Xilonen- Aztec GodDeity"Goddess of Young Corn"

The Young Maize Ear

Xilonen, "Young Maize Ear" or "Hairy One," named for the silk of unripe corn, was the Aztec goddess of tender, green maize: the sweet ears eaten during the brief season when the first new corn could be harvested. She stood at the beginning of a cycle that Chicomecoatl completed with the mature grain at harvest.

Before Xilonen's festival, eating the new corn was forbidden. The tender ears hung on the stalks, but the community could not touch them until the proper rites had been performed. When the ban lifted, the long months of eating stored, dried grain were over, and the taste of fresh maize marked the return of abundance.

The Huey Tecuilhuitl

Xilonen was celebrated during the Huey Tecuilhuitl, "Great Feast of the Lords," held in the eighth month of the Aztec calendar, roughly July, when the first young corn ripened in the fields. A young woman was chosen to embody the goddess, dressed in Xilonen's paper headdress and green ornaments. For days she danced through the ceremonial precinct, carrying the presence of the goddess among the people. At the festival's climax she was sacrificed.

With her death, the ban on eating new corn was lifted. The community feasted on the first fresh ears of the season.