Stone owl
Mexica*, AD 1325-1521
From Mexico
Birds are rarely represented in Mexica stone sculpture.
This rare sculpture of an owl has a shallow receptacle on its back,
which indicates that it may have been used as a
cuauhxicalli, a vessel for sacrificial offerings. Other
animals with symbolic meaning for the Mexica, such as dogs, jaguars
and serpents, are more frequently depicted in stone.
The main sources of information on Mexica ideas about birds
and other animals are archaeological finds and colonial documents
of the sixteenth century. The Florentine Codex, in particular,
gives us detailed information passed on by native informants to his
author, Fray Bernardino de Sahagún, a Spanish priest.
Owls were associated with shamans, who transformed themselves
into animals, and with the powers of darkness. They were considered
to be a bad omen: their presence and nocturnal calls were believed
to announce death or misfortune. Owls served as a messenger for
Mictlantecuhtli, the Lord of the Underworld.
Aztecs had a strong belief in fate; the day in which a person
was born had a particular significance. People born on 1 Rain,
whether noble or commoner, man or woman, had a tendency to become a
tlacatecolotl (human owl). These creatures could cause
sickness and even kill people.
*The people and culture we know as 'Aztec' referred to
themselves as the Mexica (pronounced Me-shee-ka).
F.F. Berdan, The Aztecs of Central Mexico:, Case Studies in Cultural Anthropology (New York, London, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1982)
F.F. Berdan, 'Birds and beasts in Nahua thought' in Chipping away on earth: studie (Lancaster, CA, Labyrinthos, 1994)
H.B. Nicholson and E. Quiñones Keber, Art of Aztec Mexico, treasures (National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1983)
E. Pasztory, Aztec art (New York, Abrams, 1983)