Aztec mythology
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Aztec Mythology
In the mid-thirteenth century a wandering Nahuatl-speaking group known as the Mexica came into the Valley of Mexico and in 1325 founded the city of Tenochtitlan on two islands of Lake Texoco. By 1428, in alliance with the city states of Texoco and Tlacopan, the Mexica defeated the Tepaneca and—under Itzcoatl, Montezuma I, and Netzahualcoyotl—founded and expanded the last of the great pre-Columbian Mesoamerican empires, that of the Aztecs. When the Spanish arrived in the sixteenth century, the Venice-like capital city, Tenochtitlan, was one of the great cities of the world, probably exceeding the major European capitals in size, appointments, and beauty. In 1521 the conquering Spanish filled in the canals with the rubble left by their siege of ninety-one days. The main square of present-day Mexico City lies over the center of what was once the Aztec capital.
Aztec religion, filtered down from the Olmecs, Teotihuacan, Monte Alban, Mayan, and especially the fellow Nahuatl-speaking Toltec peoples, was typically Mesoamerican in terms of cosmology, the emphasis on the sun, and even particular deities. It was, however, in something of a state of flux and development when the Spanish put an end to the empire and imposed Christianity. On one hand there were the deities of an old fertility- and earth-based religion, perhaps brought from the north by the original Mexica migrants. Tlaloc, the rain and moisture god, and various other gods and goddesses who personified aspects of plant growth and fertility were part of an important cult. Among these fertility deities were Xilonen, a maize goddess; Xochipilli and Xochiquetzal, male and female deities representing flower growth; and the Centzon Totochtin (“the 400 Rabbits”). A Tlaloc shrine stood at the top of the great pyramid-temple of Tenochtitlan.
Human sacrifice, representing death and rebirth and the “feeding” of the earth and the sun, represented by the warrior god Tonatiuh, also apparently had ancient roots. Sacrifice was justified on the basis of the concept of the process by which various worlds or “suns” die and are resurrected as new suns. Suns were fed blood to keep them alive. One of the ancient pre-Aztec gods of fecundity was Xipe Totec, during whose festivals the skins of sacrificed victims were worn by the god's followers. Xipe Totec was associated with Tezacatlipoca, the lord of the first of the five “suns,” or world eras. Unlike the Mayans, the Aztecs believed their “sun,” the fifth, was the last and that eventually eternal chaos would envelop it. That chaos had to be delayed by the blood feeding of the present sun.
Several creation stories exist in Aztec mythology, some coming from the early Mexica, some from other Mesoamericans. According to some, a primal goddess, Omeciuatl, gave birth to a sacrificial knife, which fell to earth on the land of the Mexica and itself produced people and gods. Another myth says that originally there was a dual-gendered deity, Ometeotl (the male Ometecuhtli and the female Omechuatl, also known as Tonacatecuhtli and Tonacacihuatl). The male and female aspects of this self-created deity coupled to produce the most important and familiar Mesoamerican solar deities, blue Huitzilopochtli, white Quetzalcoatl, black Tezcatlipoca, and red Xipe-Totec. In one sense these four are really aspects of one, Tezcatlipoca; they are sometimes called the “Four Tezcatlipocas. Thus, for example, Huitzilpochtli is also the “Blue Tezcatlipoca, and Quetzalcoatl is the “White Tezcatlipoca.” Some have seen this concept as a movement toward a kind of philosophical monotheism or monism.
The creation myth of the “Five Suns” has echoes in the emergence myths of the Native North American pueblos, where world history is divided into various states of emergence from the earth. The Aztecs believed that the first “sun” was ruled by Tezcatlipoca, god of the north and darkness. This sun was devoured by tigers. The second sun was that of Quetzalcoatl, god of the west and magic. Winds destroyed that world, and human survivors became monkeys. The third sun, that of Tlaloc, here the god of fire as well as rain, was destroyed by a rain of fire, and humans became birds. The fourth sun belonged to the goddess of the east and water, Chalchihuitlicue, Tlaloc's consort. It was destroyed by a flood survived by one man and one woman. The present sun, the fifth, is that of the fire god Xiuhtecuhtli. It will end in earthquakes. It was believed in some quarters that Quetzalcoatl (“Feathered Serpent”) and his opposite, Tezcatlipoca (“Smoking Mirror”), created this world, which was ruled by Huitzilopochtli. The beginnings and ends of the various sun-worlds are specifically noted and based on a complex numerological system and “Divine Calendar” (tonalamatl).
