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Rebecca Maisto
Nov 1, 2015
RELS 6101
Engagement 2
Sigmund Freuds Oedipus Complex:
A Question of Gender In the Myth of Coyolxauhqui
As the Templo Mayor was slowly unearthed in the twentieth century astonishing
finds began to reach the surface of what is now modern day Mexico City. One of the
most monumental discoveries is the Coyolxauhqui Stone (Figure 1). Discovered at the
base of the Huitzilopochtli temple staircase of the Templo Mayor, the basalt disk
measures 3.25 meters across and has been used by art historians and anthropologists
to interpret gender in Aztec society. Sigmund Freuds Oedipus Complex from his text
Totem and Taboo will be utilized in this study to rethink the meaning of the
Coyolxauhqui Stone and provide an alternative view of the great Aztec moon deity,
Coyolxauhqui, that was slaughtered by the Aztec war deity, Huitzilopochtli.
For the Aztecs, Tenochtitlan was the unquestionable center of the world. The
myth of Coyolxauhqui, or what some refer to as the birth of Huitzilopochtli (Carrasco
94), tells the story of how this warfare-dominated center of the world came to be. The
Codex Mendoza, created by native artists shortly after the Spanish conquest, provides a
detailed account of this brutal foundation myth. The first scene in the codex shows an
eagle perched on a cactus (Figure 2). The eagle represents the war deity
Huitzilopochtli showing the Aztec people where to build their main temple, Templo
Mayor, around which the city of Tenochtitlan would also be created. The image of a
shield with seven eagle-down feathers and seven arrows affixed to it symbolizes place

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of authority (Carrasco 95). This image of authority by Huitzilopochtli is understood as
occurring after the death of Coyolxauhqui.
Huitzilopochtli can be metaphorically seen as the father of the Aztec society.
After all, he motivated the Aztecs to uproot their original home of Atzlan in order to make
the hazardous journey to their permanent home of Tenochtitlan (Carrasco 95). The
story of Huitzilopochtlis birth is essential to understanding the warfare-minded society
of Tenochtitlan. In Aztec mythology the birth of Huitzilopochtli occurred shortly before
he led his people to Tenochtitlan. In order to avoid confusion a peculiarity that arose at
the beginning of this study must be explained. Many, specifically modern Chicana
feminists, refer to the birth of Huitzilopochtli as the myth of Coyolxauhqui- as a result
these titles are interchangeable. As one will come to find, this myth has many ways of
being interpreted which has led to dissimilar titles depending on the stance each
interpretation takes. This peculiarity in itself signifies the confusion surrounding gender
in Aztec society and culture. For purposes of simplicity this legend will be referred to as
the myth of Coyolxauhqui.
The myth continues, stating that a ball of feathers on Coatepec Mountain
miraculously impregnated Coyolxauhquis mother, Coatlicue. Coyolxauhqui felt
dishonored by the mother, and led her four hundred brothers against her. In order to
protect Coatlicue, the war god Huitzilopochtli sprang from Coatlicues womb dressed in
warrior attire and beheaded his elder sister along with four hundred male siblings. The
legend is commemorated by the Coyolxauhqui Stone, which shows the dismembered
deity beheaded and laying in pieces at the bottom of Coatepec Mountain, later
symbolized by Templo Mayor (Palka). Coyolxauhqui is depicted dressed in a male

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loincloth, with puffs of down throughout her hair, and her iconographic signifier of bells
on her cheeks (Kay Almere Read).
The male loincloth worn by Coyolxauhqui has led scholars to numerous
conclusions. The warrior-like actions Coyolxauhqui performed in the legend are also
seen as specifically male actions in Aztec culture, leading some scholars to consider
Coyolxauhqui was actually male, yet transformed into a female through defeat by
Huitzilopochtli. Emily Umberger has proposed that the belt of serpents tied to
Coyolxauhqui in the style of a loincloth, the nudity, and the serpent belts tied around her
limbs signify the degradation of a male warrior hostage ordained for sacrifice (Bassett).
In simple terms, she believes the loincloth alludes to the original male gender of
Coyolxauhqui, who was consequentially transformed into a woman by defeat.
In relation to Freuds Totem and Taboo, the Myth of Coyolxauhqui can be
analyzed from a psychological standpoint and reinterpreted. In Totem and Taboo
Freuds Oedipus Complex describes the emotions that live in the unconscious of
children. These feelings express a childs unknown longing to acquire their mothers
sexually and eradicate their fathers through death. Freud supposes that the Oedipus
Complex appears in male and female adolescents, with both sexes yearning to have
their mothers sexually and abolish the intimidation of their fathers who they contend with
for the mothers devotion (Freud 132).
A multiplicity of conceptions can be made when this myth is reframed and
analyzed using the Oedipus Complex. As stated earlier Huitzilopochtli can be read
metaphorically as the mythic father of Aztec civilization. In this alternative interpretation,
Coyolxauhqui desired to murder the father of Aztec society, technically her own brother,

