Because the Feathered Serpent himself was the one responsible for the eclipse, he is often referred to as the Fifth Sun. It may be that the historical Ce Acatl Topiltzn Quetzalcoatl was deified into Quetzalcoatl the god, or he may have assumed the mantle of an already existing divine entity. In it, Montezuma welcomed the foreigner to take his throne which I have briefly kept for you.. His appearance can change drastically, however, depending on the region, era, and context. After a slapstick-style chase scene, Xavier winds up as the Sun God and commits "sacricide" (sacrificial suicide), ending the skit. The temple can be found at Teotihuacan and was erected in the third century. The Origin of Hotdogs, The History of Boracay Island in The Philippines. Cult worship may have involved the ingestion of hallucinogenic mushrooms (psilocybes), considered sacred. However, each and every god had failed terribly in doing so. After the eclipse of the fourth sun, Quetzalcoatl would go on a trip to the underworld. For this reason, it is also believed that offers to Quetzalcoatl were one of only a few that should not include human sacrifice. Getting the snake out of the cave had been Tlalocs only objective for months on end. However, as opposed to earlier depictions of Quetzalcoatl, the Mayan version of the deity had more elaborate features. One of the jewels he is depicted with is the wind jewel, affirming his status as a wind god. Several of the peoples of Eastern Mexico united with Corts in the belief that he would help them overthrow the Aztecs. 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. The temple of Quetzalcatl at Tenochtitln, the Aztec capital, was a round building, a shape that fitted the god's personality as Ehcatl. [8] In his form as the morning star, Venus, he is also depicted as a harpy eagle. READ MORE: Sun Gods: Ancient Solar Deities From Around the World. Are you still looking for a being that caused a solar eclipse? Temple of Ehcatl-Quetzalcoatl. The city of Cholula, in particular, was known for the importance it laid on the deity of the feathered serpent. Xolotl was the sinister god of monstrosities who wears the spirally-twisted wind jewel and the ear ornaments of Quetzalcoatl. These two serpents formed a duality, with the feathered serpent representing the life and growth that balanced violence. This, it is believed, explains why he was looking inwards to the city. Indeed, Quetzalcoatl was born. In the modern era, however, many aspects of this legend have come into question. The major worship of this god as Quetzalcoatl began in 700 . 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. Quetzalcoatl, or "Feathered Serpent," was an important god to the ancient people of Mesoamerica. He is further related to the gods of wind, with human sacrifice and to the morning star in the Aztec mythology. He was so important that the worlds largest pyramid was just one of many places dedicated to his cult. 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). Over the South presides the Blue Tezcatlipoca, Huitzilopochtli, the god of war. By the 3rd century AD this was recognizable as a god, who had a pyramid dedicated to his honor in the city of Teotihuacn. They inhabited the top of the Great Pyramid dedicated to Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc. In the 16th century, Spaniards conquered the Aztec Empire. This made crops grow and brought water for drinking. As the morning star, he was known by the title Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, meaning "lord of the star of the dawn". The Aztecs werent a big fan of chronological order and shook up the world of the gods. Quetzalcoatl is a Mesoamerican deity whose name comes from the Nahuatl language and means "feathered serpent". Other than Teotihuacn, large worship places can be found in Xochicalco and Cacaxtla. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. Quetzalcoatls twin, Xolotl, was a god associated with death. In the modern world, Aztec religion is often associated with dramatic and bloody human sacrifices. Over more than a thousand years, a similar god was worshipped by virtually every one of Mesoamericas related cultures. The date 9 Wind is known to be associated with fertility, Venus and war among the Maya and frequently occurs in relation to Quetzalcoatl in other Mesoamerican cultures. The language is spoken today in the highlands of central Guatemala. The cult even spread down into the Maya lands. 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. He was worshiped among all the major cultures of the Mesoamerican region through history. Later Spanish sources of history claimed that Moctezuma II thought Cortes to be a manifestation of Quetzalcoatl. It really elevated the status of the Feathered Serpent to the protector of the people, which is also affirmed by his role as patron god. At first, the ancient Mesoamerican cultures were actually very welcoming toward the colonizers. The west is represented by Quetzalcoatl who is also the White Tezcatlipoca and the god of light, justice, mercy, and wind. Although probably not exactly a depiction of the same feathered-serpent deity worshipped in classic and post-classic periods, it shows the continuity of symbolism of feathered snakes in Mesoamerica from the formative period and on, for example in comparison to the Maya Vision Serpent shown below. My work has also been published on Buzzfeed and most recently in Time magazine. Tlaloc we already know. And when the wind rose, when the dust rumbled, and it crack and there was a great din, became it became dark and the wind blew in many directions, and it thundered; then it was