Give me blood: A look at Silent Hill’s Red Deity

In the last episode I gave a look at the birth of the God. In this episode I will bring to you theories about the Red God, Xuchilbara. As with everything I write all of this is strictly theory unless otherwise stated by the creators of the game.

Ever since players saw a certain painting in Silent Hill 3 there have been numerous debates and discussions about the identity of the red and yellow gods. Many of these discussions have caused world wars! All kidding aside, here are the two most prominent theories about the identity of the Red God, Xuchilbara/Xuchilpaba but first here are some interesting tidbits about the meaning behind the name, and the color.

The name Xuchilbara is derived from the Aztec words Xuchil and Bara. Xuchil means flower and bara means spear. Xuchilbara means flower spear; and at first glance this does sound rather fruity and absurd. Take a deeper look though and it isn’t. The flower has always been associated with immortality and rebirth. In fact the Xuchil flower was a flower used for the Day of the Dead ceremonies. The spear is a symbol of chivalry and devotion. In a way Xuchilbara’s name translates to something akin to “The Chivalric/Devoted God of Immortality” The term paba means servant or guard by means of the Aztec language (more on this later.)

Another possibility is that the name Xuchilbara is close to the Mayan word Xilpaba which means “place of fears”. The Mayans revered that word as the name of otherworld, and would perform blood sacrifices to gain access to this otherworld.

The color red is said to symbolize blood and fire. It is also said to symbolize the love of the divine principle. The color red is also given to blood, which is the life force of all living things and has soul in itself.

Now with that said, let us take a gander at who Xuchilbara is.

 

1. The Red Pyramid thing in SH2 is the red God.

When the games mentioned that there were two other main Gods besides the God, Lord of Serpent and Reeds many people deducted that because Pyramid Head not only wore a large metal red helmet, but also glowed red that this entity is Xuchilpaba/bara. While it has been theorized that Pyramid Head is a source of salvation for James Sunderland in Silent Hill 2 there is something else that Xuchilbara is responsible for that Pyramid Head does not do in SH2.

 

2. Valtiel is the Red God.

I’m not the first to believe the possibility of this theory and I will not be the last. Valtiel was first introduced in Silent Hill 3 as a humanoid creature that watched over Heather to ensure the birth of God. Whenever Heather might have gotten slapped around one too many times by a monster, Valtiel would be quick to drag Heather away to rebirth her. Silent Hill Chronicles calls Valtiel the governing angel of rebirth. In Silent Hill 2, Ernest Baldwin was obsessed with resurrecting his daughter Amy Baldwin. So much so that he started worshipping the red God, because he had heard that Xuchilpaba was the one who denies death.

The acts that Valtiel performs match what Xuchilpaba writes in the Crimson Ceremony.

Speak I am the Crimson One, the lies and the mist are not they but I

Xuchilpaba/bara is the Red God, and is called the spirit of the mist in the Born from a Wish scenario. This verse also describes Xuchilbara’s role as the one who shifts the worlds and makes the person perceive the area as something terribly wrong. In Silent Hill 3 Valtiel is the being that shifts the world from normal to nightmare, from misty to nightmare.

I shall bring down bitter vengeance and thou shall suffer my eternal wrath

This appears to indicate that Xuchilbara is a deity of judgment, and execution. In Silent Hill 3 he is seen “playing yo-yo” with a few of the nurses, no doubt as a form of punishment. Before Silent Hill 2, Walter Sullivan was arrested for the murder of the Locane children. Walter was reported saying “He’s trying to punish me, the Red Devil” and whenever a God turns out not so nice, we call it “devil”. Could it be that Valtiel was punishing Walter for something? Could be. Walter was arrested for the murders of Billy and Miriam Locane who were children, and it’s commonly accepted that children are without sin. Could it be that Valtiel punished Walter for killing two innocents?

Roles of Valtiel: His purpose in the sects.

Valtiel takes on three primary roles depending on the three primary sects.

 

Sect of the Holy Woman

The sect of the Holy Woman believed that the child of God would be born by a woman with hidden supernatural powers. In this sect Valtiel is needed to watch over the Holy One (the rank given to the Mother of God.) To ensure that nothing happens to her, like say being killed. It is also interesting that this devotion of watching over the mother and child is very typical of a father like figure.

There is also an article in the Silent Hill: Play Novel that gives us fans an insight as to how Alessa was impregnated. The memo states that by using a sacred crest, an altar, and holy fire to descend an evil entity to make contact with a saint, thus creating a new being. This seems to be confirmed in SH1, when we see a a figure dressed in the robes honoring Valtiel erected onto a makeshift altar which is in the center of a huge Seal of Metatron. Also a fire appears and starts to consume the figure.

Could it be possible that the entity responsible for impregnating Alessa is actually Xuchilpaba?

 

Sect of the Holy Mother

The sect of the Holy Mother believed that the Holy Mother (God, not the mother of God.) Would be descended by a conjurer. The conjurer was to perform the 21 Sacraments for the descent of the Holy Mother. That is to say that he/she is to kill 21 people including themselves. Of course any person can grab a knife kill 21 people, drink white oil from a black cup, but that won’t ensure the birth of a deity. This is where Valtiel comes in. Valtiel is worshiped as a holy and divine executioner. Valtiel is implanted into Walter (the Conjurer) so that Walter may more easily choose the sinners that must die. Valtiel is also needed to rebirth Walter after this man kills himself, but afterwards Valtiel becomes useless to the conjurer.

 

Sect of Valtiel

The sect of Valtiel led by Jimmy Stone worships Valtiel as a divine executioner close to the God. To show honor to Valtiel Jimmy Stone would don a red triangular hood and act as an executioner. He was given the nickname “Red Devil”.

Since Valtiel is the chosen deity of this sect it is believed that they wanted to descend him but only so they could worship him. It is interesting how they implant Valtiel into Walter as 1. A means to worship Valtiel in a more corporal form 2. To allow Valtiel to find the Holy One and 3. To help Walter with the executions. It seems that while this sect wanted to worship Valtiel alone, they were unselfish and let the other sects use him.

 

Xuchilbara’s link to the Father

In my last article I wrote that the man offered a serpent to the sun, which may symbolize that the father was offering his inner light to the sun, which in turn, the sun is to the man the physical embodiment of his own inner light. If Xuchilbara/paba is in charge of watching over the mother, but also responsible for impregnating her then it stands that Xuchilbara/paba the Red God could be the divine form of the original father.

 

The Bara and Paba continuum

In SH2 we are given a mention of a crimson one named Xuchilpaba. In SH3 we are witness to the mention of a red god named Xuchilbara. At first it would seem that these two names are an evolution of the etymology of a deity. This may not be the case however.

Xuchilbara means “Flower Spear” by the way of the Aztec language. Xuchilpaba on the other hand means “Flower Servant/Guard” a stark contrast to the latter. Perhaps if Valtiel is the Red God then he takes on different roles. The sect of Valtiel worships him as an executioner, so to them he would be Xuchilbara. The sect of the Holy Woman worships him as a guardian of the mother, thus believing him to be Xuchilpaba the servant/guard.

 

Xuchilbara’s divine purpose.

The Red God who seems to get the color red from blood, may in fact be the God of Salvation, the divine executioner and guardian, and the one that will cleanse the world by slaying the sinners and unbelievers.

There ends the article about the Red God. Stay tuned for the next theory about Lobsel Vith.

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