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in order to keep her mother Coatlicue to herself. As the myth states, Huitzilopochtli
slaughtered Coyolxauhqui. Is it possible the explicit vulva and breasts on the
Coyolxauhqui Stone indicate an unambiguous elimination of Coyolxauhquis intellect- or
if we take the stance of Umbergers theory of Coyolxauhqui originally being of the male
sex- the breasts and vulva can be an outright elimination of Coyolxauhquis male sex
identifiers- leading us to reference Freuds Castration Complex.
Let us agree with Umberger and say that Coyolxauhqui was originally of the male
sex and was transformed into a female through the slaughtering by Huitzilopochtli.
Freuds Castration Complex describes an unconscious apprehension that a male childs
physically powerful father will seize their male characteristics (genitals) in order to
remove the risk they cause in the competition for their mothers (Freud 153). If
Umbergers inference is correct then the male Coyolxauhqui attempted to murder his
genetic brother/metaphorical father, Huitzilopochtli, to gain possession of his mother.
Coyolxauhquis epic failure resulted in the removal of his genitals, therefore creating the
female imagery seen on the Coyolxauhqui Stone.
The Myth of Coyolxauhqui has been read in numerous ways, but for the most
part the studies are based off of the few textual or pictorial accounts as seen in the
Codex Mendoza or symbolized on the Coyolxauhqui Stone. By applying Freuds
Oedipus Complex to Emily Umbergers theory of male to female transformation many
questions have been raised, and limits have been created. Sadly there is no known
affirmative source that states exactly what happened in the myth. All known
interpretations and recordings of the myth are based on Spanish accounts that are more

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than often inaccurate. This creates unfortunate limits when studying gender in Aztec
society, in this case the Myth of Coyolxauhqui.
What can be presumed from applying the Oedipus Complex to the myth is that
there is always more at play psychologically than meets the physical eye. Cultural
history is not a linear occurrence- there are layers and steps back, and by inferring that
Aztec culture was misogynistic from the Coyolxauhqui Stone as many have leads to a
dead end. We must view history as a web that does anything but move linearly, keeping
in mind that imagery such as Coyolxauhquis candid nudity means more than an
indicator of female sex and a misogynistic. There is more to defining a cultures gender
roles than turning to its monumental artwork. By using Freuds concept of the Oedipus
Complex to reframe Emily Umbergers male to female transformation of Coyolxauhqui
questions of intent are raised. Was Coyolxauhqui protecting her mother from letting war
enter the world? Was the deity protecting the Aztec people from war, being
Huitzilopochtli, from entering their physical realm? Is this myth about Huitzilopochtlis
bravery or Coyolxauhquis sacrifice in order to attempt preventing war? By applying
Freuds ideas to Aztec myth one can begin to ask why their religion took the form of
human sacrifice, and whether the vulnerability and defeat of Coyolxauhqui fueled a
violent natural order.

Figures

Figure 1: Coyolxauhqui Stone, circa 15th ce.

Figure 2: first page from the Codex Mendoza, 16th ce.

Bibliography
Carrasco, David. Religions of Mesoamerica: Cosmovision and Ceremonial
Centers. 2nd ed. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1990. Print.
Freud, Sigmund. Totem and Taboo; Some Points of Agreement between the
Mental Lives of Savages and Neurotics. New York: Norton, 1952. Print.
Kay Almere Read, Jason J. Gonzalez. Mesoamerican Mythology. Oxford
University Press, 2002. Print.
Palka, Joel W. Historical Dictionary of Ancient Mesoamerica. Scarecrow Press,
2000.
Bassett, Molly H. The Fate of Earthly Things: Aztec Gods and God-bodies.
University of Texas
Press, 2015. Print.