said: "[Quetzalcoatl] is wrathful. The first culture to use the symbol of a feathered serpent as an important religious and political symbol was that of Teotihuacan. There is no question that the legend of Quetzalcoatl played a significant role in the colonial period. Having been in awe of the sun and its light, the snake decided to fly toward the sun. There are several stories about the birth of Quetzalcoatl. And when the wind rose, when the dust rumbled, and it crack and there was a great din, became it became dark and the wind blew in many directions, and it thundered; then it was said: [Quetzalcoatl] is wrathful., -Bernadino de Sahagn, Florentine Codex: General History of the Things of New Spain. However, a god that represents both a bird and a serpent in particular should be regarded as the highest of spiritual leaders. What a conundrum. He was a creator deity having contributed essentially to the creation of mankind. Manage Settings His emotional bond with the shy snake grew during this period, so he decided to help him realize his dreams. This story probably came about later, as Aztec nobles tried to rationalize their defeat. Hernan Cortes, who led the Spaniards, was first invited into the city by Aztec Emperor Moctezuma II. 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. Rise early to appreciate the magnificence of her rising, and try to spend some time soaking up her warmth whenever you can. This is also evident in the duality of serpent figures throughout Mesopotamian history. [38] Some Franciscans at this time held millennarian beliefs[39] and some of them believed that Corts' coming to the New World ushered in the final era of evangelization before the coming of the millennium. Some said that before this he had helped to create the world itself. Profile [] Identity []. From ancient snake gods to Spanish legends, heres everything you need to know about the most famous god of the Aztecs! At Cholula, however, the gods cult is most evident. Ququmatz Also written as Gukumatz, this name belonged to the Kiche Maya. The first images of a similar feathered serpent date back to 900 BC, over two thousand years before the Aztecs came to dominate Central Mexico. In one myth tied to this belief, the two killed a great monster and used its body to craft the world. Quetzalcoatl is closely associated with the myth of the four cardinal directions. The Nahua civilization, which included the central Mexican Aztecs, almost universally worshipped Quetzalcoatl among their gods. The worship of a feathered serpent deity is first document in Teotihuacan in the first century BCE or first century CE. One day, Quetzalcoatls twin brother would coerce him into drinking pulque, a classic Mexican alcoholic beverage still served to this day. Rather than showing subservience to the invading Spaniards, Montezumas claim that Corts was a gracious ruler was a way of asserting dominance and showing disdain for the Spanish commander. 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. Historians debate to what degree, or whether at all, these narratives about this legendary Toltec ruler describe historical events. The connection between Quetzalcoatl and the fall of the Aztec Empire may also have its roots in political events that predated the arrival of Corts and his army. It shows the first signs of a feathered serpent cult amongst ancient civilizations of the region. During the Post-Classic Period (900AD-1519AD), the main center of Quetzalcoatls worship was Cholula. After months of rain, the snake was forced to come out of the cave. The legend of Quetzalcoatl is spoofed in the Adult Swim CGI series Xavier: Renegade Angel. They therefore claimed that Quetzalcoatl was the Aztec name for Thomas the Apostle and that the naive natives believed that he, like Christ, would one day return to finish converting them to Christianity. He appears seated in Omnipotence City of the gods, where all major deities are located, during an announcement from leader of the gods, Zeus. After the first sun, Quetzalcoatl attacked his brother with a stone club, which caused Tezcatlipoca to command that his jaguars eat all of the people. [47], In 1971 Tony Shearer published a book called Lord of the Dawn: Quetzalcoatl and the Tree of Life, inspiring New Age followers to visit Chichen Itza at the summer solstice when dragon-shaped shadows are cast by the Kulkulcan pyramid.[48]. At the end of the fourth cycle, when mankind had perished again according to the mythology, Quetzalcoatl created a new people with his blood. Throughout Mesoamerican culture, they practiced human sacrifice and ritual cannibalism to placate this god. Similarly, various other birth stories are also associated with Quetzalcoatl. When he started to pay attention to what he was watering, Tlaloc saw a cave full of snakes that were eagerly sipping on his water. Ehecatl In some Aztec areas, such as Tenochtitlan, this was another wind god with nearly identical iconography to Quetzalcoatl. In general, he is considered the god of wisdom, the god of the Aztec ritual calendar, the god of corn and maize, and oftentimes a symbol of death and resurrection.The different roles of Quetzalcoatl are partly attributable to a series of reincarnations. Quetzalcoatl was many things: (1) a historical personage - a great priest-king and religious reformer who lived in approximately the tenth century A.D. Toltec religion. Over time, Quetzalcoatl's appearance, clothing, malevolent nature, and status among the gods were reshaped to fit a more Christian framework. Corts himself claimed in a letter that the gullibility of the Aztec people helped him to conquer them. As