Macuilxochitl- Aztec GodDeity"Five Flower"

The God at the Board

Macuilxochitl, Five Flower, was the Aztec god of games, music, dance, and all the pleasures that made life worth living. He was depicted as a youthful man with a hand painted on his chin and quetzal feathers rising from his head. His name came from the day sign 5 Flower in the tonalpohualli, the 260-day sacred calendar, and he was the leader of the Ahuiateteo, the five gods of excess, each named for a day sign beginning with Five. Together they presided over pleasures that, taken too far, destroyed the people who enjoyed them.

His particular domain was patolli, the popular board game played on a cross-shaped mat with bean dice and colored pebble counters. The stakes ran high: players wagered blankets and precious stones, and in extreme cases bet their homes or their own freedom. A special space near the game track was reserved for offerings to Macuilxochitl, and each time a player's throw scored zero, a treasure had to be placed there as tribute. Crowds gathered around the players, drink flowed, and the god watched.

The Hand on the Chin

Macuilxochitl's generosity came with teeth. Those who violated sacred fasts by engaging in sexual activity received boils and venereal diseases from his hand. Those who abandoned responsibilities for gambling or drink found their luck turning, losses mounting, their standing in the community dissolving.