Aztec Folklore: The Ahuizotl
Ahuizotl were said to live in deep bodies of waters, or caverns, in the region now known as Lake Texcoco. Their appearance in folk legends is fairly consistent, they are said to resemble dogs and on the tip of their tail is a fully functioning human like hand.
In most of the folk legends, they can be seen drowning fishermen and snatching unsuspecting people from the waters edge, submerging them beneath. Once it has accomplished this, the Ahuizotl would then feast on the eyes, teeth and nails of its prey.
In order to combat this creature, it became common practice for fishermen to offer a portion of their catch back to the Ahuizotl in exchange for their lives.
However.
If the Ahuizotl was unable to consume a victim for several months, it would resort to luring people to the edge of the water.
It would accomplish this by mimicking the cries of a human baby, playing on humans innate instinct to protect their young.
If this tactic failed the Ahuizotl would force the fish and frogs within the lake to rise to the surface, enticing fishermen with an easy catch in order to sink their boats and kill them underwater.
If a person was suspected to have been killed by the Ahuizotl, only the priests were allowed to touch them. If a normal person were to disturb the body it would mark them as the Ahuizotl’s next victim.
People killed by the Ahuizotl needed to be buried within a house surrounded by water in order for the spirit to be fully at rest.
While there are many stories where the Ahuizotl acts of its own volition. There are several versions of the legends which state, the gods of water Tlaloc and Chalchiuhtlicue, would send Ahuizotl to fetch humans they found interesting and wanted for themselves.
Bringing the poor person to their earthly demise, but ensuring the souls place in the afterlife of the god Tlaloc.
