The Lords of the Butterfly Bird God: a new group of the Teotihuacan elite

Los Señores del Dios Mariposa Pájaro: un nuevo grupo de la élite Teotihuacana

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56522/BMCHAP.0090010270002

ZOLTÁN PAULINYI

Resumen

This article first discusses who is mortal and who is immortal in Teotihuacan art, then identifies a type of high-ranking character whose iconography suggests they were part of a group that was under the protection of the Butterfly Bird God. These are called Lords of the Butterfly Bird God because that is how we see them in different contexts, in life bearing insignia of the elite, and in death in the form of mortuary bundles. These figures also appear with headdresses bearing images of the Butterfly Bird God’s temple. The text then evaluates whether an exceptional set of ceramic figurines from Tlajinga district, Teotihuacan, represents an elite group led by the Lords with Butterfly headdress.

Keywords: Teotihuacan iconography, myth of the Butterfly Bird God, mortuary bundle, figurines.

Referencias

Barbour, W. 1976. The Figurines and the Figurine Chronology of Teotihuacan, Ph. D. Dissertation. University of Rochester, University Microfilms.

Berlo, J. 1984. Teotihuacan art abroad: A Study of Metropolitan Style and Provincial Transformation in Incensario Workshops. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports, International Series 199.

Berrin, K. & E. Pasztory 1993 (Eds.) Teotihuacan: Art from the City of the Gods. San Francisco: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

Carballo, D. 2017. No. 132: Tripod Vessel, 400-500. In Teotihuacan: City of Water, City of Fire, M. H. Robb, ed., p. 342. San Francisco: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

Carballo, D. 2020. Power, politics, and governance at Teotihuacan. In Teotihuacan, the world beyond the city, K. Hirth, D. Carballo & B. Arroyo, eds., pp. 57-96. Washington d.c.: Dumbarton Oaks.

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Imágenes

Figure 1. Images of Teotihuacan: a) view from the Moon Pyramid (photograph by Zoltán Paulinyi); b) plan of the civic-ceremonial center of the city (Millon 1973: map 1, detail). Figura 1. Imágenes de Teotihuacan: a) vista desde la Pirámide de la Luna (fotografía de Zoltán Paulinyi); b) plano del centro cívico-ceremonial de la ciudad (Millon 1973: mapa 1, detalle).

Figure 3. Lord with Butterfly Headdress holding feathered bundle and shield. Teotihuacan vessel from Kaminaljuyu (Kidder et al. 1946: figs. 174 D and d´). Figura 3. Señor con Tocado de Mariposa sosteniendo un atado y un escudo emplumados. Vasija teotihuacana de Kaminaljuyu (Kidder et al. 1946: figs. 174 D y d´).

Figure 9. Three different groups of figurines from Tlajinga (a, b, c), Teotihuacan (Berrin & Pasztory 1993: fig. 61, detail). Figura 9. Tres grupos diferentes de figurillas de Tlajinga (a, b, c), Teotihuacan (Berrin & Pasztory 1993: fig. 61, detalle).

Figure 11. The temple of the Butterfly Bird God: a) character carrying elements of the iconography of the Butterfly Bird God, holding panels with representations of the temple, Teotihuacan figurine (Musée du quai Branly 2009: fig. 48); b) the Butterfly Bird God wearing images of the temple in his headdress, figurine from a Teotihuacan style “host figure” (after Taube 1992: fig. 23b, drawing by Tania Basterrica; c) figurine of lord with Butterfly Headdress wearing representations of the temple in his headdress (Winning 1947: fig. 8). Figura 11. El templo del Dios Mariposa Pájaro: a) personaje con elementos de la iconografía del Dios Mariposa Pájaro sostiene paneles con representaciones del templo, figurilla de Teotihuacan (Musée du quai Branly 2009: fig. 48); b) el Dios Mariposa Pájaro portando imágenes del tempo en su tocado, figurilla de un “host figure” de estilo teotihuacano (modificado de Taube 1992: fig. 23b, dibujo de Tania Basterrica); c) figurilla de un señor que usa un tocado de Mariposa Pájaro con representaciones del templo (Winning 1947: fig. 8).

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