Xipe Totec (also spelled Xipetotec) is the Aztec god of flaying. Flaying is a form of Aztec sacrifice in which the victim's skin is stripped off of their body. Often, a priest will physically get inside of the skin. This is why Xipe Totec is associated with young corn. It also loses its outside skin when it first starts growing.

Xipe Totec is also an example of the penitential torture and self-sacrifice of the Aztecs. In imitation of his self-torture, the Aztecs readily lacerated their own bodies with cactus thorns and the sharp edges of reeds.