how to worship quetzalcoatlhow to worship quetzalcoatl

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. There are several stories about the birth of Quetzalcoatl. Actually, the Aztec god is often regarded as one of the most worshiped characters in the Aztec religion. 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. [25] Quetzalcoatl was often considered the god of the morning star, and his twin brother Xolotl was the evening star (Venus). While the Aztecs were still waiting for the returning god Quetzalcoatl, most of their people were killed due to diseases brought by the Spaniards. Occasionally, he is accompanied by his namesake quetzal bird. 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. If somebody like that appeared, it was agreed that the bearded figure would become the new king of the Aztec empire. [32][33][34][35][36] Most documents expounding this theory are of entirely Spanish origin, such as Corts's letters to Charles V of Spain, in which Corts goes to great pains to present the naive gullibility of the Aztecs in general as a great aid in the conquest of the Aztec Empire. Members of this confederacy from Tlaxcala, Puebla, and Oaxaca provided the Spaniards with the army that first reclaimed the city of Cholula from its pro-Aztec ruling faction, and ultimately defeated the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan (Mexico City). Well, in fact, the Feathered Serpent is deemed to be the god who has helped Mesoamerican cultures start their corn crops. His body is usually black, a color that represents the north in Aztec art. Xolotl was the sinister god of monstrosities who wears the spirally-twisted wind jewel and the ear ornaments of Quetzalcoatl. The worship of Quetzalcoatl sometimes included animal sacrifices, and in colonial traditions Quetzalcoatl was said to oppose human sacrifice. Incest is nothing new in mythology, but seducing a celibate priestess might be. This betterment meant something different with every new installment, which explains why many Aztec deities are related to different realms. But the history of the former has been handed down to us through an impure Lamanitish source, which has sadly disfigured and perverted the original incidents and teachings of the Savior's life and ministry. The earliest Aztec and classic Maya serpent iconography can be found in a six-tiered pyramid specifically dedicated to Quetzalcoatl. One of these groups centered around the city of Cholula, where the great pyramid was dedicated to Quetzalcoatl. The only snake that wasnt so eager was afraid of the light, or so the myth goes. The first keeper of written records, he was patron of the Calmecac, a school for noble children who learned to paint histories and astrology, as well as practice the art of war. 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. The south is represented by Huitzilopochtli who is the Blue Tezcatlipoca and the god of war. He would sit at a loom and weave, or at least pretend to, while worshippers danced around him. Although early images had shown a serpent, by the classical period of Aztec culture Quetzalcoatl was more often shown with a human body. 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. I am the owner and chief researcher at this site. He also had anthropomorphic forms, for example in his aspects as Ehecatl the wind god. Most Mesoamerican beliefs included cycles of suns. 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. For more details, Wikipedia is a good resource. The Teotihuacan iconographical depictions are often interpreted as a version where Quetzalcoatl played the role of a fertility-related serpent deity. But also, his role and what he represented changed during every installment of his being.Divine messengers would talk with the god, asking for assistance in reaching the other side of the mountain: the location of the corn. What is often called the Aztec Empire was a confederation of three city-states, established in the 14th and 15th centuries. [44], Quetzalcoatl was fictionalized in the 1982 film Q as a monster that terrorizes New York City. The floods, too, caused great disaster to the earth in general. 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. His representation of heaven and hell is also interpreted in different realms. [12] In the Postclassic period (9001519AD), the worship of the feathered-serpent deity centered in the primary Mexican religious center of Cholula. Some legends describe him as opposed to human sacrifice[26] while others describe him practicing it.[27][28]. 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. 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. The Nahua civilization, which included the central Mexican Aztecs, almost universally worshipped Quetzalcoatl among their gods. The temple can be found at Teotihuacan and was erected in the third century. 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. Like many other Mesoamerican deities, the story of our god sees several reincarnations. In his aspect as Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, he was the fearsome god of Venus and the morning star. 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. Quetzalcoatls quarrels with his brother Tezcatlipoca sometimes brought about these destructions of the world. These, then, are the people that still inhabit the world. He headed east, eventually settling in Chichen Itza. At the end of the fourth cycle, when mankind had perished again according to the mythology, Quetzalcoatl created a new people with his blood. In their mythology, the world was periodically destroyed and rebuilt by the gods. Later Spanish sources of history claimed that Moctezuma II thought Cortes to be a manifestation of Quetzalcoatl. Mexico's flagship airline Aeromxico has a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner painted in a special Quetzalcoatl livery. But, remember, the promise of Quetzalcoatl was to bring heaven to the beings that were living in hell. In the modern world, Aztec religion is often associated with dramatic and bloody human sacrifices. [9] In Mazatec legends the astrologer deity Tlahuizcalpanteuctli, who is also represented by Venus, bears a close relationship with Quetzalcoatl. While in his own story, this was not all too literal, his actions that followed were actually the literal interpretation of his promise. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. And, it wasnt so bad after all. Quetzalcoatlhe was the wind, the guide and road sweeper of the rain gods, of the masters of the water, of those who brought rain. 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. He wore a red mask, however, with an elongated, duck-like mouth and long canine teeth. Quetzalcoatl, or "Feathered Serpent," was an important god to the ancient people of Mesoamerica. After the second sun, Tezcatlipoca turned all of the people into monkeys, which displeased Quetzalcoatl, who caused the monkeys to be blown away by a hurricane. Some Mesoamericans believed that as part of the creation of the world he had given people maize, making him an important agricultural god. 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 the codices, he was generally more human-like. Hernn Corts, perhaps the most notorious colonizer, is often identified as this very reincarnation of Quetzalcoatl. In Aztec culture, this was considered to be one of the most important primal forces. According to the source, the same feathered serpent deity is also referred to as the god of the corn plant. However, each and every god had failed terribly in doing so. 