Ahuizotl (mythology)

Ahuízotl
An ahuizotl glyph, from Tepoztlan.
Similar entitiesNguruvilu, Kelpie, Underwater panther, Iemisch
FolkloreLegendary creature
Other name(s)Water Dog
CountryMexico
RegionLake Texcoco[1]

The ahuizotl (from the Classical Nahuatl: āhuitzotl for "spiny aquatic thing", a.k.a. "water dog") is a legendary creature in Aztec mythology.[2] It is said to lure people to their deaths.[3] The creature was taken as an emblem by the ruler of the same name, and was said to be a "friend of the rain gods".[4] The ahuizotl is most likely a water opossum, which possesses dexterous hands "like a raccoon's or a monkey's", as well as a prehensile tail (the hand most likely represents this prehensile nature), waterproof marbled black and grey fur, and small pointed ears.

The conquistador Hernán Cortés once reported to the King of Castile that one of his men had been killed by an ahuizotl.[1]

The name of the revolutionary anti-porfirist periodical El Hijo del Ahuizote (The Son of the Ahuizote) is in reference to the ahuízotl.

  1. ^ a b "La Leyenda del Ahuizótl; Era un ser terrible y mitológico de los aztecas". Metro Mty (in Spanish). Mexico. October 6, 2017. p. 44.
  2. ^ Bowles, David (2012). Mexican Bestiary. Donna, Texas: VAO Publishing. ISBN 978-0615571195.
  3. ^ "Taming Monsters: Ahuizotl". Field Museum of Natural History. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  4. ^ Nuttall, Zelia (1895). "A Note on Ancient Mexican Folk-Lore". The Journal of American Folklore. 8 (29): 117–29. doi:10.2307/533173. JSTOR 533173.