The Ahuizotl
The Aztecs feared a small, dog-like creature that lived in the lakes, with a hand at the end of its tail to pull people under.
What was reported
The ahuizotl is a creature of Aztec belief, described in the Florentine Codex, the great record of Aztec life compiled by the friar Bernardino de Sahagún in the 1500s. It was a little like a dog or an otter, slick and dark, with hands on its feet and another hand at the end of its tail.
It lived in the lakes of the Valley of Mexico, and was said to make a sound like a crying child to draw people to the water's edge, where it seized them with its tail and dragged them under. Those it drowned were believed to be taken by the rain gods.
Explanations offered
The creature may be based on a real animal, such as an otter, combined with the very real danger of drowning in the old lakes. An Aztec emperor, Ahuitzotl, took its name.
- When
- Recorded in the 1500s
- Where
- Texcoco, State of Mexico, Mexico
- Witnesses
- Aztec belief, as recorded by Spanish friars
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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