Tlaloc
Ringkasan
Tláloc adalah dewa hujan dalam agama Aztec, juga dewa kesuburan tanah dan air, yang dipuja sebagai pemberi kehidupan sekaligus ditakuti karena kuasanya atas hujan es, guntur, dan kilat.
Tláloc is the god of rain in Aztec religion, also a deity of earthly fertility and water, worshipped as a giver of life and feared for his power over hail, thunder and lightning.
Kisah dan tradisi
Tláloc adalah dewa hujan dalam agama Aztec dan juga dewa kesuburan tanah serta air. Ia dipuja sebagai pemberi kehidupan dan rezeki, dan banyak ritual serta korban dipersembahkan atas namanya. Ia ditakuti karena kuasanya atas hujan es, guntur, kilat, dan hujan, meskipun bukan sosok yang jahat. Sumber lain menggambarkannya sebagai dewa yang berwajah ganda: murah hati ketika memberi hujan, tetapi tak kenal ampun ketika mengirim badai dan kekeringan. Dalam gambaran tentang kendi air, ia menurunkan hujan dari kendi di timur, sedangkan dari kendi lain ia menurunkan kekeringan, penyakit, dan embun beku. Hujan juga dipercaya turun ketika para Tláloc memukul pecah kendi di dalam gunung, dan guntur dianggap bunyi pecahnya kendi itu. Tláloc dikaitkan dengan gua, mata air, dan gunung, terutama gunung suci tempat ia dipercaya bersemayam. Ia juga dianggap penguasa para Tlaloque dan surga Tlalocán, tempat korban banjir, badai, dan penyakit diterima setelah mati. Untuk menenangkannya dipersembahkan korban, termasuk anak-anak yang tangisnya dianggap pertanda baik. Di Tenochtitlán, ia memiliki kuil kembar di Templo Mayor yang kedudukannya setara dengan kuil Huitzilopochtli. Dalam seni, Tláloc lazim digambarkan bersama ular, dengan mata bulat besar dan taring besar; sumber lain menyebut taring dan mata bercincin sebagai penandanya. Penggambaran tertuanya berasal dari vas abad ke-1 SM, dan di beberapa budaya Mesoamerika ia muncul dengan nama lain seperti Cocijo bagi Zapotec.
Tláloc is the god of rain in Aztec religion and also a deity of earthly fertility and water. He was worshipped as a giver of life and sustenance, and many rituals and sacrifices were held in his name. He was feared for his power over hail, thunder, lightning and rain, although not as a malicious figure. Another source describes him as two-sided: benevolent when giving rain but unforgiving when sending storms and drought. In the imagery of the water jars, he gave out rain from the jar of the East and drought, disease and frost from the other jars. Rain was also thought to come when the Tlálocs smashed the jars inside mountains, and thunder was taken to be the noise of the jars breaking. Caves, springs and mountains are linked with Tláloc, above all the sacred mountain believed to be his home. He was also considered ruler of the Tlaloque and of the paradise of Tlalocán, the destination after death of those claimed by floods, storms and disease. To appease him, offerings were made, including child victims whose tears were read as a good sign. At Tenochtitlán he had a twin temple on the Templo Mayor, equal in status to that of Huitzilopochtli. In art, Tláloc is commonly depicted with snakes, goggled eyes and large fangs; another source names fangs and ringed eyes as his identifiers. His earliest depictions are on 1st-century BCE vases, and in several Mesoamerican cultures he appears under other names, such as Cocijo for the Zapotec.
Konteks budaya
Menurut salah satu sumber, Tlaloc penting bagi bangsa Aztec karena hujan yang dikuasainya sangat dibutuhkan untuk pertanian.
One source explains that Tlaloc mattered to the Aztecs because the rains he governed were vital for farming.
Fakta utama
- Budaya / Culture
- Tradisi Aztek (Mexica)
- Kawasan / Region
- Mesoamerika & Karibia
- Negara / Country
- Mexico
- Era
- Earliest representations in art date to the 1st century BCE
- Klasifikasi / Classification
- Deity
- Habitat
- Water
- Kemampuan / Abilities
- Kuasa atas hujan dan badai
Tahukah kamu? / Did you know?
Suara guntur dipercaya sebagai bunyi kendi-kendi air di dalam gunung yang dipecahkan para Tláloc dengan tongkat.
The sound of thunder was believed to be the noise of the water jars inside mountains being smashed by the Tlálocs with sticks.