Xipe Totec flayed himself to give food to humanity, symbolic of the maize seed losing the outer layer of the seed before germination. Without his skin, he was depicted as a golden god. Annually, slaves were selected as sacrifices to Xipe Totec. These slaves were carefully flayed to produce a nearly whole skin which was then worn by the priests during the fertility rituals that followed the sacrifice. Link…
A Xipe figure might be a representation of the god itself, a deity impersonator, an ’assistant-type’ impersonator (the xipeme), or the ruler wearing a Xipe battle costume–or, perhaps, any combination of the above. Link…
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