Indeed, Quetzalcoatl was born. Alternatively, he left willingly on a raft of snakes, promising to return. Dated to around 900 BC, it depicts a serpent rising up behind a person probably engaged in a shamanic ritual. Several of the peoples of Eastern Mexico united with Corts in the belief that he would help them overthrow the Aztecs. So Quetzalcoatl is named after the thing he looks like, a feathered serpent deity. In their mythology, the world was periodically destroyed and rebuilt by the gods. Because the Feathered Serpent himself was the one responsible for the eclipse, he is often referred to as the Fifth Sun. The famous Pyramid of the Niches at El Tajin is believed by many to be dedicated to Quetzalcoatl, and the many ball courts there also suggest that his cult was important. What a conundrum. Toltec religion. Getting the snake out of the cave had been Tlalocs only objective for months on end. Table of Contents [ hide] Etymology and Archaeology This betterment meant something different with every new installment, which explains why many Aztec deities are related to different realms. And, it wasnt so bad after all. His most prominent manifestation in art, however, is literally that of a serpent with a feathered head.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'aztecsandtenochtitlan_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_3',139,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-aztecsandtenochtitlan_com-medrectangle-4-0'); There is also rich iconography, sculpture, and mythology associated with Quetzalcoatl among all the major cultures of Mesoamerica not just in history but also in the modern world.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'aztecsandtenochtitlan_com-banner-1','ezslot_4',110,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-aztecsandtenochtitlan_com-banner-1-0'); Quetzalcoatl has been worshiped by all the major Mesoamerican cultures including the Mayans and the Aztecs. Quetzalcoatl was so closely linked to fertility and creation that many groups held him to be the creator of mankind. [19] The most important center was Cholula, where the world's largest pyramid was dedicated to Quetzalcoatl-worship. This would oppose the other serpent rising in the exact opposite direction, namely outwards. A Walking Tour of the Maya Capital of Chichn Itz, The Chac Mool Sculptures of Ancient Mexico, Influence of the Olmec Civilization on Mesoamerica. Cholula remained the most important center of worship of Quetzalcoatl, the Aztec/Nahua version of the feathered-serpent deity, in the post-classic period. Hernn Corts, perhaps the most notorious colonizer, is often identified as this very reincarnation of Quetzalcoatl. Quetzalcoatl is not a religious symbol in the Latter-day Saint faith, and is not taught as such, nor is it in their doctrine that Quetzalcoatl is Jesus. Welcome. While at first a fully zoomorphic feathered serpent, Quetzalcoatl would later be represented in his human form. Although this proves that the concept of a divine feathered serpent has been around a long time, most historians agree that the cult of Quetzalcoatl did not come about until the late Classic era, hundreds of years later. Archaeological sites in Mexico City have street addresses, not GPS coordinates, as sites tend to elsewhere. The pterosaur Quetzalcoatlus was named after the deity. Quetzalcoatl by himself was a god of many things to the Toltecs and Aztecs. This, too, was a prophecy about what his next reincarnation would look like. Quetzalcoatl (/ktslkotl/[3]) [pron 1] is a deity in Aztec culture and literature. Before he left, however, he promised to return. 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. These two serpents formed a duality, with the feathered serpent representing the life and growth that balanced violence. Well, in fact, the Feathered Serpent is deemed to be the god who has helped Mesoamerican cultures start their corn crops. Aztec Gods Quetzalcoatl Tezcatlipoca Quetzalcoatl occupied a unique position in the Aztec pantheon and was considered one of the most important gods. Well, not all of them, but some do. [8] In his form as the morning star, Venus, he is also depicted as a harpy eagle. On the basis of the iconography of the feathered-serpent deity at sites such as Teotihuacan, Xochicalco, Chichn Itz, Tula and Tenochtitlan combined with certain ethnohistorical sources, historian David Carrasco has argued that the preeminent function of the feathered-serpent deity throughout Mesoamerican history was as the patron deity of the urban center - a god of culture and civilization. Each age of the world was given a new sun, and the world was on its Fifth Sun, having been destroyed four times previously. During the Post-Classic Period (900AD-1519AD), the main center of Quetzalcoatls worship was Cholula. This talisman was a conch shell cut at the cross-section and was likely worn as a necklace by religious rulers, as such objects have been discovered in burials in archaeological sites throughout Mesoamerica,[6] and potentially symbolized patterns witnessed in hurricanes, dust devils, seashells, and whirlpools, which were elemental forces that had significance in Aztec mythology. Evidence of such worship comes from the iconography of different Mesoamerican cultures, in which serpent motifs occur frequently. When Corts arrived, these factions had been in a state of nearly continuous warfare for seventy-five years. The Toltecs and Nahuas worshiped the god before he was eventually adopted by the Aztecs. Cult worship may have involved the ingestion of hallucinogenic mushrooms (psilocybes), considered sacred. 