Tonantzin

Lore & Background

Tonantzin (Classical Nahuatl: Tonāntzin) is composed of to- 'our' + nān 'mother' + -tzin '(honorific suffix)'. When addressing Tonantzin directly, men use the suffixed vocative form Tonāntziné, and women use the unsuffixed vocative form Tonāntzín. Such goddesses as Mother Earth, Goddess of Sustenance, Honored Grandmother, Snake, Bringer of Maize, and Mother of Corn can all be called Tonantzin, as it is an honorific title comparable to 'Our Lady' or 'Our Great Mother.' Other indigenous (Nahuatl) names include Chicōmexōchitl (literally 'Seven Flower') and Chālchiuhcihuātl (literally 'Emerald/Jade Woman'). A Tonāntzin was honored during the movable feast of Xōchilhuitl.

Reader's Guide

Tonantzin's significance lies in its role as a bridge between pre-Columbian Nahua religion and colonial Catholicism. The 16th-century Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagún wrote in his Florentine Codex that Indians traveled to Tepeyac to worship Tonantzin. Some have claimed that upon the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe at Tepeyac, where Tonantzin's temple had been destroyed, the natives recognized Our Lady of Guadalupe as Tonantzin Coatlaxopeuh. However, scholar Rosemary Radford Ruether notes that Sahagún's protests have been understood to mean an Aztec goddess named Tonantzin had a temple there, but this has been questioned; Tonantzin was a title for the maternal aspect of any Aztec goddess, not a specific goddess's name. The name Guadalupe may derive from Coatlaxopeuh, meaning 'the one who crushes the serpent,' though the Spanish name actually came from the Virgin of Guadalupe in Extremadura, Spain. Gloria E. Anzaldúa suggests the name equates to 'the one who is at one with the beasts.' The Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City was built at the base of Tepeyac hill. Tonantzin is also used as a female given name, appears in Sandra Cisneros's short story 'Little Miracles, Kept Promises,' and is the name of a central character in the comic series Love and Rockets.

Did You Know?

• Tonantzin is a title, not a specific goddess's name, comparable to 'Our Lady' or 'Our Great Mother.'
• Men address Tonantzin directly using the vocative form Tonāntziné, while women use Tonāntzín.
• The movable feast of Xōchilhuitl honored a Tonāntzin.
• Gloria E. Anzaldúa suggests the name Coatlalopeuh means 'the one who is at one with the beasts.'