Chicomoztoc

The seven caves of Chicomoztoc, from Historia Tolteca-Chichimeca. The depiction of a 'curved mountain' at the top of this painting is meant as a referrent to Culhuacan.

Chicomoztoc is the name for the mythical origin place of the Aztec Mexicas, Tepanecs, Acolhuas, and other Nahuatl-speaking peoples (or Nahuas) of the central Mexico region of Mesoamerica, in the Postclassic period.

There is an association of Chicomoztoc with certain legendary traditions concerning Culhuacan (Colhuacan), an actual pre-Columbian settlement in the Valley of Mexico which was considered to have been one of the earliest and most pre-eminent settlements in the valley. Culhuacan ("place of those with ancestors" is its literal meaning in Classical Nahuatl) was viewed as a prestigious and revered place by the Aztec/Mexica (who also styled themselves 'Culhua-Mexica'). In Aztec codical writing, the symbol or glyph representing the toponym of Culhuacan took the form of a 'bent' or 'curved' hill (a play on the homonym col- in Nahuatl, meaning "bent, twisted", e.g. as if by old age).

Some researchers have attempted to identify Chicomoztoc with a specific geographic location, likely between 60 and 180 miles northeast of the Valley of Mexico including perhaps a height near the present-day town of San Isidro Culhuacan.

Chicomoztoc Scholarship Theses

In the Maw of the Earth Monster

Cerro Culiacán

In the State of Guanajuato the highest mountain is "El Cerro de Culiacán" and is surrounded by all the signs that correspond to the measure and chronicles of the legendary Chicomoztoc.

This volcano is located in the community of Jaral del Progreso, and is currently undergoing a cultural transformation with the mission of presenting itself to the world with this incomparable site which gave rise to Mesoamerica's greatest cultures.

There are events reclaiming the cultural past, Equinox event in 2009 will be open to the public.

See also

• Shamanism

References

• Townsend, Richard F. (2000) The Aztecs. revised ed. Thames and Hudson, New York.