Tlaloc

[ANTHONY APPLEYARD]

Karttunen's dictionary says that the etymology of the Aztec rain god name Tlaloc is unclear, and that the plural Tlaloqueh is an irregular formation. But another source said that Tlaloc is Tla_l - o_ - c = "that which lies down on the ground" (likely meaning first "standing water", and then the god who made the rain that made pools of standing water on the ground).

Could it be that the name Tlaloc had started as an epithet which gradually replaced a previous standard name? (Compare the frequent habit of saying "the Lord" for the Christian God.)

(Aside: In a long list of minor production assistants at the end of a film recently I came across the (real) man's name Tlaloc Alvarez. How often are Aztec or Maya gods' names used nowadays as humans' given names?)

Citlalyani.

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