Dogs in Mesoamerican folklore and myth
Dogs have occupied a powerful place in Mesoamerican folklore and myth since at least the Classic Period right through to modern times.
[1] A common belief across the Mesoamerican region is that a dog carries the newly deceased across a body of water in the afterlife.
Archaeological evidence has been found in the tombs of the Colima, Mayan, Toltec, Zapotec, and Aztec people dating the breed to over 3500 years ago.
Long regarded as guardians and protectors, the indigenous peoples believed that the Xolo would safeguard the home from evil spirits as well as intruders.
In ancient times the Xolos were often sacrificed and then buried with their owners to act as guide to the soul on its journey to the underworld.
[8] For example, in the ruins of the Classic Maya city of Kaminaljuyu in Guatemala, a dog was found interred with a sitting skeleton, along with grave goods offered to the deceased.
[2] Another account in the Popol Vuh describes the Hero twins sacrificing a dog that belonged to the Lords of the Underworld, also known as Xibalba.
A man and a woman survived inside a log and were washed up upon a beach, where they promptly built a fire and roasted some fish.
[13] During the creation of the Fifth Sun, Xolotl was hunted by Death and escaped him by transforming himself first into a sprout of maize, then into maguey leaves and finally as a salamander in a pool of water.
The tenth day of the xiuhpohualli 20-day agricultural calendar, itzcuintli (dog), was governed by Mictlantecuhtli, the grim lord of the dead.
[19] A similar belief existed among the neighbouring Purépechas, their dog-god was called Uitzimengari and he saved the souls of drowned people by carrying them across to the Land of the Dead.
In the states of central Mexico (such as Oaxaca, Tlaxcala and Veracruz) such a sorcerer is known as a nahual, in the Yucatan Peninsula they go by the name of huay chivo.
They gave up the chase and headed for the nearest village, where the locals told them that the peasant had been a nahual who could transform into a dog to steal riches.
