The Forbidden Tree

One of the most curious things about the myths and legends of the past is how strikingly similar they can be, even when arising in total isolation from others. When all other traditions of culture seem alien, our stories unite us all. One such story from Aztec lore holds this particularly true. For on first reckoning there seems never to have been two more unlikely faiths to have common ground as Christianity and the religion of the Aztecs, but common ground there is aplenty.

Xochiquetzal
Image taken from the Codex Rios

" Hail to our Mother, from whose hand
  the yellow flowers blossomed,
  the seeds of the maguey were scattered,
  as she came forth from Paradise...

  Hail to the goddess,
  radiant as the bright butterfly
  in the bush of thorns.... "
        - HYMN TO THE ALL MOTHER

Long ago in the most ancient times, when the gods were at constant war with one another, each yearning for mastery over the cosmos, there lived a fair goddess in a fair land. Xochiquetzal, as she was called, was a youthful deity, and a sight of wonder to behold. With flowers in her hair, and a soothing, songlike voice, she reigned in a lost age of innocence, an age of dance and laughter. The land within which she dwelled was a Paradise worthy of her beauty. For this was Tamoanchán, the fairest of all the Thirteen Heavens. Vast, sweeping fields rolled away for eternity, towering peaks soared into the sky, topped with a snow which did not melt. The boughs of the trees bowed under the abundance of fruits and blossoms, as the eternal rays of the sun shone through to the soft grass below. One tree above all others stood in the very centre of this land, towering above all others in stature and in splendour. When the golden rays of the radiant sun fell upon its leaves, the Tree released the most alluring perfume into the air, which the breeze would soon carry to the four corners of this idyllic land. It was said that the birds which roosted in its branches serenaded Tamoanchán with the most enchanting evensong the Thirteen Heavens ever heard. This was a land of the purest tranquillity. The Great Creator, Ometeotl (for his role in the Creation, please click here), had gifted this land to Xochiquetzal with but one command - that she never eat from the fruit of the Tree.

Mictlantecuhtli
Statue in the National Museum
of Anthropology, Veracruz

Meanwhile in the cosmos, it was the dawn of the fifth age of the Sun. The hopes of an at last peaceful era were high, in the wake of the terrible destruction unleashed in the first four incarnations, the last ending in a cataclysmic flood at the hands of the goddess Chalchiúhtlicue (for the story of these struggles, please click here). Now Quetzalcóatl, the Plumed Serpent, and Tezcatlipoca, Lord of the Smoking Mirror, united to build the world anew (two friends who would one day become the most terrible of foes, in a story told here). From the body of the Earth Monster Tlaltecuhtli they wove the new land, and from her skin and bones they fashioned new gods. But the infant world was barren and lifeless, for all had been destroyed in Chalchiúhtlicue's wrath. It was Quetzalcóatl who reasoned that only from the bones of the previous races of man to walk the earth could a new one rise. The gods agreed, and the Plumed Serpent set off in search of the bones, held in the grim world of Mictlán - the Underworld. For while all else on Earth may change, the land of the dead never shows a new face. No less stubborn was the grisly lord of the dead, the god Mictlantecuhtli, who personally tore the souls of men from their mortal forms, and ruled Mictlán with his consort Mictecacíhuatl. No one, not even a god, could enter Mictlán whilst alive. With no other god eager to venture into that dark realm, Quetzalcóatl resolved to embark on the grim quest. Raising a pyre high, and setting in its heart a flame, Quetzalcóatl faced death with valour, and stepped into the roaring conflagration.

Isla Bay - the furthest corner of the Aztec World
Photograph taken by 'Intersofia'

The pain at last subsiding, Quetzalcóatl awoke with a start. The darkness was heavy here, and a ghastly smell of rotting corpses poisoned the air. Turning north, the air grew fouler still, in a world so far away from idyllic Tamoanchán. After a while, when the stench of death choked even the Plumed Serpent, Quetzalcóatl at last found he who no other dares to seek - Mictlantecuhtli. Sitting upon a high throne, skeletal, emaciated and grimacing, Mictlantecuhtli gazed upon the intruder with unblinking, baleful eyes. The Plumed Serpent bowed before Death, and asked for the bones of the extinct animals, fish and men who had once walked the Earth. The dark god, who resented the other gods for residing in the sunlit lands, had no desire to grant Quetzalcóatl's request. Glowing with malice, he agreed to relinquish the bones on the condition that Quetzalcóatl travel four times around Mictlán whilst trumpeting on a holeless conch shell, a feat he deemed impossible, and indeed would at once make a fool of the god. Quetzalcóatl, however, was unfazed. Looking around him, he saw the worms and carrion that feasted upon the decaying corpses of Mictlán, and hatched a plan. Summoning the dark creatures to him, he commanded the worms to burrow through the shell, and the swarm of bees to enter it. The buzzing of the bees, amplified by the shell, became a pleasant music, such that had never been heard in Mictlán before. Mictlantecuhtli, furious that he had been outwitted, caused the very ground to quake and rend asunder in his rage.


