Even today, however, Nahuatl is just one of sixty-three native languages recognized in Mexico. In the Aztec ritual calendar, different deities were associated with the cycle-of-year names: Quetzalcoatl was tied to the year Ce Acatl (One Reed), which correlates to the year 1519. 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. As a god of wind, Quetzalcoatl was also an important fertility deity. 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. Please like and share this article if you found it useful. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/facts-about-quetzalcoatl-2136322. Ultimately, Quetzalcoatl was forced into exile. In the codices, he was generally more human-like. In Xochicalco, depictions of the feathered serpent accompany the image of a seated, armed ruler and the hieroglyph for the day sign 9 Wind. However, this legend likely has a foundation in events that took place immediately prior to the arrival of the Spaniards. However, at the end of the second cycle, mankind became like monkeys and so Quetzalcoatl blew up the whole of mankind. It is believed by the Aztec religion expert that the deity arose from the combination of the historical leader, Ce Acatl Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl, and a Mesoamerican god. Manage Settings Plumed serpents continued to be depicted in Central American cultures. Along with one of his brothers, he was instructed by his parents to create the world six hundred years after his birth. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. His job was to protect the sun from the dangers of the underworld. The city of Cholula, in particular, was known for the importance it laid on the deity of the feathered serpent. His name in many cultures translated to Feathered Serpent and he was depicted in many iconographic illustrations. [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. Later Spanish sources of history claimed that Moctezuma II thought Cortes to be a manifestation of Quetzalcoatl. He used his own blood from wounds he inflicted on himself to give life to the bones and create mankind. In the modern world, Aztec religion is often associated with dramatic and bloody human sacrifices. For more details, Wikipedia is a good resource. As a god, its only logical that such reincarnations would be for the betterment of the earth and its people. [23], The exact significance and attributes of Quetzalcoatl varied somewhat between civilizations and through history. READ MORE: Water Gods and Sea Gods From Around the World. By 1200 AD, Quetzalcoatls iconography had become more fixed. Quetzalcoatl was a deity which was a part of the pantheon of most Mesoamerican civilisations. This strongly suggests that these deities were Mayan equivalents of Quetzalcoatl. In sculptures adorning temples throughout ancient Mexico, he generally appeared as a plumed serpent, although sometimes he had human features as well. Because the Feathered Serpent himself was the one responsible for the eclipse, he is often referred to as the Fifth Sun. . On the other hand, the snake was considered a vital instrument to help bring visions from the underworld to the Mayan kings. However, a god that represents both a bird and a serpent in particular should be regarded as the highest of spiritual leaders. (Many academics conclude this passage implies incest.) In Mesoamerican history, many different ethnopolitical groups worshiped a feathered-serpent deity. From ancient snake gods to Spanish legends, heres everything you need to know about the most famous god of the Aztecs! Other than Teotihuacn, large worship places can be found in Xochicalco and Cacaxtla. Quetzalcoatl is thus not only an Aztec god. With great respect and awe. When Cortes and his crew of Spaniards came ashore in Mexico in 1519, many thought they were gods. Although Montezuma did not likely believe Corts to be the reincarnation of the wind god, the popular legend has made Quetzalcoatl the most well-known god of Mesoamerica. He drove the winds that brought rain and allowed plants to grow. The meaning of his name is "Winged Serpent" or "Feathered Serpent". Although early images had shown a serpent, by the classical period of Aztec culture Quetzalcoatl was more often shown with a human body. [10], The earliest known documentation of the worship of a Feathered Serpent occurs in Teotihuacan in the first century BC or first century AD. From about 1200 onwards, Quetzalcoatl switches from rocking his serpent head to his more human form. Archaeological sites in Mexico City have street addresses, not GPS coordinates, as sites tend to elsewhere. Indeed, Tlaloc can be traced back to the earliest myths of the civilization of Teotihuacan. The city was known as the center of Quetzalcoatls worship. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. What a conundrum. This, too, can be seen in the birth of Quetzalcoatl. Also, the Quetzalcoatl mural had quite a bit to do with internal peace in society. They inhabited the top of the Great Pyramid dedicated to Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc. To create humans, Quetzalcoatl had to go into the Underworld and collect some bones. The God Quetzalcoatl definitely has a link of some sort to this hero. A wide range of maize crops are still eaten to this date, both by the Mexicans that have adopted many of the European habits, and the remaining Indigenous peoples of central Mexico. Each of these four sons presides over one of the four cardinal directions. [citation needed] Additionally, at least one major cache of offerings includes knives and idols adorned with the symbols of more than one god, some of which were adorned with wind jewels. The Nahua largely spoke dialects of the same language, Nahuatl, which helped to unify their culture. This is what you have to look forward to- Initially, you will notice that you can find pleasure in new and sometimes bizarre places. Quetzalcoatl played many roles in ancient Aztec mythology, so its difficult to pin down just one. likely used for curing rituals and private worship. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. Looking at the iconography and retold myths of Mesoamerica, some historians have theories that Quetzalcoatl came to be associated with culture and urban civilization. [41] However, in 1892 one president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, John Taylor, wrote:[42]. Among the Aztecs, the name Quetzalcoatl was also a priestly title, as the two most important priests of the Aztec Templo Mayor were called "Quetzalcoatl Tlamacazqui". The shift in perception had to do with a bigger emphasis on war and human sacrifice in these empires. Ququmatz Also written as Gukumatz, this name belonged to the Kiche Maya. Well, not all of them, but some do. In the episode "Damnesia You," Xavier winds up in the Aztec world and is immediately (and unsuccessfully) sacrificed for insulting the Sun God, and during the sacrifice the Aztecs humorously fail to pronounce his name. Indeed, it turned out that this was the only viable option since the snake wasnt planning on moving for other reasons. Aztec God Quetzalcoatl According to one myth, Quetzalcoatl was born to a virgin called Chimalman to whom god Onteol appeared in a dream. He sometimes carries flowers or sacrificial tools. Alternatively, he left willingly on a raft of snakes, promising to return. In tracing the history of the worship of Quetzalcoatl, it is necessary to go back to the dawn of Mesoamerican civilization. Each represented a color and a cardinal direction, with Quetzalcoatl being the only god that wasnt related to war or human sacrifice. 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. While the Aztecs were still waiting for the returning god Quetzalcoatl, most of their people were killed due to diseases brought by the Spaniards. 1. The worlds largest pyramid, Tlachihualtepetl, was dedicated to Quetzalcoatl and was built up at the site over a period of a thousand years. Quetzalcoatl, or "Feathered Serpent," was an important god to the ancient people of Mesoamerica. He figures most prominently in the Aztec mythology but it was in the city of Cholula that the cult of Quetzalcoatl enjoyed influence and prominence during the Classic Period of Mesoamerica. The worship of Quetzalcoatl sometimes included animal sacrifices, and in other traditions Quetzalcoatl was said to oppose human sacrifice.Mesoamerican priests and kings would sometimes take the name of a deity they were associated with, so Quetzalcoatl and Kukulcan are also the names of historical persons. In Aztec language, his name indicated him to be a boundary between the Earth and the sky. 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? 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. 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. Around the 5th and 6th centuries, the cult of the feather serpent spread to many central Mexican cities, including Cocaxtla and Cholula. The worship of Miclantecuhtli was ongoing with the arrival of Europeans in the Americas. Tlaloc blew the snake into the air, to a point where he was higher than the birds. In the era following the 16th-century Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, a number of records conflated Quetzalcoatl with Ce Acatl Topiltzin, a ruler of the mythico-historic city of Tollan. The widespread worship of Quetzalcoatl may have even played a factor in the belief that the natives of Mexico identified him with the Spanish conquistador Hernn Corts. It has been suggested that these stories recall the spread of the feathered-serpent cult in the epi-classic and early post-classic periods.[12]. Often our current time was considered the fifth sun,[29] the previous four having been destroyed by flood, fire and the like. Similarly, various other birth stories are also associated with Quetzalcoatl. After the eclipse of the fourth sun, Quetzalcoatl would go on a trip to the underworld. The title of the twin Aztec high priests wasnt just Quetzalcoatl. The story of how the ordinary Quetzalcoatl became one of the heavenly brothers goes as followed. While in his own story, this was not all too literal, his actions that followed were actually the literal interpretation of his promise. [9] In Mazatec legends the astrologer deity Tlahuizcalpanteuctli, who is also represented by Venus, bears a close relationship with Quetzalcoatl. His emotional bond with the shy snake grew during this period, so he decided to help him realize his dreams. The earliest known iconographic depiction of the deity appears on Stela 19 at the Olmec site of La Venta. Are you still looking for a being that caused a solar eclipse? This made crops grow and brought water for drinking. So Quetzalcoatl is named after the thing he looks like, a feathered serpent deity. Although little is known about the specific ways in which he was revered, some historians believe that the use of hallucinogenic mushrooms and other intoxicants may have played a large role. 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. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. The Spanish helped non-Aztec groups reclaim territory that included a massive pyramid dedicated to Quetzalcoatl. 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