Associate history professor Megan McDonie describes the artifacts of Tlaloc and other deities that were found throughout Mesoamerica during the Jan. 5 talk titled “Tlaloc: From the Aztec empire to Spanish colonialism,” at the Brownsville Museum of Fine Art. Aura Velasquez/THE RIDER
There are many facts to be uncovered about the world of Tlaloc by scholars and archeologists and a UTRGV faculty member shed light on what is known during a Jan. 5 talk hosted by the Brownsville Museum of Fine Art.
Megan McDonie, a UTRGV assistant professor for the department of history presented the talk titled “Tlaloc: From the Aztec empire to Spanish colonialism,” which was a continuation of the “Zapotec Legacy: Three Generations of Alebrijes Artistry” exhibit held in November 2023.
As one of the most prominent forces that was worshiped during the beginning of the Spanish colonization in Mexico in the early 1500s, Tlaloc is recognized by many names such as the Nectar of the Land, He Who Makes Things Sprout and Aztec Rain god.
McDonie said that because Tlaloc was responsible for the circulation of water and food sources, the deity was responsible for the well being of the Aztec civilization and the people were at their mercy.
“Their ability to control and interact with their natural world depended on this very intimate and complex, reciprocal relationship with Tlaloc, which they maintained both through their ceremonial center in the middle of Tenochtitlan,” McDonie said.
However, in order to maintain the reciprocal relationship, the Aztecs had to continue providing ritual ceremonies and offerings, which they would perform most often at the height of a drought season.
After the Spanish arrived at Tenochtitlan with attempts of indoctrinating Catholicism onto the Aztecs, there was an increase of droughts, which undermined their efforts.
The Spanish colonization banned and confiscated any effigies or ritual objects linked to the rain god, while also placing religious crosses throughout the mountainous range where the Aztecs performed their rituals and placed altars.
“And their goal with this was an attempt to try and limit what they saw as demonic forces or dark forces circulating through the landscape,” said McDonie.
It is debated whether Tlaloc is considered to be a deity, god or manifestation depending on the geographical location where the discussion is held.
Jose Luis Garcia III, a anthropologist and clinical psychology doctorate student at UTRGV, said some people regard the Mexica as nomadic, shaman people who believed their manifestations were gods in their eyes.
Scholars in Mexico are adamant in regarding the Aztec rain god as a manifestation.
“That’s what I get told when I am in Mexico,” Garcia said. “… They’ll look at you, and you say [god] enough times and then somebody will finally [correct you], ‘No es dios, es manifestación. Son diferentes.’”
UTRGV history associate professor David Fisher, who attended the talk, said that from a world history perspective it is interesting to look at other culture’s deities, such as the Inca, Mesopotamians, Egyptians and Chinese.
“Take Tlaloc and look at other water deities from other cultures, and see what’s similar and different,” Fisher said. “One of things it would show you is how similar humans are all around the world.”
Even though the talk was set in a scholar forum, Fisher said the audience was able to hear something they could relate to in their own experiences and have a discussion with not only McDonie but also each other.
“I think that’s one of the most important things that happens, is people get to talk about their own experiences and connect them with others,” he said.