Seizing his chance, Quetzalcóatl dived for the bones and made his escape. Just as he neared the mouth of Mictlán, however, he tripped on a fissure the dark god's anger had torn in the ground. Slamming into the bones, with a sickening crunch many of them broke, but the Plumed Serpent recovered and stole away. Coming to Tamoanchán, the gods resolved to create a new human race, to populate this perfect land. Taking blood from each god, Quetzalcóatl prepared the rites necessary to craft a man. Upon opening the pouch which contained the bones, however, the Plumed Serpent saw that they were broken, and knew not how they should be. It is for this reason that mankind has such infinite variety.

Pico de Orizaba
Photograph taken by 'Marte'

For a time, the harmony in Xochiquetzal's domain was absolute, and it seemed that the serenity would endure for all time. But soon, Xochiquetzal, distracted by her new company, began to forget the warning Ometeotl had decreed. One day, when the sun rose, and the perfume of the Forbidden Tree rose hhigh into the sky, Xochiquetzal could resist the temptation no longer. The other gods, and first humans, who had not known of their true nature, encouraged her to seek out the fruits of the Tree. There were so many fruits hanging from its leafy, blossomed boughs, that no one would notice if just one went missing? Tentatively, she edged towards the tree, entranced by its beauty. The Great Creator would not notice if she were to just pick one, she thought. Stretching out her hand, her fingers clasped a ripe, blood red fruit, and gently, she pulled it free. From the moment her fingers touched the fruit, however, a ripple of foreboding thundered through her. Blood dripped from the branch from whence the fruit came. With a scream, she backed away, as the Tree split clean in two, blasted apart by some unseen power. Lightning arced through the sky, and darkness rolled across the land. Spirited away to a lonely mountainside, Xochiquetzal wept, and Ometeotl condemned her for her actions. Since she had disobeyed the Creator's command, she would henceforth be banished from Tamoanchán, never to return. She, along with mankind, would be sent down to the dry, dusty plains of the Earth, and would know suffering. For ever after, Xochiquetzal would never be able to enjoy the beauty of flowers around her, for her eyes would ever stream with tears, tears at her Paradise lost...

The story of Xochiquetzal's exile was a shameful event to the Aztecs, as the reason why they lived in a world of peril. But what must have been equally, if not more, shocking, was the realisation in the minds of the Spanish conquistadores when they heard this tale from their newfound subjects. The parallel between this story and the events in the Garden of Eden are striking, yet the Aztecs had never before known the ways of the Old World. Perhaps the Aztecs were not the aliens they had first appeared after all...

United Kingdom

Aztec Prayers:
Rig Veda Americanus
(A small collection of prayers and hymns to the pagan gods, translated from the Nahuatl language)

Spanish account of the Conquest of Mexico:
The Conquest of New Spain
(A written account of the conquest given by a soldier who actually served under Cortés himself)

Mythology:
Mythology of the Aztec and Maya
(A colourful and nicely presented introduction to Aztec and Mayan Mythology, and an excellent choice for 'getting into it'. The actual cover is different from the one Amazon displays, and the book itself has many high quality photographs in it)

United States

Aztec Prayers:
Rig Veda Americanus
(A small collection of prayers and hymns to the pagan gods, translated from the Nahuatl language)

Spanish account of the Conquest of Mexico:
The Conquest of New Spain
(A written account of the conquest given by a soldier who actually served under Cortés himself)

Mythology:
Mythology of the Aztec and Maya
(A colourful and nicely presented introduction to Aztec and Mayan Mythology, and an excellent choice for 'getting into it'. The actual cover is different from the one Amazon displays, and the book itself has many high quality photographs in it)

  

Quetzalcóatl's Exile

As the one of the Great Protectors of the Aztec nation, the god Quetzalcóatl shared a peculiar bond with his people. An exiled god, it was foretold that one day, Quetzalcóatl would triumphantly return from a distant land and lead his people in a new age of glory on Earth. The story of Quetzalcóatl stands apart from a great many of the myths of the world, in that it had a direct and profound influence upon the course of history. For on the 8th of November 1519, the catastrophic misinterpretation of this legend would spell the doom of the Aztecs. But what had lead to this?

