how to worship quetzalcoatl

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. [20] Historian Enrique Florescano - also analyzing Teotihuacan iconography - argues that the Feathered Serpent was part of a triad of agricultural deities: The feathered serpent was furthermore connected to the planet Venus because of this planet's importance as a sign of the beginning of the rainy season. What are the facts associated with this mysterious god? Historian Matthew Restall concludes that: The legend of the returning lords, originated during the Spanish-Mexica war in Corts' reworking of Moctezuma's welcome speech, had by the 1550s merged with the Corts-as-Quetzalcoatl legend that the Franciscans had started spreading in the 1530s. [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. Quetzalcoatls quarrels with his brother Tezcatlipoca sometimes brought about these destructions of the world. This, it is believed, explains why he was looking inwards to the city. There are several stories about the birth of Quetzalcoatl. Hernn Corts, perhaps the most notorious colonizer, is often identified as this very reincarnation of Quetzalcoatl. In some versions of the ancient Mesoamerican histories, Quetzalcoatl was reborn as Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli after being burned on a funeral pyre. The worship of this deity has been traced back to as early as the first century BC. However, this legend likely has a foundation in events that took place immediately prior to the arrival of the Spaniards. To create humans, Quetzalcoatl had to go into the Underworld and collect some bones. While this link between Hernn Corts and Quetzalcoatl remains popular, it is likely based more in Spanish beliefs and misunderstanding than the religion of the Aztecs. [8] In his form as the morning star, Venus, he is also depicted as a harpy eagle. This is also evident in the duality of serpent figures throughout Mesopotamian history. This is largely due to the story that the Aztec king welcomed Hernn Corts, the Spanish conquistador, as the reincarnation of the god. 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"). The meaning of his name is "Winged Serpent" or "Feathered Serpent". Among the Aztecs, it was related to wind, Venus, Sun, merchants, arts, crafts, knowledge, and learning. Hernan Cortes, who led the Spaniards, was first invited into the city by Aztec Emperor Moctezuma II. 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 . 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. He is usually interpreted as the same god with a different regional name, and is therefore often referred to as Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. [24] A fourth story narrates that Quetzalcoatl was born from Coatlicue, who already had four hundred children who formed the stars of the Milky Way. [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. While the Aztecs were still waiting for the returning god Quetzalcoatl, most of their people were killed due to diseases brought by the Spaniards. 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 and Tezcatlipoca may have been worshiped as early as 10,000 BC. Quetzalcoatl's opposite was Tezcatlipoca, who supposedly sent Quetzalcoatl into exile. They also believed that the Aztec gods reflected aspects of their own religion. The shift in perception had to do with a bigger emphasis on war and human sacrifice in these empires. According to one version, Quetzalcoatl was born to a virgin called Chimalman to whom god Onteol appeared in a dream. 2. This, too, can be seen in the birth of Quetzalcoatl. The worship of a feathered serpent deity is first document in Teotihuacan in the first century BCE or first century CE. 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. The other serpent is normally seen as a war god, a war serpent symbolizing the military expansion of the Teotihuacan empire. In Mesoamerican history, many different ethnopolitical groups worshiped a feathered-serpent deity. By the 3rd century AD this was recognizable as a god, who had a pyramid dedicated to his honor in the city of Teotihuacn. From about 1200 onwards, Quetzalcoatl switches from rocking his serpent head to his more human form. Following the millenarian beliefs that were popular in much of European Christianity, they believed that the conquest of the New World was a vital step in bringing the return of Christ, which would follow major societal changes around the world. Each represented a color and a cardinal direction, with Quetzalcoatl being the only god that wasnt related to war or human sacrifice. [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]. Quetzalcoatl, or "Feathered Serpent," was an important god to the ancient people of Mesoamerica. Quetzalcoatl was a jack of many trades, a truth also reflected in the stories surrounding his birth. 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. As mentioned before, the god Tlaloc is believed to have helped to create Quetzalcoatl. This strongly suggests that these deities were Mayan equivalents of Quetzalcoatl. After only a couple of years, the Aztec empire ended due to a combination of foreign diseases and diplomacy. The earliest depictions of the feathered serpent deity were fully zoomorphic, depicting the serpent as an actual snake, but already among the Classic Maya, images of the deity began acquiring human features, such as the beard (see the Borgia codex illustration above) that he was sometimes depicted with. 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. Mictlanteuctli and Mictlancihuatl, the two gods that ruled that realm, gave him a puzzle he was expected to complete before he could take the bones. Corn did exist, but it grew at a location that the ancient cultures were unable to reach. The legend of Quetzalcoatl is spoofed in the Adult Swim CGI series Xavier: Renegade Angel. The Teotihuacan iconographical depictions are often interpreted as a version where Quetzalcoatl played the role of a fertility-related serpent deity. 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. Followers of the war god rebelled, however, forcing Topiltzin and his fol-lowers into exile on the Yucatn peninsula. [41] However, in 1892 one president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, John Taylor, wrote:[42]. [45][46] The deity has been featured as a character in the manga and anime series Yu-Gi-Oh! Like most of their gods, the Aztecs shared him with both allies and foes throughout Mexico and Central America. 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.. One noted Post-Classic Toltec ruler was named Quetzalcoatl; he may be the same . Represented as the plumed serpent, Quetzalcoatl was also seen as manifest in the wind, one of the most powerful forces of nature; a text in the Nahuatl language captures this relationship: Quetzalcoatl; yn ehecatl ynteiacancauh yntlachpancauh in tlaloque, yn aoaque, yn qujqujiauhti. Around the 5th and 6th centuries, the cult of the feather serpent spread to many central Mexican cities, including Cocaxtla and Cholula. Even in his more violent aspects, Quetzalcoatl was connected to the fertility of the earth. 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. The temple of Quetzalcatl at Tenochtitln, the Aztec capital, was a round building, a shape that fitted the god's personality as Ehcatl. In Aztec language, his name indicated him to be a boundary between the Earth and the sky. Quetzalcoatl had aspects in which he functioned as other gods. Profile [] Identity []. Along with one of his brothers, he was instructed by his parents to create the world six hundred years after his birth. Archaeological sites in Mexico City have street addresses, not GPS coordinates, as sites tend to elsewhere. In his aspect of Quetzalcoatl-Ehcatl, he wore a duckbill mask with fangs and shell jewelry. The worship of Quetzalcoatl is wide-reaching, has a rich history, and exemplifies the complex world of Aztec mythology. Mainly because they thought one of them was the reincarnation of the beloved god discussed in this article. 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. [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. It starts with Tlaloc, the Aztec god of rain. Mayans had deities with feathered serpent as their names. This would oppose the other serpent rising in the exact opposite direction, namely outwards. Quetzalcoatl occupied a unique position in the Aztec pantheon and was considered one of the most important gods. 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