What is Chalchiutlicue?
Here in the Great Lakes region, the water flows around us, over us, under us and through us. For Danzantes (Aztec dancers) who host the annual Chalchiutlicue Summit and Ceremony, Chalchiutlicue is the scientific phenomena of water: snow on the mountains, water in the lagoons and lakes, internal water of the earth and springs where water flows out to the surface. Chalchiutlicue represents the duality of Tlaloc - the rain. (Special note: Tlaloc and Chalchiutlicue are not gods they are expressions of natural phenomena)
Water is forever flowing in its cycle from the surface of the earth to the vapor in the air and back to the surface again as rain, sleet or snow. This water composes 97% of our bodies, clears the path for new life to emerge, and is connected with all of the water on the earth and in the sky.
Our water is our life. We are formed in and surrounded by water for almost 10 months in the internal sea of water called our mother’s womb. Then we emerge through a river of water and enter into this world through a process called birth.
Outside our mother we live on a planet that has 70.8% of its surface as water. Only 2.5 percent if the total water is fresh water. Of the 2.5 percent of fresh water, 70% of that is frozen as ice on the poles and as snow on mountain tops. What this really means is that about 1 percent of the total water on earth is usable by humans and therefore is a growing scarce natural resource.
As we learn more about water we begin to identify that there is a global struggle to establish and maintain access to clean, healthy water as a crucial human right. We recognize the environment is connected to everything and everyone and therefore we encourage everyone to work together to achieve this human right throughout our planet today and for future generations to come.
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Illustration by DNR Minnaqua Program
