Household Deity

[Yex]

Hey, guys. I wanted to show off not my whole alter, but just the part of it that houses my household deity. This takes the form of a statue. It's pre-columbian in origin, probably from the Mexican region of Colima (though I'm still trying to verify that). Little is known of that culture, so the exact nature of this guy's original use can only be speculated upon. Such statues were once thought to be secular and decorative, but thinking is shifting to the idea that they served some religious function. Anyway, this one comes to me from my grandmother. In the early 70s, she and her family stayed in Mexico with some acquaintances who were members of the wealthy Mexican elite, and were gifted the statue as a piece of art. (As a piece of art it's completely worthless, in part because these were produced in the thousands, and in part because it has two breaks in it where it had to be glued back together: one at the neck that occurred before my time, and one at the leg that occurred when it was in my care).

When my grandmother passed away, I inherited the statue. At the time I was in high school. The statue always filled me with a sense of reverence, and I always knew that it housed an ancient spiritual force. In my teenage drug-fueled days, I used to use it as an incense holder and smudge it with cannabis smoke. Then, when I moved northwards, it got left behind, and I didn't see it for years. Only recently has it come back into my possession. A different person now than I was then, I strive to treat this statue and the spirit that inhabits it with the utmost respect, and acknowledge it as the sacred being that it is. I've adopted him as my household deity, and I leave offerings to him from time to time.

Here are some pictures of him, in which you can see some of the offerings I've left to him.

[Becks]

That is one truly funky statue, and it really is a great story to come with it. It's like it was made to make its way to you. It just had to put up with your youth first. It does seem to have quite the presence doesn't it?

[TashaTeaLeaf]

He really does have a presence.

Is that tea that you've left him? Or is it a dark liquor?

[Vesca]

Out of curiosity, you say that it's pre-Columbian in origin but have you any idea if it depicts a specific deity/spirit/creature? It can be difficult to root out what specific idols/statues/etc... may have actually been when you're going back that far into history, but I would be curious if you know any other details about it.

Thanks for sharing this piece of your home with us though, it's very neat.

[Yex]

Thanks all for your kind words.

Is that tea that you've left him? Or is it a dark liquor?

It's beer.

Out of curiosity, you say that it's pre-Columbian in origin but have you any idea if it depicts a specific deity/spirit/creature? It can be difficult to root out what specific idols/statues/etc... may have actually been when you're going back that far into history, but I would be curious if you know any other details about it.

Like I said, I'm in the middle of a long process of trying to identify the exact origins of the statue. From what I've gathered so far, though, the statue was likely crafted by the native peoples of the Colima region of Mexico. These people were on the very outskirts of mesoamerican culture, politically speaking, and had no writing system, and little is known about their culture. As I mentioned, these statues were in the past thought to be secular in nature, but now are thought to have served *some* religious function, although what that is is unknown. Their religion can be viewed in the context of this.

I will post on this thread if I learn any more about the statue.

[Vesca]

I look forward to any developments.