indicated, Quetzalcoatl would be depicted in a human form after the year 1200. Aztec God Quetzalcoatl According to Aztec mythology, Earth had been through four cycles of Sun, each of which resulted in the destruction of mankind. Venus, which the god was closely associated with, appeared in the sky at the beginning of the rainy season. Or rather, arrived again. The invaders looked an awful lot like these late depictions. Quetzalcoatl stands out from the Mesoamerican pantheon as being relatively less bloodthirsty than others like Huitzilopochtli or Tezcatlipoca, making him as good a candidate as any for Jesus visiting the New World. That is, according to the Aztecs. [22] A third story narrates that Chimalman was hit in the womb by an arrow shot by Mixcoatl and nine months later she gave birth to a child which was called Quetzalcoatl. When Cortes and his crew of Spaniards came ashore in Mexico in 1519, many thought they were gods. [43] In a 1986 paper for Sunstone, he noted that during the Spanish Conquest, the Native Americans and the Catholic priests who sympathized with them felt pressure to link Native American beliefs with Christianity, thus making the Native Americans seem more human and less savage. Or, more appropriately, Abya Yala.Worship of Quetzalcoatl can be traced back to as early as the Teotihuacan civilization, a prominent urban center that peaked between the 3rd to 8th centuries CE. Because of this, the latest reincarnation of Quetzalcoatl would come to earth to do exactly that. Quetzalcoatl was not only one of the most important deities in pre-Columbian Mexico, he was also one of the oldest. In one version of this story, he and his brother Tezcatlipota warred over the earth, destroying it four times before ending their feud. 5D's, Beyblade: Metal Fusion, Fate/Grand Order - Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia and Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid (the latter two depicting Quetzalcoatl as a female dragon deity); the Megami Tensei video game franchise; the video games Fate/Grand Order, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy XV, Sanitarium, Smite (as an alternate costume for his Mayan counterpart, Kukulkan), and Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine; as the main antagonist in the Star Trek: The Animated Series episode "How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth"; and in The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel books. Quetzalcoatl played many roles in ancient Aztec mythology, so its difficult to pin down just one. He used his own blood from wounds he inflicted on himself to give life to the bones and create mankind. Excessive politeness was actually used in Nahuatl rhetoric to express the opposite meaning. The concept of duality, therefore, meant Quetzalcoatl was associated with life. The importance of Quetzalcoatl in the Aztec civilization is, too, emphasized by his relationship with the priests of the empire. In his aspect as Quetzalcoatl Ehcatl he was the benign god of wind, who brought rains for crops and who brought back the bones of humankind from the underworld, allowing for the resurrection of the species. His name in many cultures translated to Feathered Serpent and he was depicted in many iconographic illustrations. Xolotl Among the Aztecs, this was Quetzalcoatls twin. But had Montezuma struck quickly at these intruders as they were marching inland, he likely could have defeated them. On the basis of the different symbolic systems used in portrayals of the feathered-serpent deity in different cultures and periods, scholars have interpreted the religious and symbolic meaning of the feathered-serpent deity in Mesoamerican cultures. Alternatively, he left willingly on a raft of snakes, promising to return. He was a god of wind, culture, knowledge, and creation. Occasionally, he is accompanied by his namesake quetzal bird. Quetzalcoatl appears in many ancient Mesoamerican codices, sculptures and reliefs. ThoughtCo. Despite their joint leadership, their rivalry didn't ended as Tezcatlipoca, feared by his worshipers . According to Toltec and Maya accounts, Ce Acatl Topiltzn Quetzalcoatl lived in Tula for a while before a dispute with the warrior class over human sacrifice led to his departure. The Church of Latter Day Saints, better known as the Mormons, teaches that Jesus Christ walked the Earth after his resurrection, spreading the word of Christianity to all corners of the globe. Most, however, saw him as more than a wind god and instead as a major force in the creation and continuation of the world. Like many other Mesoamerican deities, the story of our god sees several reincarnations. Round monuments occur particularly often in Huastec territory. But, remember, the promise of Quetzalcoatl was to bring heaven to the beings that were living in hell. While this legend is disputed, it is clear that Quetzalcoatl was an important deity to the Aztecs and other people of Mexico and Central America. Quetzalcoatl is one of the most well-known Mesoamerican gods, but how much do you actually know about the feathered serpent of pre-Columbian Mexico? The Name Quetzalcoatl After only a couple of years, the Aztec empire ended due to a combination of foreign diseases and diplomacy. Instead, these stories were probably the invention of Franciscan monks who followed the initial conquest of Mexico. According to stories, Aztec people only ate animals or roots until Quetzalcoatl arrived. All good eclipses must come to an end, and this happened when the snake evolved into a Feathered Serpent and flew out of the sun again. Others said that he had invented the calendar and books. Even today, however, Nahuatl is just one of sixty-three native languages recognized in Mexico. The Coatlicue sculpture in Mexico City's National Museum of Anthropology is one of the most famous Mexica (Aztec) sculptures in existence (her name is pronounced "koh-at-lee-kway"). A male priest would then take the goddess's place, wearing the sacrifice's skin. The relation of Quetzalcoatl with just the latest sun is a result of the mingling of his earliest myths and some new perceptions. 