14 - Etzalcualiztli

Etzalcualiztli falls when the rains are at their peak, and is therefore sacred to Tlaloc and the Tlaloqueh, and to Chalchiuhtlicue, Our Lady Water. It is a time of abundance, for the gardens are lush and full, and the trees heavy with fruit. Therefore, it is a time of feasting. It is called Etalcualiztli because etzalli, a stew made of beans and corn, is eaten at this time. The combination of these two ingredients in the same dish symbolizes the abundance and fertility of the season.

Tlaloc is given offerings and ceremonies throughout the year, for without His precious rains we cannot live. We thank Him for the rains which fall daily during Etzalcualiztli and give life to the crops, and we beg him not to bring hail, or flood, or disastrous storm, or drought. 

During Etzalcualiztli we give thanks to the tools of our work, in the ceremony of Tequiloni Cehuiliztli, or “the Repose of the Tools.” Most things possess will, agency, and “soul.” Our tools aid us in our work, and guide our hands and our minds. They are made with wood, leather, metal, plastic (which once was oil and before that the body of a living being), or any of a thousand other things, which were taken from the body of Tlaltecuhtli, Our Mother the Earth, or which had once lived on Her surface. When our ancestors made their tools, they understood that they were conscious, and possessed will, and that a being had given up their life in order to produce them, whether that being was a tree that had been killed for their wood, an animal for its leather, or an ore which had been melted and transformed into metal. The process of making tools was a sacred and ceremonial act. Today our tools are made in factories, and Tlaltecuhtli or the other beings, such as trees, are not asked permission or given honor for the gifts of their lives. Many indigenous tribes in Mexico continue to think of tools as living beings, but do not regard factory made tools as such, especially when they were made with artificial materials like plastic or chemicals. These things were made by pillaging the oil and metals which live in the entrails of Tlaltecuhtli, and are considered too distant from Her to possess a soul, agency, and will. An object made of wood, like a paint brush, or of metal, like a machete or a knife, still contains the “soul” of the tree or the Earth of which they were made. But an object made of plastic, or the highly processed and refined materials of a computer, cannot. 

One day should be set aside, on which the things we use for our work are placed on an altar, and given offerings of incense, flowers, and food. If you are a painter, your paints and paint brushes, if a gardener, your hoe and your rake, if a scholar, your pencils and books. These tools are alive, and it is their day of rest. You might incense your computers, cell phones, or cars, for these things are also implements of work, and while we do not honor them, we honor the lives that were given up to make them, and Tlaltecuhtli who gave us the gifts of metal and oil. We contemplate the use of our tools, and ask ourselves if our work is honorable, and if it helps us to repay our debt. Living beings gave up their lives for the sake of the tools you honor during Tequiloni Cehuiliztli, and Tlaltecuhtli was raped for Her oils and metals. The work these tools create must be worthy of the great sacrifice by which they were made. We pray to the Teteo, and to the tools themselves, to guide us in this endeavor.

The Ceremonies of Etzalcualiztli 

The ceremonies should take place, where possible, on the fourth of Etzalcualiztli. On this day an altar is made for our tools, and another is made in honor of Tlaloc. The house and altar are adorned with pine boughs, and blue papers and adornments are used as decorations. A bed of pine needles is spread out before the altar of Tlaloc, and four balls of masa or corn dough are placed there. These symbolize Tlaloc’s gift of water for the life-giving corn, which flows to the four directions. Offerings in groups of four of tomatoes or green chiles are also made. 

This is a time of washing, as the rains wash the fields. Agricultural implements or other tools which it is practical to clean are taken from the altar and ceremonially washed, and those who can go to a spring, lake, or seashore, and bathe themselves there. 

Pots of etzalli, a recipe for which is included here, are made. In the past this was a communal celebration, similar to Halloween today. Every family made a pot, and the entire community would go from house to house, carrying their bowl with one hand and a staff in the other, and ask for a spoonful, and playfully threaten those who had not prepared any or who had run out. They dressed in costume, wearing Tlaloc’s goggles made of paper or woven grass, or costumes of aquatic creatures, like ducks, fish, and turtles, which are sacred to Tlaloc. They painted themselves blue, and all joined in feasting and merriment, and they danced holding a stock of the corn-plant in their hands.

Today, it is unlikely that one’s neighbors will also be celebrating etzalcauliztli, but, until such a time as the ceremonies and festivities of our ancestors shall again become widespread, invite your neighbors, friends, and family, and together partake of the meal of etzalli. Perhaps you can go in procession, dressed in costumes of aquatic creatures, and give little cups of etzalli to the strangers you pass, and give thanks with your loved ones to Tlaloc, for the abundance of which you partake, which is His gift to you.