Ixtlilton

Ixtlilton (Yxtlilton) (the little black one) In Aztec mythology, god of medicine, fasting, and games, whose temple contained jars of water known as tlital (black water), used to heal the sick, particularly children. Fray Bernardino de Sahagún, in his Historia general de las cosas de Nueva España (1570–1582), writes that when a child was cured, the parents would take into their home a priest who impersonated the god. At the house a feast was held that “consisted of dances and songs.” When the priest impersonating the god later left the house, “they gave him rugs or shawls.”

SEE ALSO:

• Aztec Mythology
• Meso American Mythology

SOURCE:

Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend, Third Edition – Written by Anthony S. Mercatante & James R. Dow– Copyright © 2009 by Anthony S. Mercatante