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. Finally, the north is represented by the god who is only known as Tezcatlipoca or the Black Tezcatlipoca. Because, if they did include human sacrifice, basically a part of Quetzalcoatl himself would be killed in order to honor him. Tlaloc blew the snake into the air, to a point where he was higher than the birds. According to this myth, the four sons of Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl, one of them being Quetzalcoatl, represent the four cardinal directions. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. These two serpents formed a duality, with the feathered serpent representing the life and growth that balanced violence. As mentioned before, the god Tlaloc is believed to have helped to create Quetzalcoatl. Christopher Minster, Ph.D., is a professor at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador. In some traditions, he was considered to be the creator of mankind. 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. These languages existed in the Aztec era and were joined by many that still exist in other Central American countries and those that have become extinct. During the epi-classic period, a dramatic spread of feathered serpent iconography is evidenced throughout Mesoamerica, and during this period images begin to figure prominently at sites such as Chichn Itz, El Tajn, and throughout the Maya area. At one hand, Mayans considered a snake as the embodiment of the cosmos. Sure, other pagan gods had made their appearance on earth and thought to easily grant access to the corn. Often our current time was considered the fifth sun,[29] the previous four having been destroyed by flood, fire and the like. Quetzalcoatl is a form of one of Mesoamericas most wide-spread images. The worship of Quetzalcoatl is wide-reaching, has a rich history, and exemplifies the complex world of Aztec mythology. 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. Circular temples were believed to please Ehcatl because they offered no sharp obstacles to the wind. Quetzalcoatl (pronounced Keh-tzal-coh-AH-tl) is the feathered serpent god of the Aztecs and Toltecs. Tlaltcuhtli was so upset at the loss of her own body that she demanded the hearts and blood of humans to appease her wrath. Aztec ceremonies often lasted several days . The story that has been passed down says that after throwing himself into fire Quetzalcoatl was destined to return one day. Human worship. 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. Montezuma king of the aztecs during the era had even confirmed that Cortes was Quetzalcoatl or a reincarnation of their deity. The Toltec people, who the Aztecs considered to be their ancestors, used Quetzalcoatl as a title for military and political rulers. The worship of Quetzalcoatl sometimes included animal sacrifices, and in other traditions Quetzalcoatl was said to oppose human sacrifice. Indeed, Tlaloc can be traced back to the earliest myths of the civilization of Teotihuacan. "9 Facts About Quetzalcoatl." It was also the patron god of the Aztec priesthood. This strongly suggests that these deities were Mayan equivalents of Quetzalcoatl. Quetzalcoatlhe was the wind, the guide and road sweeper of the rain gods, of the masters of the water, of those who brought rain. 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. 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. 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. Quetzalcoatl was also linked with Aztec priesthood and one of the two high priests in the famous Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan assumed the title of Quetzalcoatl. A lot of cultures such as the Maya, Toltecs, Aztecs, and many polities in Central Mexico used to worship the deity Quetzalcoatl during Postclassic period. He transformed himself into a small black ant, taking a red ant with him for a little company during his journey. The worship of Quetzalcoatl sometimes included animal sacrifices, and in other traditions Quetzalcoatl was said to oppose human sacrifice. [40] However, a majority of Mesoamericanist scholars, such as Matthew Restall (2003, 2018[37]), James Lockhart (1994), Susan D. Gillespie (1989), Camilla Townsend (2003a, 2003b), Louise Burkhart, Michel Graulich and Michael E. Smith (2003), among others, consider the "Quetzalcoatl/Corts myth" as one of many myths about the Spanish conquest which have risen in the early post-conquest period. 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. [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. 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. [10], The earliest known documentation of the worship of a Feathered Serpent occurs in Teotihuacan in the first century BC or first century AD. Cholula had been captured by pro-Aztec forces. 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. Where once feathered snakes were worshiped all over, after the Spanish conquest the locals were forced into worshiping Jesus Christ. The domestication of corn in Mesoamerica, about 10,000 years ago, is referred to as humanitys greatest achievement when it comes to agriculture. Toltec religion. Well, not all of them, but some do. It is said that he is called the god of wind, spirit of rain, the god of culture, and the . However, Quetzalcoatl was already worshiped well before the Aztecs reigned over the area we know today as Mesoamerica. The Tlaxcalteca, along with other city-states across the Plain of Puebla, then supplied the auxiliary and logistical support for the conquests of Guatemala and West Mexico while Mixtec and Zapotec caciques (Colonial indigenous rulers) gained monopolies in the overland transport of Manila galleon trade through Mexico, and formed highly lucrative relationships with the Dominican order in the new Spanish imperial world economic system that explains so much of the enduring legacy of indigenous life-ways that characterize southern Mexico and explain the popularity of the Quetzalcoatl legends that continued through the colonial period to the present day. 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. According to Aztec mythology, Earth had been through four cycles of Sun, each of which resulted in the destruction of mankind. [7] Animals thought to represent Quetzalcoatl include resplendent quetzals, rattlesnakes (coatl meaning "serpent" in Nahuatl), crows, and macaws. Looking at the iconography and retold myths of Mesoamerica, some historians have theories that Quetzalcoatl came to be associated with culture and urban civilization. Throughout Mesoamerican culture, they practiced human sacrifice and ritual cannibalism to placate this god. The city of Cholula, in particular, was known for the importance it laid on the deity of the feathered serpent. [24], According to another version of the myth, Quetzalcoatl is one of the four sons of Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl, the four Tezcatlipocas, each of whom presided over one of the four cardinal directions. Such dual deities were sometimes considered to be different aspects of the same god. 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. [8] In his form as the morning star, Venus, he is also depicted as a harpy eagle.

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