.