underworld Mictlan

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Underworld Mictlan is the Aztec realm of the dead, a vast and often grim afterlife domain ruled by the god Mictlantecuhtli and his consort Mictecacihuatl.

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Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form Occurrences
Mictlan 1

Statements (39)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Aztec underworld
mythological realm
accessedAfter death
afterlifeRole destination of most ordinary dead
afterlifeType underworld
associatedDeity Mictecacihuatl NERFINISHED
Mictlantecuhtli NERFINISHED
associatedRulerTitle Lord of Mictlan NERFINISHED
associatedWithConcept fate of common people
inevitable death
associatedWithFestival Day of the Dead (via later syncretism) NERFINISHED
contrastedWith Ilhuicatl Tonatiuh NERFINISHED
Tlalocan NERFINISHED
cosmicPosition under the earth
cosmologicalCategory one of the Aztec worlds of the dead
culture Aztec NERFINISHED
describedAs grim
vast
etymology from Nahuatl "miqui" (to die) and "-tlan" (place of)
hasFeature dangers for souls
multiple levels
trials for the dead
hasGuardianAnimal dog
hasLevelCount nine levels (in many sources)
inhabitedBy souls of the dead
underworld deities
journeyDuration four years
languageName Nahuatl NERFINISHED
locatedIn Aztec cosmology
mentionedIn colonial-era codices
post-Conquest Nahua accounts
mythologicalFunction place where most souls reside after death
realmOf dead
religion Aztec religion NERFINISHED
religiousPractice funerary rites directed souls toward Mictlan
requiresAidFrom dog to cross a river
requiresJourneyOf soul
ruledBy Mictecacihuatl NERFINISHED
Mictlantecuhtli NERFINISHED

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Tlalocan contrastedWith underworld Mictlan
this entity surface form: Mictlan
Aztec mythology hasConcept underworld Mictlan