Tonalli

Overview

Tonalli is an abstract shamanic composition in three parts. The opening one, dealing with the preparation for a Flower war (Xochiyáoyotl), is followed by images of a ceremonial brazier (Tlecaxitl), where Xolotl, the god of heavenly fire and protector of the sun, emerges in his turbulent opacity. Finally, Tonalli itself opens up to the eye—a solar irradiation that manifests in the world as the flowing cosmic blood in which all beings are immersed. A Mesoamerican spell in action.