The image that gives life to this complex sense of creation is the struggle of the sun itself against the forces of darkness. The early sun god Tonatiuh typically sticks his tongue out, waiting for blood. The sun is threatened by its negative force, the dark Tezcatlipoca. The setting sun is Quetzalcoatl, an old man heading back to the west. The bright sun is the head of the Aztec pantheon, Huitzilopochtli (“Hummingbird of the South”), depicted as the victorious, bright young warrior. Huitzilopochtli in some ways was a cognate of Tonatiuh.
Huitzilopochtli, like Quetzalcoatl, may once have been a hero rather than a god. He displays many characteristics of the heroic monomyth, including a miraculous conception and a quest for new land. Huitzilopochtli's mother was Coatlicue (“Serpent-Petticoated”). It was Huitzilopochtli who was said to have led his people to Lake Texoco. His shrine was at the very top of the great temple of Tenochtitlan; it was here that human sacrifices to the sun took place.
The most popular of the Aztec gods, who came directly from the Toltecs, was Quetzalcoatl, the “Feathered-Serpent” or “Precious Twin.” For many Mesoamericans, the serpent was a central and positive figure; it comes from the depths of earth, it supports the world on its back, it is the sea surrounding the world, it is lightning, it is the rivers that fertilize. Like Huitzilopochtli, Quetzalcoatl may have had heroic rather than divine roots. For the Toltecs he was the morning and evening star. He was said to have disapproved of human sacrifice. He descended to the underworld to steal the bones with which to make humans. A Toltec-Aztec story says that he was defeated in a ritual ball game by his enemy Tezcatlipoca, who became a jaguar and chased him out of Tollan. Perhaps Quetzalcoatl, in effect the culture hero of the Toltec and Aztecs, died, but it was believed he would return one day, like the rising sun.
The Aztec calendar said that Quetzalcoatl would return during the year whose sign was “One Reed” (Ce Acatl), a sign associated with the hero-god. The Spaniard Cortes arrived during the year Ce Acatl, and it is said that the Aztecs unfortunately thought he was Quetzalcoatl. 0195156692.aztec-mythology.1.tifQuetzalcoatl, the god of life and death, frequently took the form of a feathered serpent in Aztec, Toltec, and Maya art.
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Aztec mythology
The Aztec civilization recognized a polytheistic mythology, which contained the many deities (over 100) and supernatural creatures from their religious beliefs.
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History
Aztec culture is generally grouped with the cultural complex known as the Nahuatl because of the common language they shared. According to legend, the various groups who were to become the Aztecs arrived from the north into the Anahuac valley around Lake Texcoco. The location of this valley and lake of destination is clear – it is the heart of modern Mexico City – but little can be known with certainty about the origin of the Aztec.
There are different accounts of their origin. In the myth the ancestors of the Mexica/Aztec came from a place in the north called Aztlan, the last of seven nahuatlacas (Nahuatl-speaking tribes, from tlaca, "man") to make the journey southward, hence their name "Azteca." Other accounts cite their origin in Chicomostoc, "the place of the seven caves," or at Tamoanchan (the legendary origin of all civilizations).
The Mexica/Aztec were said to be guided by their god Huitzilopochtli, meaning "Left-handed Hummingbird" or "Hummingbird from the South." When they arrived at an island in the lake, they saw an eagle which was perched on a nopal cactus full of its fruits (nochtli). (Due to a mistranslation of an account by Tesozomoc, it became popular to say the eagle was devouring a snake, but in the original Aztec accounts, the snake is not mentioned. One states that it was eating a bird, another indicates that it was only perched in the cactus, and a third just says it was eating something.) This vision fulfilled a prophecy telling them that they should found their new home on that spot. The Aztecs built their city of Tenochtitlan on that site, building a great artificial island, which today is in the center of Mexico City. This legendary vision is pictured on the Coat of Arms of Mexico.
