xōlōchi

xōlōchi is a Nāwatl phrase meaning roughly, “xōlō dog,” — “xōlō” and “dog” are mostly interchangeable — “beloved xōlō,” “little xōlō,” or even “doggy.”

this phrase stems from my love of dogs, the patron of my birthday sign, ōlīn, being Xōlōtl, and the folk etymology for the word “chichimeca.”

my birthday in the mesoamerican calendar is 6 ōlīn, meaning my patrons are Miktlāntēkohtli and Xōlōtl. pracfically speaking, this is like knowing your zodiac sign; some people think it’s very important to know, some don’t care. i’m personally kind of attached to Xōlōtl, both because he’s a divine dog and because he’s an interesting character in mesoamerican myth. 

the word “chichimeca” is used to refer to many of the ancestral semi-nomadic people of the bajío and norte regions in mexico. this word is popularly interpreted to mean “dog people,” from “chichi” (dog) + “mekatl” (rope).

however, this word is actually formed from chīchī + mēkatl. unlike “chichi” with two short i’s, “chīchī” with two long ī’s means “to suckle.” -mēkatl is an ending connected to the ending -mān. chīchīman means something like “suckling place,” the ancient name for the chichimeca region. so a chīchīmēkatl is someone from chīchīman, sadly not a dog person.