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. Although some Mesoamericans believed that Quetzalcoatl did not enjoy human sacrifices, others believed that his creation myth demanded them. Having been in awe of the sun and its light, the snake decided to fly toward the sun. At Cholula, however, the gods cult is most evident. ThoughtCo, Aug. 28, 2020, thoughtco.com/facts-about-quetzalcoatl-2136322. The story that has been passed down says that after throwing himself into fire Quetzalcoatl was destined to return one day. To this day, new depictions of the creator deity can be found in Mexico. "9 Facts About Quetzalcoatl." The west is represented by Quetzalcoatl who is also the White Tezcatlipoca and the god of light, justice, mercy, and wind. Remember, he has already been deemed a god. There is no question that the legend of Quetzalcoatl played a significant role in the colonial period. In the 16th century, Spaniards conquered the Aztec Empire. This made it an important sign of fertility because it brought with it the rains that renewed the earth. It is, indeed, probable that the sole reason why Quetzalcoatl remained so important was because of his worship in earlier empires. By 1200 AD, Quetzalcoatls iconography had become more fixed. 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. Furthermore, he saw the Quetzal birds flying in the sky, which was also something he had never seen before. One of the jewels he is depicted with is the wind jewel, affirming his status as a wind god. Ultimately during the Fifth Sun, Quetzalcoatl was successfully able to retrieve the human bones from the underworld Mictlan (guarded by the realm's ruler - Mictlantecuhtli) that were infused with his own blood and corn to once again 'regenerate' mankind. Quetzalcoatl is the creator of all people and the giver of wisdom, corn, and the calendar. For the ancient and contemporary people of Mexico, corn is not just your average crop. 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. Corn did exist, but it grew at a location that the ancient cultures were unable to reach. It has been theorised that the legend was created by mixing Moctezuma IIs welcome speech with a later Franciscan invention that related Cortes with Quetzalcoatl. 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. Nor would he be seen as the reincarnation of the Feathered Serpent god.Indeed, the Aztecs were quick to figure out the nature of the visit of the Spaniards. There is no surviving account of this myth in native sources, however. Throughout Mesoamerican culture, they practiced human sacrifice and ritual cannibalism to placate this god. In fact, it is a deep cultural symbol that is intrinsic to daily life. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. While the temple was dedicated to two other deities, Quetzalcoatl still seems to be the main guest at the party because of his relationship with the inhabitants. READ MORE: Water Gods and Sea Gods From Around the World. It was here that the name Quetzalcoatl was given to him by his Nahua followers. 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. 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. [44], Quetzalcoatl was fictionalized in the 1982 film Q as a monster that terrorizes New York City. As mentioned before, the god Tlaloc is believed to have helped to create Quetzalcoatl. The following morning, he ordered his servants to build him a stone coffin. Have you ever eaten blue, white, black, or red corn? As the story goes, the Aztec believed in a white, bearded god named Quetzalcoatl, who, long ago, had disappeared into the east. 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. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/facts-about-quetzalcoatl-2136322. 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. Don't fly too close to the sun or sit under her rays unprotected for too long. Later Spanish sources of history claimed that Moctezuma II thought Cortes to be a manifestation of Quetzalcoatl. After the eclipse of the fourth sun, Quetzalcoatl would go on a trip to the underworld. The language is spoken today in the highlands of central Guatemala. Answer (1 of 6): So you have decided to dedicate your life and afterlife to the Prince of Pleasure. The worship of this deity has been traced back to as early as the first century BC. C catl Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl [s kat topiltsin ketsalkoat] ( Our Prince One-Reed Precious Serpent) (c. 895-947) is a mythologised figure appearing in 16th-century accounts of Nahua historical traditions, [5] where he is identified as a ruler in the 10th century of the Toltecs by Aztec tradition their . In the Maya area he was approximately equivalent to Kukulkan and Gukumatz, names that also roughly translate as "feathered serpent" in different Mayan languages. One of the most often-repeated stories involving Quetzalcoatl was one that spread after the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in Mexico. 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. This made crops grow and brought water for drinking. Tlaloc blew the snake into the air, to a point where he was higher than the birds. Auh yn jquac molhuja eheca, mjtoa: teuhtli quaqualaca, ycoioca, tetecujca, tlatlaiooa, tlatlapitza, tlatlatzinj, motlatlaueltia. These sources further claimed that it was because of this superstition that Moctezuma II invited Cortes as a guest and didnt harm him or his soldiers. He was a creator deity having contributed essentially to the creation of mankind. Continue with Recommended Cookies. Incest is nothing new in mythology, but seducing a celibate priestess might be. 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Of course, he was an ant, so moving from one side of the mountain to the other was a bit tougher than just flying there like a bird or slide-dancing there like a snake. [11] That period lies within the Late Preclassic to Early Classic period (400 BC 600 AD) of Mesoamerican chronology; veneration of the figure appears to have spread throughout Mesoamerica by the Late Classic period (600900AD). Residing in the darkness felt safe to him, so he decided to stay far away from the life-giving water. Did the Incas worship Quetzalcoatl? Quetzalcoatl is the most recognizable name among the Aztec gods. 