The Mask of Tezcatlipoca
Artifact in the British Museum

Though he had been one of the gods which had helped create the world, Tezcatlipoca, the Lord of the Smoking Mirror, slowly began to reveal a streak of deep cruelty. The dark god possessed a magical mirror of obsidian, which reflected the deepest fears in men's hearts, as well as offering its bearer visions of the future. Though the god saw famine and natural disaster before they struck, he deliberately concealed this information from his people, delighting in their misery, and particularly in the resulting anguish of the most adored of the ruling gods - Quetzalcóatl - The Plumed Serpent. Though both gods had fought alongside one another against the great monster Tlaltecuhtli (for more on this and the creation, please click here), and Tezcatlopica had even sacrificed his own foot in the battle, tensions and mistrust began to build. The first to introduce war to the human world, Tezcatlipoca revelled in bloodshed for its own sake, deciding who should live and who should die on the mortal plain of battle.

Tollán (modern Tula)

Photograph taken by 'Luidger'

Quetzalcóatl, on the other hand, ruled as a living god king over the great city of Tollán, stronghold and crowning jewel of the Toltec people. The Toltecs prospered under his noble guidance, and the world was happy. Tezcatlipoca, however, was not. A skilled shapeshifter however, the dark god came to a great feast one night in Tollán, and deceived the King, switching his goblet for one filled with an extremely poweful drug. Oblivious, Quetzalcóatl drank from his goblet, eagerly partaking in the night's festivities. Soon inebriated, Quetzalcóatl began to behave most strangely. The people looked on in horror and disgust as their King seduced his own sister. The cries of outrage suddenly broke the spell, and Quetzalcóatl regained control of his senses. Still unaware that the scheme had been Tezcatlipoca's, Quetzalcóatl stood in disbelief at how he could have let himself become so drunk. Ashamed to the core at what he had done, the King left the hall, to the shouts of anger of his deceived subjects. The next morning, stricken with grief and frustration, Quetzalcóatl arose to devastating news. Playing on the events of the previous eve, Tezcatlipoca had roused the people against their King, his words of malice seizing upon the impulses of a mob. Realising the true extent of Tezcatlipoca's treachery at last, Quetzalcóatl's frustration turned to rage, and his wrath was terrible. Tollán burned, the mountains quaked, statues toppled and the fruits of the city's civilisation were buried under the Earth. The furious god commanded the magnificent bird which laired in the city to depart the land and not to return. Tollán's hour of greatness had reached an end.

The Sierra Nevada of Mexico
Photograph taken by David Tuggy

Leaving the blasted lands, Quetzalcóatl assembled what remained of his loyal guards and ventured forth into the wilderness. Soon, Quetzalcóatl began to feel grief again. Destroying Tollán had brought him peace, but carried it further from him. After many hours on the road, the exhausted god came to rest at Quauhtitlán. Quetzalcóatl asked his servant to hand him a mirror, and the servant gave the King a polished, reflective obsidian mirror. Quetzalcóatl looked on at his reflection, and saw a broken, elderly face stare back up at him. "I grow old", the god spoke softly. The servants began to weep, mourning the brevity of greatness in the mortal world, that all things, even their great city and King, must all one day end. For behind every glimmer of light, the shadow of Tezcatlipoca lurks. The dejected procession marched onward into the mountains, though stopping as Quetzalcóatl's exhaustion grew. When the god and his servants reached Coaapán, however, an array of deities soared down to the Earth from the high Heavens and surrounded Quetzalcóatl. The gods interrogated the weary traveller, demanding to know where he ventured and why. Quetzalcóatl boldly answered that he was leaving these shores for the land of Tlapallán, the far away realm of his father the sun god, over the distant Oceans, for he had no purpose here any longer, and his ancestral domain called him home. Taking pity on Quetzalcóatl, the gods allowed him to pass, though ordered him to relinquish the divine secrets of his powers, the powers that had allowed him to raise Tollán to such vast heights of human achievement. The arcane magic he wielded would allow any to raise humanity to its former glory. Mistrusting all other gods now due to Tezcatlipoca's treachery, Quetzalcóatl refused, and cast all the records of his secrets into a nearby fountain, where the thundering waters obliterated all trace. Heading further east, Quetzalcóatl continued undaunted along his march of shame.