According to legend, when the Mexicans arrived in the Anahuac valley around Lake Texcoco, they were considered by the other groups as the least civilized of all, but the Mexican/Aztec decided to learn, and they took all they could from other people, especially from the ancient Toltec (whom they seem to have partially confused with the more ancient civilization of Teotihuacan). To the Aztec, the Toltec were the originators of all culture; "Toltecayotl" was a synonym for culture. Aztec legends identify the Toltecs and the cult of Quetzalcoatl with the legendary city of Tollan, which they also identified with the more ancient Teotihuacan.
Creation stories
See also: Creation myth
Because the Aztec adopted and combined several traditions with their own earlier traditions, they had several creation myths. One of these, the Five Suns describes four great ages preceding the present world, each of which ended in a catastrophe, and "were named in fonction of the force or divine element that violentyl put an end to each one of them".[1]
Coatlicue was the mother of Centzon Huitznahua ("Four Hundred Southerners"), her sons, and Coyolxauhqui, her daughter. She found a ball filled with feathers and placed it in her waistband, becoming pregnant with Huitzilpochtli. Her other children became suspicious as to the identity of the father and vowed to kill their mother. She gave birth on Mount Coatepec, pursued by her children, but the newborn Huitzilpochtli defeated most of his brothers, who became the stars. He also killed his half-sister Coyolxauhqui by tearing out her heart using a Xiuhcoatl (a blue snake) and throwing her body down the mountain. This was said to inspire the Aztecs to rip the hearts out of their victims and throw their bodies down the sides of the temple dedicated to Huitzilpochtli, who represents the sun chasing away the stars at dawn.
Our age (Nahui-Ollin), the fifth age, or fifth creation, escaped destruction due to the sacrifice of Nanahuatl (the smallest and humblest of the gods) who transformed himself into the Sun by leaping into a fire.[2] Another god, known as Tecuciztecatl, originally boasted that he would become the sun but was fearful of the pain. Humiliated by Nanahuatl's sacrifice he too leapt into the fire and became the moon. This myth is associated with the ancient city of Teotihuacan, which was abandoned but still extant when the Aztec arrived.
Another myth describes the earth as a creation of the twin gods Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl.[3] Some sources say Tezcatlipoca lost his foot in the process of creating the world and some representations of these gods show him without a foot and with a bone exposed. Others say he had one foot which was the foot of a beast, a representation for his speed. Yet other versions represent him as being able to shift to a jaguar form. Quetzalcoatl is also called "White Tezcatlipoca."
Gods
- Acolnahuacatl, or Acolmiztli - a god of the underworld, Mictlan
- Acuecucyoicihuati (see Chalchiuhtlicue)
- Amimitl - god of lakes and fishers
- Atlacamani - goddess of oceanic storms such as hurricanes
- Atlacoya - goddess of drought
- Atlatonan (also Atlatonin) - goddess of the coast
- Atlaua - water god
- Ayauhteotl - goddess of mist, fog, vanity and fame
- Camaxtli - god of hunting, war, fate and fire
- Centeotl (see Cinteotl)
- Chalchiuhtlatonal - god of water
- Chalchiuhtecolotl - a night owl god
- Chalchiuhtlicue (also Chalciuhtlicue, or Chalchihuitlicue) (She of the Jade Skirt). (Sometimes Acuecucyoticihuati) - the goddess of lakes and streams, and also of birth; consort of Tlaloc.
- Chalchiuhtotolin (Precious Night Turkey) - god of pestilence and mystery
- Chalmecatecuchtlz - a god of the underworld, Mictlan and sacrifices
- Chalmecatl the underworld, Mictlan and the north
- Chantico - the goddess of hearth fires, personal treasure, and volcanoes
- Chicomecoatl (also Chalchiuhcihuatl, Chiccomeccatl, or Xilonen) - goddess of new maize and produce, wife of Cinteotl.
