Curicaueri

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Curicaueri , also Curicaberis , Curicaveri , Curicaheri , was a sun deity , a fire and war god who was worshiped by the Purépecha . The Purépecha, also known as Tarasken , were native to the northwestern part of what is now the Mexican state of Michoacán .

The word has undergone dialect variations and blurring , the emphasis is on the penultimate syllable: Curicauéri . According to Cristina Monzón it consists of the noun ueri and the adjective curica, together it means something like "he is going to make a fire".

Knowledge of the sky god Curicaueri probably began with the Codex Relación de Michoacán from 1540. An early mention can also be found in Francisco Javier Alegre (1729–1788) in his Historia de la Compañía de Jesús en Nueva-España. Volume 1, pp. 91-92.

The American archaeologist and ethnologist Daniel Garrison Brinton describes him as the cultural hero of the Purépecha, who led the people out of barbarism, gave them laws and a calendar. Curicaberis lived in the town of "Cromuscuaro" ( watchtower or lookout point ) and always announced his advice at sunrise. In his honor the festival "Zitacuarentuaru" was celebrated, which Spanish missionaries are said to have translated as Resurrection of the Dead . He is said to have prophesied that he would return as soon as white people arrive in the country, which can also be found in the light and sun deities of other Mesoamerican cultures. The rulers of the Purépecha are said to have acted as governors until Curicaberis returns.

The female counterpart to Curicaberis was the earth goddess Cueravaperi , also Cuerahuáperi or Cuerauáperi , who was considered the goddess of water, rain, harvest and the mother of all gods working in the world.

literature

  • Curicaueri. In: Yolotl González Torres : Diccionario de mitología y religious de Mesoamérica. Larousse, México 1991, pp. 54–55, ISBN 970-607-802-9 with illustration (also available online)
  • Daniel G. Brinton : American Hero-Myths. A Study in the Native Religions of the Western Continent. Watts, Philadelphia PA 1882, pp. 208-209. ( Digitized version ).
  • José Corona Núñez : Mitología tarasca. 5th edition. Instituto Michoacano de Cultura, Morelia, Michoacán 1999, ISBN 970-9056-80-8 .
  • Eduard Seler : Collected treatises on old American linguistics and antiquity. Volume 3. Behrend, Berlin 1908. Various sites under Curicaveri ( digitized version ).
  • Cristina Monzón: Los principales dioses tarascos. Un ensayo de análisis etimológico en la cosmovisión tarasca. In: Relaciones. Estudio de Historia y Sociedad. Volume 26, No. 104, 2005, pp. 135-168, ISSN  0185-3929 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Eduardo Ruiz: Michoacán. Paisajes, tradiciones y leyendas. México 1891, p. 15 ( digitized version ).
  2. ↑ Cristina Monzón: Los principales dioses tarascos. Un ensayo de análisis etimológico en la cosmovisión tarasca. In: Relaciones. Estudio de Historia y Sociedad. Volume 26, No. 104, 2005, p. 143.
  3. ↑ Cuerauáperi. In: Yolotl González Torres : Diccionario de mitología y religious de Mesoamérica. Larousse, México 1991, p. 53.