Xochipilli Prince Of Flowers Analysis

Xochipilli: Prince of Flowers Many ancient Mesoamerican cultures attributed most of their beliefs and rituals with the practice of entheogenics. The anthropological evidence discovered in their art validates that the many ancient cultures used the psychoactive substance in several plants for spiritual, religious, and psychotherapeutic purposes. The Aztec in particular show evidence of priest, warriors, and anyone of great nobility to have consumed particular plants to achieve a worldly experience for ritual or religious purposes. The picture to the right is a statue discovered in the mid 1800’s on the side of Mt. Popocatépetl near Tlalmanalco, Mexico. The statue dates to around 1450AD and is said to have been worshipped by
Firstly the figure is seated with its legs crossed and arms settled atop his knees, in a later view it is noticed that the figure seems to have been carrying and object in its hands. The head is looking upward with an open mouth and completely open eyes. These features on the face suggest that it might be a mask and the posture of the figure depicts a position of chanting or in a state of trance. From the front view we are able to see that there is headdress and ear spools, both of which depict high social class. The figure is also wearing a pendant with teeth that covers the chest as well as teeth that cover the ankles. Several flowers are shown from the front view mainly located on the shins as well as the knees. The three classifications of flowers shown from the front view are as follows: knees-xochanacatl or "flower mushrooms," right shin-sinicuichi or “yellow flower,” and the left shin- Ololiúqui or “morning glory.” The morning glory in particular consisted of a vine with white bell shaped flowers and this particular flower can be seen on several other parts of the figure. All flowers contain psychoactive substances and each affects the mind