- Chicomexochtli - a patron of artists
- Chiconahui - a domestic fertility goddess
- Chiconahuiehecatl - associated with creation
- Cihuacoatl (also Chihucoatl or Ciucoatl) (Woman Serpent) - an aspect of Ilamatecuhtli and consort of Quetzalcoatl
- Cinteotl (also Centeotl or Centeocihuatl) - the principal maize god, son of Tlazolteotl
- Cipactonal - god of astrology and the calendar
- Citlalatonac (see Ometeotl)
- Citlalicue - a creator of the stars
- Coatlicue (She of the Serpent Skirt) - legendary mother of Coyolxauhqui, the Centzon Huitzahua, and Huitzilopochtli
- Cochimetl (also Coccochimetl) - god of commerce, bartering, and merchants
- Coyolxauhqui - legendary sister of Huitzilopochtli, associated with the moon, possibly patroness of the Milky Way
- Cuaxolotl - a goddess of the hearth
- Ehecatl (also Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl) - the god of the Wind and creator of the earth, heavens, and the present race of humanity. As god of the west, one of the skybearers
- Huehuecoyotl (also Ueuecoyotl) - a trickster god of indulgence and pranks. A shapeshifter, associated with drums and the coyote
- Huehueteotl (also Ueueteotl, Xiuhtecuhtli, Xiutechuhtli) - an ancient god of the hearth, the fire of life. Associated with the pole star and the north, and serves as a skybearer
- Huitzilopochtli (also Mextli, Mexitl, Uitzilopochtli) - the supreme god of Tenochtitlan, patron of war, fire and the sun
- Huixtocihuatl (also Uixtochihuatl) - a goddess of salt and saltwater
- Ilamatecuhtli (also Cihuacoatl or Quilaztli) - aged goddess of the earth, death, and the Milky Way. Her roar signalled war
- Itztlacoliuhqui - god of stone, obsidian, coldness hardness, and castigation. Aspect of Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli. Also known as Ixquimilli.
- Itzli - god of sacrifice and stone knives.
- Itzpapalotl - Queen of Tomoanchan and one of the Cihuateteo (night demons) and tzitzimime (star demons)
- Ixtlilton - the god of healing, dancing, festivals and games. Brother of Xochipilli.
- Macuilcozcacuauhtli (five vulture) - one of the Ahuiateteo (gods of excess)
- Macuilcuetzpalin (five lizard) - one of the Ahuiateteo (gods of excess)
- Macuilmalinalli (five grass) - one of the Ahuiateteo (gods of excess)
- Macuiltochtli (five rabbit) - one of the Ahuiateteo (gods of excess)
- Macuilxochitl (five flower) - the god of games and gambling, and chief of the Ahuiateteo (gods of excess)
- Malinalxochitl - sorceress and goddess of snakes, scorpions and insects of the desert
- Matlalcueitl (also Matlalcueje) - goddess of rainfall and singing. Identified with Chalchiuhtlicue.
- Mayahuel (also Mayahual, or Mayouel) - the goddess of maguey, and by extension, alcohol
- Metztli (also Metztli, Tecuciztecatl, Tecciztecatl)- lowly god of worms who failed to sacrifice himself to become the sun, and became the moon instead, his face darkened by a rabbit.
