This peculiar sculptural work, of uncertain attribution and temporality, is of diminutive format and depicts a human with pathological and fantastic features. The volume is based on a rectangular prism of whitish stone, mottled in gray, ochre, and red, with missing fragments—apex of the head and lower left section of the back. It is a naked man, seated with his knees raised, contracting his limbs over his torso, as well as his genitals subtly highlighted in relief, with the phallus upwards. With no anatomical attachment, some parts of the skeleton are accentuated by means of incised lines: straight lines for the spine and wavy lines for the shoulder blades and the rib cage. However, its robustness and large head, without a neck, keeps it from a wiry or semi-fleshless appearance. The reduced length of the legs, compared to that of the torso, is typical of an individual with dwarfism.
It is adorned with double-banded bracelets and cuffs and rounded earrings. One of the most striking elements of the image is the large and prominent mouth, with a thick upper lip and curved downward and upward corners, and a row of huge rectangular teeth underneath a narrow jaw. This fantastic feature recalls the jaws of the water god called Tlaloc; although lacking other attributes such as vessels and circular eyes, it is difficult to interpret it fully as a "tlaloque" or helper of the water god in the Mexica pantheon. In a brief article, Manuel A. Hermann Lejarazu addresses something along these lines. Based on early colonial sources and Pre-Hispanic codices, he mentions the association of hunchbacks and dwarves with hills—water-containing areas in the Mesoamerican worldview—and their function as rainmakers when located at thresholds, such as caves and springs.
In Alfredo López Austin's treatise on the human body and Mesoamerican ideology and his analysis of the "tonalli", the soul entity that linked the individual with external supernatural forces, he states that a 16th century author, Hernando Ruiz de Alarcón, calls "ohuican chaneque," (owners of the dangerous places), the beings governed by deities of the earth, rain, or animals, who would also be desirous of the strength of the tonalli. Among several denominations of different indigenous groups; they are also known as "dwarfs of the rain." Another mention of these appears when explaining the origin of diseases from the binary constitution of the cosmos. The author points out that the evils of a cold nature belong to the world of water, "among which are the guardians of the springs and the dwarfs of the rain."
Following this order of ideas, our grotesque masculine image, with the appearance of a sick man, a mouth similar to the physiognomy of Tlaloc and the representation of the genitals, connotes aspects of the feminine and unworldly half of the cosmos.
In more general , the sacred value conferred by Mesoamerican societies to beings with congenital deformities is recognized. They were thought to possess supernatural qualities and powers. In particular, they were depicted as of the royal courts in Mayan art. Among the authors engaged in the subject, Christian Pager detects that dwarves and hunchbacks fulfilled diverse functions. They entertained the reigning family, served, checked the quality of the delicacies, guarded codices, received gifts and tributes from guests, carried objects of royal paraphernalia, and carried out istrative activities. Their elegant headdresses and clothing evidenced their high social status. They stand out above all in the magnificent scenes painted on ceramic vessels and sculptures of the island of Jaina. The latter, due to their funerary character, testify to their religious function in the underground place of the dead.
This peculiar sculptural work, of uncertain attribution and temporality, is of diminutive format and depicts a human with pathological and fantastic features. The volume is based on a rectangular prism of whitish stone, mottled in gray, ochre, and red, with missing fragments—apex of the head and lower left section of the back. It is a naked man, seated with his knees raised, contracting his limbs over his torso, as well as his genitals subtly highlighted in relief, with the phallus upwards. With no anatomical attachment, some parts of the skeleton are accentuated by means of incised lines: straight lines for the spine and wavy lines for the shoulder blades and the rib cage. However, its robustness and large head, without a neck, keeps it from a wiry or semi-fleshless appearance. The reduced length of the legs, compared to that of the torso, is typical of an individual with dwarfism.
It is adorned with double-banded bracelets and cuffs and rounded earrings. One of the most striking elements of the image is the large and prominent mouth, with a thick upper lip and curved downward and upward corners, and a row of huge rectangular teeth underneath a narrow jaw. This fantastic feature recalls the jaws of the water god called Tlaloc; although lacking other attributes such as vessels and circular eyes, it is difficult to interpret it fully as a "tlaloque" or helper of the water god in the Mexica pantheon. In a brief article, Manuel A. Hermann Lejarazu addresses something along these lines. Based on early colonial sources and Pre-Hispanic codices, he mentions the association of hunchbacks and dwarves with hills—water-containing areas in the Mesoamerican worldview—and their function as rainmakers when located at thresholds, such as caves and springs.
In Alfredo López Austin's treatise on the human body and Mesoamerican ideology and his analysis of the "tonalli", the soul entity that linked the individual with external supernatural forces, he states that a 16th century author, Hernando Ruiz de Alarcón, calls "ohuican chaneque," (owners of the dangerous places), the beings governed by deities of the earth, rain, or animals, who would also be desirous of the strength of the tonalli. Among several denominations of different indigenous groups; they are also known as "dwarfs of the rain." Another mention of these appears when explaining the origin of diseases from the binary constitution of the cosmos. The author points out that the evils of a cold nature belong to the world of water, "among which are the guardians of the springs and the dwarfs of the rain."
Following this order of ideas, our grotesque masculine image, with the appearance of a sick man, a mouth similar to the physiognomy of Tlaloc and the representation of the genitals, connotes aspects of the feminine and unworldly half of the cosmos.
In more general , the sacred value conferred by Mesoamerican societies to beings with congenital deformities is recognized. They were thought to possess supernatural qualities and powers. In particular, they were depicted as of the royal courts in Mayan art. Among the authors engaged in the subject, Christian Pager detects that dwarves and hunchbacks fulfilled diverse functions. They entertained the reigning family, served, checked the quality of the delicacies, guarded codices, received gifts and tributes from guests, carried objects of royal paraphernalia, and carried out istrative activities. Their elegant headdresses and clothing evidenced their high social status. They stand out above all in the magnificent scenes painted on ceramic vessels and sculptures of the island of Jaina. The latter, due to their funerary character, testify to their religious function in the underground place of the dead.
