Xipeme and Tototectin. The skirmishes of skin bearers in tlacaxipehualiztli
Among the Mexica of the Mesoamerican central highlands, various forms of violent confrontations took place where opposing groups faced each other with the purpose of injuring or capturing their adversaries. These practices, identified as “ritual battles or skirmishes,” were performed in at least eig...
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| Formato: | Artículo revista |
| Lenguaje: | Español |
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Sección Etnohistoria, Instituto de Ciencias Antropológicas. FFyL, UBA
2025
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| Acceso en línea: | https://revistascientificas.filo.uba.ar/index.php/MA/article/view/17425 |
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| Sumario: | Among the Mexica of the Mesoamerican central highlands, various forms of violent confrontations took place where opposing groups faced each other with the purpose of injuring or capturing their adversaries. These practices, identified as “ritual battles or skirmishes,” were performed in at least eight veintenas. One of the most significant occurred during tlacaxipehualiztli, a festivity dedicated to Xipe Totec, where flaying and the use of human skins constituted the central element. The participants, divided into xipeme (warriors) and tototectin (sick people who had made vows), wore the skins of sacrificed victims and engaged in a battle that transformed the city into a ceremonial field. The confrontation began at dawn, after the participants displayed themselves on zacate grass and chalk, symbolic elements that represented earth and sun respectively. The following twenty days included house visits to collect goods and sporadic confrontations between skin bearers, culminating with the ritual burial of the skins in the temple of Yopico. |
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