A lot of people have questions about the "great beyond" when they die and though everyone has their own belief about this, one of Mexico's oldest cultures, the Mexica, had legends about how dead people would reach their eternal rest.

Dog abusers won't have eternal rest

According to this culture, once a person dies, they travel to Mictlán where they have to travel through 9 levels before reaching their eternal rest. On the first level, called Ixcutlán, they are judged by xoloitzcuintles.

According to legends told about this level, souls must go through a river and on the other side they will find the xoloitzcuintle dogs, who are waiting for these souls to help them cross.

In the judgement done by these mythical dogs, they will decide if they help your soul or not. It all depends on how the person has treated animals in life. If they earned the love and trust of animals on Earth, then they are able to get on the xoloitzcuintle’s back and it will gladly help them cross through the streams of the Apanohuacalhuia River.

However, if this person has abused dogs or other animals during their time on Earth, they won't be helped and they would be condemned to wander on the edge of the river until they "die". If they dare to cross the river by themselves, they will be eaten by a xochitonal, a sea monster who lives in the depths of the black waters of this river.

Dogs wait for their owners

It should be noted that there are other versions of this legend where it is said that instead of it being xoloitzcuintles, it is the owner's dogs the ones that are waiting on the other side of the river. If they recognize their caretakers, they will move their tails and jump of joy, which means that they had been loved and respected in life.

According to this Mexica legend, those who crossed the river would spend time at the temple of the Lord of Twilight. He would judge the dignity of the person's soul when the xoloitzcuintle spoke of the person it had decided to help. If he thought he was good in life, they would be able to continue the journey with their dog, which would support him through the 8 levels until they reached their eternal rest.

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