Auh yn jquac molhuja eheca, mjtoa: teuhtli quaqualaca, ycoioca, tetecujca, tlatlaiooa, tlatlapitza, tlatlatzinj, motlatlaueltia. It allows for a form of food security, and therefore for peace, and as a result, has taken on not only physical and economic importance but spiritual significance as well. Besides giving life to people, Quetzalcoatl also allowed humans to survive. In mythology, he is a gentle god who loves peace, and it is said that he bestowed many blessings to the humans. Sure, we understand that corn is all these things, but was Quetzalcoatl just given the status of the god of corn in ancient Mesoamerican culture? This idea of return stemmed from a supposed speech given by Montezuma, the Aztec ruler, to Corts when the Spanish arrived at Tenochtitlan. Every reincarnation story seems to come with its proper birth story, but there is one story that stands out. Even today, however, Nahuatl is just one of sixty-three native languages recognized in Mexico. Quetzalcoatl went to Mictlan, the underworld, and created fifth-world mankind from the bones of the previous races (with the help of Cihuacoatl), using his own blood, from a wound he inflicted on his earlobes, calves, tongue, and penis, to imbue the bones with new life. Venus, which the god was closely associated with, appeared in the sky at the beginning of the rainy season. As a double of Quetzalcoatl, he carries his conch-like ehecailacacozcatl or wind jewel.Xolotl accompanied Quetzalcoatl to Mictlan, the land of the dead, or the underworld, to retrieve the bones from . In another legend, still told in Mexico, Quetzalcoatl was feeling ill. His brother Tezcatlipoca, who wanted to be rid of Quetzalcoatl, came up with a clever plan. One legend claimed that the star was Quetzalcoatls heart, placed in the sky after he burned himself alive out of shame for neglecting his duties. But, remember, the promise of Quetzalcoatl was to bring heaven to the beings that were living in hell. Over the South presides the Blue Tezcatlipoca, Huitzilopochtli, the god of war. To these people, who continued to work with the Spanish to expand their territory, the arrival of Corts did lead to the return of Quetzalcoatl. Of course, the odd one out sparked the interest of Tlaloc. This made crops grow and brought water for drinking. Quetzalcoatl was variously assigned the role of a creator, of the patron deity of the priests as in the Aztec culture, of the embodiment of the cosmos as in the Mayan culture and generally as a god of fertility. It is also suggested that he was a son of Xochiquetzal and Mixcoatl. Toltec religion. In the post-classic Nahua civilization of central Mexico (Aztec), the worship of Quetzalcoatl was ubiquitous. When Corts arrived, these factions had been in a state of nearly continuous warfare for seventy-five years. Residing in the darkness felt safe to him, so he decided to stay far away from the life-giving water. Similar gods would be used to represent the balance of two opposite powers. Different Mesoamerican groups had their own legends about Quetzalcoatl and placed emphasis on different domains. The worship of Quetzalcoatl became widespread with the rise of the Toltec civilization around 900 A.D. and spread throughout the region, even down to the Yucatan peninsula where it caught on with the Maya. [19] The most important center was Cholula, where the world's largest pyramid was dedicated to Quetzalcoatl-worship. For example, the Aztecs revered him as the god of the priesthood, knowledge, and trade. Well, look no further, because Quetzalcoatl is your guy. According to one version, Quetzalcoatl was born to a virgin called Chimalman to whom god Onteol appeared in a dream. The name Quetzalcoatl comes from this language and is most widely-used both because it was recorded by Spanish conquerors and because Nahuatl is still spoken by roughly 1.5 million people. [22], To the Aztecs, Quetzalcoatl was, as his name indicates, a feathered serpent. His earrings are made of either jade or spiraling shells. His job was to protect the sun from the dangers of the underworld. Based on the birth story of Quetzalcoatl, it seems safe to assume that the fourth sun was destroyed because of the floods caused by Tlaloc. Throughout Mesoamerican culture, they practiced human sacrifice and ritual cannibalism to placate this god. Some followers of the Latter Day Saints movement believe that Quetzalcoatl was historically Jesus Christ, who Latter-day Saints believe visited the New World as a resurrected being as reported in the Book of Mormon, but believe his name and the details of the event were gradually lost over time. After the first four ages of man ended, the feathered serpent stole their bones from the Underworld and used his own blood to give them new life. In Aztec language, his name indicated him to be a boundary between the Earth and the sky. Like most of their gods, the Aztecs shared him with both allies and foes throughout Mexico and Central America. Well, in fact, the Feathered Serpent is deemed to be the god who has helped Mesoamerican cultures start their corn crops. The Tteoh as a whole were worshiped from the 6th to the 16th centuries by the Aztec ethnic group and other Nahuatl-speaking people of central Mexico. Its more likely that Montezuma saw the Spanish not as enemies but as possible allies in his ongoing campaign to enlarge his empire. There