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. However, each and every god had failed terribly in doing so. Quetzalcoatl had aspects in which he functioned as other gods. Quetzalcoatl's opposite was Tezcatlipoca, who supposedly sent Quetzalcoatl into exile. . He used his own blood from wounds he inflicted on himself to give life to the bones and create mankind. [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]. 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 Nahua civilization, which included the central Mexican Aztecs, almost universally worshipped Quetzalcoatl among their gods. 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. Some Franciscan monks claimed that the people of Mexico had been evangelized before, possibly by Thomas the Apostle who was said to have traveled beyond the Ganges to preach the gospel. For example, theSerpent iconography represents both the light of day and the darkness of night, the birth of life, and the fatality of death. Circular temples were believed to please Ehcatl because they offered no sharp obstacles to the wind. Some Mesoamericans believed that as part of the creation of the world he had given people maize, making him an important agricultural god. Looking at the iconography and retold myths of Mesoamerica, some historians have theories that Quetzalcoatl came to be associated with culture and urban civilization. Eventually, this led to the fact that the four brothers became the creators of the universe, together referred to as the Tezcatlipocas. In tracing the history of the worship of Quetzalcoatl, it is necessary to go back to the dawn of Mesoamerican civilization. What are the facts associated with this mysterious god? The city of Cholula, in particular, was known for the importance it laid on the deity of the feathered serpent. (2020, August 28). Different versions of the birth of god are prevalent in Mesoamerican mythology. He used his own blood from wounds he inflicted on himself to give life to the bones and create mankind. My work has also been published on Buzzfeed and most recently in Time magazine. [12] Feathered-serpent iconography is prominent at all of these sites. The worship of Quetzalcoatl sometimes included animal sacrifices, and in colonial traditions Quetzalcoatl was said to oppose human sacrifice. With great respect and awe. Quetzalcoatl was many things: (1) a historical personage - a great priest-king and religious reformer who lived in approximately the tenth century A.D. Like most of their gods, the Aztecs shared him with both allies and foes throughout Mexico and Central America. This is best described in the sixteenth-century book Popol Vuh: the written creation story from the Mayas. The Aztecs did have their own story surrounding Quetzalcoatl becoming one of the brothers. Like many other Mesoamerican deities, the story of our god sees several reincarnations. Temple of Ehcatl-Quetzalcoatl. The new perceptions came with the installment of the Toltec and Aztec empire and how they braided their more violent nature in their mythology. In sculptures adorning temples throughout ancient Mexico, he generally appeared as a plumed serpent, although sometimes he had human features as well. In the post-classic Nahua civilization of central Mexico (Aztec), the worship of Quetzalcoatl was ubiquitous. The first one, Huitzilopochtli, was one of the Tezcatlipoca brothers and the embodiment of the expansion of the empire. In fact, the Feathered Serpent was the patron deity of the priests, meaning that he was supporting and protecting them. In it, Montezuma welcomed the foreigner to take his throne which I have briefly kept for you.. 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. Subtleties in, and an imperfect scholarly understanding of, high Nahuatl rhetorical style make the exact intent of these comments tricky to ascertain, but Restall argues that Moctezuma's politely offering his throne to Corts (if indeed he did ever give the speech as reported) may well have been meant as the exact opposite of what it was taken to mean: politeness in Aztec culture was a way to assert dominance and show superiority. Quetzalcoatl's link to erudition and religious dedication ensured his worship across Mesoamerica, and some priests of high rank were anointed with his name. Aztec God Quetzalcoatl According to one myth, Quetzalcoatl was born to a virgin called Chimalman to whom god Onteol appeared in a dream. 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. He is usually called one of the Aztec gods, but even this identification only reveals a partial truth. The first rays of light impressed the snake, making him marvel at the world around him. Whether Quetzalcoatl would return was out of the question. According to one version, Quetzalcoatl was born to a virgin called Chimalman to whom god Onteol appeared in a dream. However, Quetzalcoatl was already worshiped well before the Aztecs reigned over the area we know today as Mesoamerica. Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli The god of the Morning Star is sometimes considered to be separate from Quetzalcoatl, but is elsewhere given as one of the wind gods titles. READ MORE: Sun Gods: Ancient Solar Deities From Around the World. [24] In another story, the virgin Chimalman conceived Quetzalcoatl by swallowing an emerald. Human form among their gods well before the Aztecs is represented by Quetzalcoatl who is also depicted a! Colonial period not all of these sites hallucinogenic mushrooms ( psilocybes ), considered sacred months... 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