- Mextli - a god of war and storms
- Mictecacihuatl (also Mictlancihuatl) - goddess of death and Lady of Mictlan, the underworld
- Mictlantecuhtli (also Mictlantecuhtzi, or Tzontemoc) - the god of death and Lord of Mictlan, also as god of the south, one of the skybearers
- Mixcoatl (cloud serpent) - god of hunting, war, and the Milky Way. An aspect of Tezcatlpoca and father of Quetzalcoatl
- Nanahuatzin (also Nana, Nanautzin, or Nanauatzin) - lowly god who sacrificed himself to become sun god Tonatiuh
- Omacatl (see Tezcatlipoca)
- Omecihuatl (see Ometeotl)
- Ometecuhtli (see Ometeotl)
- Ometeotl (also Citlatonac or Ometecuhtli (male) and Omecihuatl (female)) - the god(s) of duality, pregenator(s) of souls and lord/lady of heaven
- Ometotchtli (two rabbit) - drunken rabbit god, leader of the Centzon Totochtin
- Opochtli - left-handed god of trapping, hunting and fishing
- Oxomoco - goddess of astrology and the calendar
- Patecatl - the god of medicine, husband of Mayahuel
- Paynal - the messenger to Huitzilopochtli
- Quetzalcoatl (also Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli) (quetzal-feathered serpent) - creator god and patron of rulership, priests and merchants. Associated with Ehecatl as the divine wind
- Quilaztli (see Ilamatecuhtli)
- Tecciztecatl (see Mextli)
- Temazcalteci (also Temaxcaltechi) - goddess of bathing and sweatbaths
- Teoyaomicqui (also Teoyaomiqui)- the god of dead warriors
- Tepeyollotl - (The jaguar form of Tezcatlipoca) god of the heart of the mountain, associated with jaguars, echoes, and earthquakes
- Tepoztecatl (also Tezcatzontecatl) - god of pulque and rabbits
- Teteoinnan - mother of the gods
- Tezcatlipoca (also Omacatl, Titlacauan) - omnipotent god of rulers, sorcerers and warriors; night, death, discord, conflict, temptation and change. A sinister rival to Quetzalcoatl. Can appear as a jaguar.
- Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli - destructive god of the morning star (Venus), dawn, and of the east. One of the skybearers
- Tlaloc (also Nuhualpilli) - the great and ancient provider and god of rain, fertility and lightning
- Tlaltecuhtli - goddess of earth, associated with difficult births
- Tlazolteotl (also Tlaelquani, Tlazolteotli)- the goddess of purification from filth, disease or excess
- Tloquenahuaque - a creator god or ruler
- Toci (also Temazcalteci) - grandmother goddess, heart of the earth and mother of the gods. Associated with midwives and war
- Tonacatecuhtli - the aged creator and provider of food and patron of conceptions
- Tonacacihuatl - consort of Tonacatecuhtli
- Tonantzin - a mother goddess
- Tonatiuh - a sun god and heavenly warrior, associated with eagles and with the Maya
- Tzitzmitl - aged grandmother goddess
- Xilonen - the goddess of young maize
- Xipe Totec - the god of the seasons, seed germination and renewal, considered the patron of goldworkers
- Xiuhcoatl (fire serpent or turquoise serpent) - embodiment of the sun's rays and emblem of Xiuhtecuhtli
Xiuhcoatl.
- Xiuhtecuhtli -(also called Huehueteotl)
- Xochipilli - the young god of feasting, painting, dancing, games, and writing. Associated with Macuilxochitl and Cinteotl
- Xochiquetzal - goddess of love, beauty, female sexuality, prostitutes, flowers, pleasure, craft, weaving, and young mothers
- Xocotl - star god associated with fire
- Xolotl - canine companion of Quetzalcoatl and god of twins, sickness and deformity. Accompanies the dead to Mictlan
- Yacatecuhtli (also Yactecuhtli) - the god of merchants and travellers
Serpent gods
God groups
- Ahuiateteo (also Macuiltonaleque) - five gods who personify excess
- Cihuateteo (also Civatateo) - souls of women who died in childbirth who lead the setting sun in the western sky. Also night demons who steal children, and cause seizures, insanity and sexual transgression. They also accompany warriors to heaven.
- Centzon Huitznahua - southern stars, children of Coatlicue
- Centzon Totochtin (400 rabbits) - gods of pulque
- Skybearers - associated with the four directions, supported the vault of the sky.