is no surviving account of this myth in native sources, however. While other gods had relied on brute force for reaching the other side, Quetzalcoatl relied on intelligence in order to reach the maize. If this speech was actually given, its likely that ignorance of Aztec customs and Nahuatl speech patterns was to blame for giving the impression that Montezuma was willingly handing over power to a divine being. The pterosaur Quetzalcoatlus was named after the deity. In the iconography of the classic period, Maya serpent imagery is also prevalent: a snake often appears as the embodiment of the sky itself, and a vision serpent is a shamanic helper presenting Maya kings with visions of the underworld. Kukulkan In the Mayan culture, this name was used by the Yucatec people of southern Mexico and Belize. Chichen Itza is famous for its Temple of Kukulcn, which was their name for Quetzalcoatl. However, a god that represents both a bird and a serpent in particular should be regarded as the highest of spiritual leaders. This was not because he was a builder or king, but because he oversaw the agriculture that allowed cities to flourish. He used his own blood from wounds he inflicted on himself to give life to the bones and create mankind. Quetzalcoatl had aspects in which he functioned as other gods. [19] The most important center was Cholula, where the world's largest pyramid was dedicated to Quetzalcoatl-worship. A 2012 exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Dallas Museum of Art, "The Children of the Plumed Serpent: the Legacy of Quetzalcoatl in Ancient Mexico", demonstrated the existence of a powerful confederacy of Eastern Nahuas, Mixtecs and Zapotecs, along with the peoples they dominated throughout southern Mexico between 1200 and 1600 (Pohl, Fields, and Lyall 2012, Harvey 2012, Pohl 2003). By 1200 AD, Quetzalcoatls iconography had become more fixed. The language is spoken today in the highlands of central Guatemala. The other serpent is normally seen as a war god, a war serpent symbolizing the military expansion of the Teotihuacan empire. The earliest Aztec and classic Maya serpent iconography can be found in a six-tiered pyramid specifically dedicated to Quetzalcoatl. It is believed that the Feathered Serpent was responsible for all of it. Each age of the world was given a new sun, and the world was on its Fifth Sun, having been destroyed four times previously. Whether Quetzalcoatl would return was out of the question. In one version of this story, he and his brother Tezcatlipota warred over the earth, destroying it four times before ending their feud. In his form as Ehecatl he is the wind, and is represented by spider monkeys, ducks, and the wind itself. In some versions of the ancient Mesoamerican histories, Quetzalcoatl was reborn as Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli after being burned on a funeral pyre. By Quetzalcoatl was a god for many ancient . Xolotl was the sinister god of monstrosities who wears the spirally-twisted wind jewel and the ear ornaments of Quetzalcoatl. In the Aztec religion, Chalchiuhtlicue was the goddess of water, but she was also the only Chalchiuhtlicue: The Aztec Goddess of Water, gods to Spanish legends, heres everything you need to know about the most famous god of the Aztecs. This, it is believed, explains why he was looking inwards to the city. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. Montezuma's failure to act has been attributed to his belief that Cortes was none other than Quetzalcoatl, who had once gone away to the east, promising to return. [15] In the 17th century, Ixtlilxchitl, a descendant of Aztec royalty and historian of the Nahua people, wrote, "Quetzalcoatl, in its literal sense, means 'serpent of precious feathers' but in the allegorical sense, 'wisest of men'."[16]. Some said that before this he had helped to create the world itself. Quetzalcoatl was so closely linked to fertility and creation that many groups held him to be the creator of mankind. After Topiltzin's exile, Toltec power began to decline. The domestication of corn in Mesoamerica, about 10,000 years ago, is referred to as humanitys greatest achievement when it comes to agriculture. Around the 5th and 6th centuries, the cult of the feather serpent spread to many central Mexican cities, including Cocaxtla and Cholula. Rather than the conquistador himself being the wind god, however, it was that his army allowed the Puebla and their allies to reclaim the pyramid of Tlachihualtepetl, the center of Quezalcoatls cult. Ultimately, Quetzalcoatl was forced into exile. Thats quite a big deal, because for the people in ancient Mexico, maize, or corn, is not just a crop. Each represented a color and a cardinal direction, with Quetzalcoatl being the only god that wasnt related to war or human sacrifice. At temples such as the aptly named "Quetzalcoatl temple" in the Ciudadela complex, feathered serpents figure prominently and alternate with a different kind of serpent head. This is also evident in the duality of serpent figures throughout Mesopotamian history. On the basis of the Teotihuacan iconographical depictions of the feathered serpent, archaeologist Karl Taube has argued that the feathered serpent was a symbol of fertility and of internal political structures - contrasting with the War Serpent symbolizing the outwards military expansion