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. With her arms bent and pulled up against her sides as if to strike, she is . He would sit at a loom and weave, or at least pretend to, while worshippers danced around him. There was one way that would certainly work, namely by letting it rain so abundantly that the snake simply drifted out of the cave. Minster, Christopher. Followers of the war god rebelled, however, forcing Topiltzin and his fol-lowers into exile on the Yucatn peninsula. However, this legend likely has a foundation in events that took place immediately prior to the arrival of the Spaniards. This made it an important sign of fertility because it brought with it the rains that renewed the earth. Of course, the odd one out sparked the interest of Tlaloc. Cholula remained the most important center of worship of Quetzalcoatl, the Aztec/Nahua version of the feathered-serpent deity, in the post-classic period. In the Codex's description of the first meeting between Moctezuma and Corts, the Aztec ruler is described as giving a prepared speech in classical oratorial Nahuatl, a speech which, as described in the codex written by the Franciscan Bernardino de Sahagn and his Tlatelolcan informants, included such prostrate declarations of divine or near-divine admiration as: You have graciously come on earth, you have graciously approached your water, your high place of Mexico, you have come down to your mat, your throne, which I have briefly kept for you, I who used to keep it for you. Over the West presides the White Tezcatlipoca, Quetzalcoatl, the god of light, justice, mercy and wind. Quetzalcoatl is the most recognizable name among the Aztec gods. As a god of wind, Quetzalcoatl was also an important fertility deity. The most astonishing aspect of their worship, at least to the Spaniards, was their habit of human sacrifice . I have been in love with all things related to Mythology. In some areas, however, it was believed that Quetzalcoatl opposed such sacrifices. The worship of Miclantecuhtli was ongoing with the arrival of Europeans in the Americas. Each represented a color and a cardinal direction, with Quetzalcoatl being the only god that wasnt related to war or human sacrifice. [41] However, in 1892 one president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, John Taylor, wrote:[42]. The Spanish helped non-Aztec groups reclaim territory that included a massive pyramid dedicated to Quetzalcoatl. He appears in Post-classic tales from the Maya, Toltec, and Aztec cultures. Two other gods represented by the planet Venus are Tlaloc (ally and the god of rain) and Xolotl (psychopomp and its twin). At one hand, Mayans considered a snake as the embodiment of the cosmos. Quetzalcoatl was associated with the wind-god Ehecatl and is often depicted with his insignia: a beak-like mask. 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. Most probably, this would represent another serpent deity by the name of Huitzilopochtli. Franciscans then equated the original Quetzalcoatl with Thomas and imagined that the Indians had long-awaited his return to take part once again in God's kingdom. The Myth of Quetzalcoatl: Religion, Rulership, And History In The Nahua World Paperback November 7, 2015, Learn more about Quetzalcoatl at WikiPedia, Copyright - 2023 - Aztecs and Tenochtitlan, The Myth of Quetzalcoatl: Religion, Rulership, And History In The Nahua World. The ancient Olmec civilization lasted roughly from 1200 to 400 B.C. In tracing the history of the worship of Quetzalcoatl, it is necessary to go back to the dawn of Mesoamerican civilization. A Walking Tour of the Maya Capital of Chichn Itz, The Chac Mool Sculptures of Ancient Mexico, Influence of the Olmec Civilization on Mesoamerica. [22], To the Aztecs, Quetzalcoatl was, as his name indicates, a feathered serpent. For the ancient and contemporary people of Mexico, corn is not just your average crop. Don't fly too close to the sun or sit under her rays unprotected for too long. The Aztecs, however, were only a small segment of the regions people. Quetzalcoatl is but one of the Aztec gods and goddesses that has animal-like characteristics. Some said that before this he had helped to create the world itself. His representation of heaven and hell is also interpreted in different realms. 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. [12] Feathered-serpent iconography is prominent at all of these sites. Cholula had been captured by pro-Aztec forces. Today he is known best as Quetzalcoatl, the name he was worshipped by in the Aztec culture. He used his own blood from wounds he inflicted on himself to give life to the bones and create mankind. His body is usually black, a color that represents the north in Aztec art. [30], He is also attributed with having brought the cacao plant from a sacred mountain to the Toltec people, teaching the women how to make traditional drinking chocolate.[31]. The Toltecs and Nahuas worshiped the god before he was eventually adopted by the Aztecs. The two priests came to their position after living an exemplary life, with pure and compassionate hearts. 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