Mount Popocatépetl

Photograph taken by Alejandro Garcia

The god and his procession pushed on deeper and deeper into the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The ice and snow drifts began to close in, and the frozen wastes bore no fruit. Higher and higher they rose, and one by one, the sheer cold began to claim the life of Quetzalcóatl's servants. At last, only the Plumed Serpent himself remained. Fighting through the deep snow, Quetzalcóatl began a song of exquisite beauty, mourning all those that died with him. Reaching the summit of the volcano, he slid down the far side, coming at last to the Eastern Ocean. Attracted by his enchanting song, all the serpents of the region were drawn to their Plumed Master. As if by preordained command, the serpents twisted and writhed, and coiled within and around each other, creating a raft of their living flesh. Without a backward look, Quetzalcóatl boarded his serpentine craft, and with his eyes fixed on the horizon of the rising Sun, departed the land of Mexico. The Aztec peoples await his return, when he will appear on the horizon of the Eastern Ocean once again, in all his rightful, regal glory, and his secrets will lead them to a new era of mastery over the Earth.

Many eons later, the Aztecs remained as faithful as ever, awaiting their great deliverer. So when the year 1519 anno domini arrived, and the time came when a stranger from a far away land arrived on the horizon of the Eastern Ocean, the Aztecs were jubilant. Unfortunately, this stranger's name was not Quetzalcóatl, but Hernan Cortés...

United Kingdom

Aztec Hymns:

Rig Veda Americanus: Sacred Songs of the Ancient Aztecs (Forgotten Books)

(A collection of prayers to the gods, translated from the Nahuatl language)

Spanish Account of the Conquest of Mexico:

The Conquest of New Spain (Classics)

(A written account of the conquest given by a Spanish soldier who actually served under Cortés himself)

General Reference:

Mythology of the Aztecs and Maya: Myths and Legends of Ancient Mexico and Northern Central America (Mythology Of...)

(A very nice introduction to Aztec and Mayan Mythology, which I found very useful a few years back. Due to the vast nature of the subject, such a book is always helpful in the beginning. The actual front cover is different from the one displayed on Amazon, and the book itself has many high quality photographs in it)

United States

Aztec Hymns:

Rig Veda Americanus: Sacred Songs of the Ancient Aztecs (Forgotten Books)

(A collection of prayers to the gods, translated from the Nahuatl language)

Spanish Account of the Conquest of Mexico:

The Conquest of New Spain (Penguin Classics)

(A written account of the conquest given by a Spanish soldier who actually served under Cortés himself)

General Reference:

The Mythology of the Aztec and Maya: An illustrated encyclopedia of the gods, myths and legends of the Aztecs, Maya and other peoples of ancient ... 200 fine art illustrations and photographs

(A very nice introduction to Aztec and Mayan Mythology, which I found very useful a few years back. Due to the vast nature of the subject, such a book is always helpful in the beginning. The actual front cover is different from the one displayed on Amazon, and the book itself has many high quality photographs in it)

The Agony of the Plumed Serpent

Unlike their famous neighbours to the West, the Mayans of the Central Americas were far older than the Aztecs. Hailing from the Yucatán Peninsula in the East (which, interestingly, is the site of impact of the meteorite which struck the Earth sixty-five million years ago, annihilating the dinosaurs), the Maya people had been a majestic civilisation many centuries before the arrival of the Conquistadores.  When Spanish, and later English, colonists arrived in the Yucatán, not for the first time would the towering ruins strike awe into the hearts of men, nor would the grand stories the Maya told of their gods.

Chichén Itzá - One of the greatest Maya Cities
Photograph taken by Claude Belair.

Rivalling the Egyptians in their age, the Mayans began to make their mark five thousand years ago. Rising to be the greatest power in Central America by the turn of the Common Era, the future looked bright for the Maya. But, for reasons unknown, the Mayan Empire fell from grace in the 10th century AD. Great cities were abandoned, temples neglected and material wealth declined. A mere shadow of its former self by the time the Spaniards were at their doorstep, the story of the Maya is one of melancholy. Their relative poverty in gold and silver spared them the greed of Europe as Spanish steel slaughtered their Aztec brethren, but not for long. Holding out for a little over twenty years after the fall of Tenochtitlan in 1521, the Maya did not go down without a fight. Nor, according to legend, did their gods. The story of how man came to be according to the Maya is one of remarkable tenacity, and age old struggle in pursuit of the 'perfect being', the search for which brought about the world of the Maya.