- Tzitzimime - star demons of darkness that attack the sun during eclipses and threaten the earth
Supernatural creatures
- Ahuitzotl - a human-eating water-dwelling dog-monkey with a hand on its tail
- Cipactli - the caiman at the foundations of the earth
- Cihuateteo - the spirits of women who died in childbirth (mociuaquetzque.)
- Nagual - a tutelary animal or vegetable spirit
- Nahual - a shapeshifting sorcerer or witch
- Tlaltecuhtli - a drunken toad goddess
Legendary heroes
- Popocatepetl - Legendary warrior
Places
- Apanoayan (where one crosses the river)- the first of the nine levels of Mictlan, also known as Itzcuintlan.
- Aztlán (land of the herons) - the original home of the Mexica before the peregrination and the establishment of Tenochtitlan
- Iztaccihuatl - the sleeping lady
- Mictlan - the underworld.
- Popocatepetl - the smoking mountain
- Tlalocan first paradise.
- Tehuantepec place of the hill of the sacred jaguar
- Tlillan-Tlapallan middle realm of the heaven (middle paradise).
- Tonatiuhichan highest paradise
- Tamoanchan
Cultural depictions
Aztec gods are the subject of a composition for string quartet entitled Macuilli Mexihcateteouch - Five Aztec Gods, written in 2005 by Italian composer Lorenzo Ferrero.
Five Aztec gods also served as the subject of Dioses aztecas, a major work for mandolin and piano (2006) by American composer John Craton.
See also
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Aztec mythology |
References
- ^ Portilla, Miguel León (1980). Native Mesoamerican Spirituality: Ancient Myths, Discourses, Stories, Hymns, Poems, from the Aztec,Yucatec, Quiche-Maya, and other sacred traditions. New Jersey: Paulist Press. pp. 40. ISBN 0-8091-2231-6. http://books.google.com.ar/books?id=hTH1jEM2uokC&printsec=frontcover&hl=es#v=onepage&q&f=false.
- ^ Chalmbers Spence, James Lewis Thomas (1913). The Myths of Mexico and Peru: Aztec, Maya and Inca. pp. 69,77. http://books.google.com.ar/books/p/pub-4297897631756504?id=Z0suHkdFLTcC&pg=PA69&dq=Nanahuatl&cd=1&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Nanahuatl&f=false.
- ^ Chalmbers Spence, James Lewis Thomas (1913). The Myths of Mexico and Peru: Aztec, Maya and Inca. pp. 151,152. http://books.google.com.ar/books/p/pub-4297897631756504?id=Z0suHkdFLTcC&pg=PA69&dq=Nanahuatl&cd=1&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=creation%20Quetzalcoatl.&f=false.
Further reading
- Douglas, David (2009). The Altlas of Lost Cults and mystery religions. Godsfield Press. pp. 34–35.
- Boone, Elizabeth H. (Ed.) (1982). The Art and Iconography of Late Post-Classic Central Mexico. Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks. ISBN 0-88402-110-6.
- Brinton, Daniel G. (Ed.) (1890). "Rig Veda Americanus". Library of Aboriginal American Literature. No. VIII. Project Gutenberg reproduction. http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/14993.(English) (Nahuatl)
- Leon-Portilla, Miguel (1990) [1963]. Aztec Thought and Culture. Davis, J.E. (trans). Norman, Oklahoma: Oklahoma University Press. ISBN 0-8061-2295-1.
- Miller, Mary; and Karl Taube (1993). The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya. London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0-500-05068-6.
- James Lewis Thomas Chalmbers Spence, The Myths of Mexico and Peru: Aztec, Maya and Inca, 1913 [1]
- Miguel León Portilla, Native Mesoamerican Spirituality", Paulist Press, 1980 [2]
External links
- Rig Veda Americanus, Daniel Brinton (Ed) at Project Gutenberg; late 19th C. compendium of some Aztec mythological texts and poems appearing in one MS. version of Sahagun's 16th C. codices.
- Aztec history, culture and religion B. Diaz del Castillo, The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico (tr. by A. P. Maudsley, 1928, repr. 1965)
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