of the Teotihuacan empire. In their mythology, the world was periodically destroyed and rebuilt by the gods. Instead, these stories were probably the invention of Franciscan monks who followed the initial conquest of Mexico. This, too, can be seen in the birth of Quetzalcoatl. Quetzalcoatl became linked with the maize crop thanks to ancient legends. Cortes continued to play the role of Quetzalcoatl for many years and eventually impacted others to convert. [24] In another story, the virgin Chimalman conceived Quetzalcoatl by swallowing an emerald. Some said that before this he had helped to create the world itself. For more details, Wikipedia is a good resource. And, it wasnt so bad after all. Table of Contents [ hide] Etymology and Archaeology Quetzalcoatl was also the patron of the priests and the title of the twin Aztec high priests. The first documented worship of Quetzalcoatl is found in Theotihuacan during the first century BC or first century AD.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'aztecsandtenochtitlan_com-box-4','ezslot_7',140,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-aztecsandtenochtitlan_com-box-4-0'); This constitutes the Late Pre-Classic Period of the Mayan civilization.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'aztecsandtenochtitlan_com-large-leaderboard-2','ezslot_9',111,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-aztecsandtenochtitlan_com-large-leaderboard-2-0'); By the Late Classic Period (600AD-900AD), it appears that the worship of Quetzalcoatl had spread throughout the Mesoamerican region. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. He was worshiped among all the major cultures of the Mesoamerican region through history. The first documented worship of Quetzalcoatl is found in Theotihuacan during the first century BC or first century AD. Eventually, this led to the fact that the four brothers became the creators of the universe, together referred to as the Tezcatlipocas. This view has been questioned by ethno-historians who argue that the Quetzalcoatl-Corts connection is not found in any document that was created independently of post-Conquest Spanish influence, and that there is little proof of a pre-Hispanic belief in Quetzalcoatl's return. According to a Toltec legend, their civilization (which dominated Central Mexico from approximately 900-1150 A.D.) was founded by a great hero, Ce Acatl Topiltzn Quetzalcoatl. Ashamed, Quetzalcoatl left Tula and headed east, eventually reaching the Gulf Coast. Quetzalcoatlhe was the wind, the guide and road sweeper of the rain gods, of the masters of the water, of those who brought rain. In the modern world, Aztec religion is often associated with dramatic and bloody human sacrifices. The importance of Quetzalcoatl in the Aztec civilization is, too, emphasized by his relationship with the priests of the empire. The east is represented by Xipe Totec who is the Red Tezcatlipoca and the god of gold and farming. They maintained a major pilgrimage and commercial center at Cholula, Puebla which the Spaniards compared to both Rome and Mecca because the cult of the god united its constituents through a field of common social, political, and religious values without dominating them militarily. Why is that? Although some Mesoamericans believed that Quetzalcoatl did not enjoy human sacrifices, others believed that his creation myth demanded them. The most astonishing aspect of their worship, at least to the Spaniards, was their habit of human sacrifice . There is no question that the legend of Quetzalcoatl played a significant role in the colonial period. Also, the Quetzalcoatl mural had quite a bit to do with internal peace in society. Standing over ten feet tall, the statue towers over onlookers as she leans toward them. The first culture to use the symbol of a feathered serpent as an important religious and political symbol was that of Teotihuacan. In an example from Yaxchilan, the Vision Serpent has the human face of the young maize-god, further suggesting a connection to fertility and vegetational renewal; the Maya Young Maize god was also connected to Venus. In the codices, he was generally more human-like. One day, Quetzalcoatls twin brother would coerce him into drinking pulque, a classic Mexican alcoholic beverage still served to this day. Quetzalcoatl has been worshiped by all the major Mesoamerican cultures including the Mayans and the Aztecs. Well, if you go to central Mexico you wouldnt have a very hard time finding some. Aztec Gods Quetzalcoatl Tezcatlipoca Quetzalcoatl occupied a unique position in the Aztec pantheon and was considered one of the most important gods. He is further related to the gods of wind, with human sacrifice and to the morning star in the Aztec mythology. I am the owner and chief researcher at this site. Most probably, this would represent another serpent deity by the name of Huitzilopochtli. To create humans, Quetzalcoatl had to go into the Underworld and collect some bones. According to this myth, the four sons of Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl, one of them being Quetzalcoatl, represent the four cardinal directions. Quetzalcoatls twin, Xolotl, was a god associated with death. The story of how the ordinary Quetzalcoatl became one of the heavenly brothers goes as followed. 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