Natsi'itni
Natsi'itni, glossed in the ethnographic literature as the 'Madresitas' or Little Mothers, is the great mother goddess of the Sierra Totonac. Alain Ichon, who documented Totonac religion in the Sierra de Puebla in the 1960s, places her among the great gods and records the belief that the Sun himself is the son of the Virgin-Mother Natsi'itni; mother goddesses hold a central place in Totonac religion because each person's soul is created by them. The name also designates a healing and reconciliation ritual, studied by David Pérez González, performed for ailing infants: beyond curing the child, the Natsi'itni ceremony seeks to reconcile the family and restore its equilibrium under the patronage of the divine mothers, showing the goddess's continuing role in Totonac ritual life.
Children
Domains
- birth and motherhood
Powers
- to fashion the souls of newborn children and watch over their early lives
- to restore health and harmony to children and their families through the ritual that bears her name
Relations
- mother of: ChichiníIn Sierra Totonac belief the Sun is the son of the Virgin-Mother Natsi'itni, who together with the divine Fathers forms the circle of the great gods.Ichon, Alain. La religión de los totonacas de la sierra. México: Instituto Nacional Indigenista / Secretaría de Educación Pública, 1973. (secondary)
Sources
- Natsi'itni, the 'Madresitas', is the Sierra Totonac mother goddess (conceived both as one Virgin-Mother and as a plurality of little mothers) who creates the souls of children and is the mother of the Sun.: Ichon, Alain. La religión de los totonacas de la sierra. México: Instituto Nacional Indigenista / Secretaría de Educación Pública, 1973. (secondary); Pérez González, David. 'La reconciliación como motivo en el Natsi'itni o Madresitas.' Dimensión Antropológica 53 (2011): 139-160. (secondary)