                      " Now it still ripples, now it still murmurs, ripples, it still sighs,
                        still hums, and it is still empty under the sky.
                        Cometh the first words, that first eloquence... "
                                               - THE CREATION IS OPENED

The Temple of Kukulkan at Chichén Itzá
Photograph taken by Kyle Simourd.

There is no life. There is not one person, one bird, one fish, one tree, one meadow, one forest, one mountain, one gorge or one river. The sky is there, standing high above the barren cosmos. The land is not there, only the vast oceans gathered under the towering skies. The natural order of things is tranquil, and at harmony, yet empty and lifeless. Ruling over this shell, the Plumed Serpent stirs, named Q'uq'umatz in old K'iche' Mayan, Quetzalcóatl in the Nahuatl Aztec tongue and Kukulkan in high Mayan. The Serpent Lord is a magnificent being to behold, resplendent in the blue-green sheen of the vibrant quetzal feathers which adorn his form. Within the high skies, there resides another being, the Heart of the Sky, who glides through the aether to the mighty serpent. The two powers spoke long through the darkness. The ceaseless peace was intolerable. They desired more than air and water for their own. But behold! As each new word fell from their lips, that which was spoken was born. As the Plumed Serpent, Heart of the Sky and his offspring Hurricane, Newborn and Sudden Thunderbolt spoke, that which they longed for came up from the void. Soon, the Plumed Serpent spake the word 'Earth', and a vast form unfurled in the mists of the endless waters. Vast mountains peaks tore through the surf and reached for the skies. The genius of their fertile minds soon gave birth to vast forests upon the bare mountains, as mighty vales of cypress and pine came upon the land. The ocean's waters fell among the pinnacles of stone, and rivers and streams were born. Holding back the skies and the Earth from one another, the Plumed Serpent was pleased with this grand new realm.

Beautiful as it was to behold, all that could be heard upon earth was simply the wind in the trees. The gods considered, "Why this pointless humming? Why should there merely be rustling beneath the trees and bushes?" Their land needed guardians, they thought, and as they thought and spoke it, all manner of animals took form upon the land; deer, birds and many which are hunted now by man. To the meadows were sent the deer and the tall trees and skies the birds for a home. Each were commanded to speak to each other and the gods. The gods asked the animals to give thanks to them for their life. The animals tried, but could not form the words of the gods' language. They howled, screeched and squawked, but did not say thank you. In anger, the Plumed Serpent cursed them to hunt each other for eternity, and feast on the flesh of their brethren. The first attempt of humankind had failed.

Tikal - A great Mayan city
Photograph taken by Clark Anderson.

Not giving in, the gods turned to their own hands for Creation. Taking both earth and water, they crafted a form of mud. Their new creation was as a man in shape, but it was imperfect. This man simply crumbled, disintegrated and dissolved. His face became deformed. He spoke, but could not talk sense. Soon he returned to the aether from which he came. The Plumed Serpent despaired. The other gods decreed that this new creation was to be called Thought, fleeting and transitory as it was, but lacking strong form. The gods tried once again. This time they turned to the wood of the trees that they had themselves borne of thought.. Taking the wood, the gods carved it, whittling from it the form of a man, with a strong mouth amongst its features. These new men came into being, and multiplied across the Earth, chattering happily to each other. "But there was nothing in their hearts and nothing in their minds, no memory of their mason and builder". They ran amok across the Earth, but knew nothing of the Plumed Serpent or Heart of the Sky. Their bodies were dry, and their faces began to crust through lack of sweat. Another attempt had failed, and the gods decreed that these new beings would remain in the trees from whence they came, and their descendants are the monkeys of today. The Plumed Serpent vented his frustration on the Earth with a great flood, a rain of resin from the sky, and terrible monsters which hunted and mutiliated all in their path, all but wiping out the animals of Earth.

Trying one last time, the Plumed Serpent desperately sought out the ingredients for the recipe of man. Calling the approaching dawn, he bade all the animals of the Earth to bring all the food they could find before him. Coming down from the mountains, fearful of his wrath, the creatures of Earth brought all manner of sweet fruits and crops. They brought Cacao, pataxte, innumerable zapotes, anonas, jacotes, nances, matasanos and countless other fruits, all exotic to our eyes. Then the last brought before the Plumed Serpent simple corn. Seeing the corn as the essence of the Earth, which will sustain man for eternity, the Plumed Serpent decreed the new men to be fashioned from the humble maize seed. The goddess Xmucane took the corn and ground it, and nine times she ground it. The other foods, along with the water she rinsed her hands with, created the fat which clings to men's bones. The oceans gave blood to the veins of men, and the other gods fashioned a heart and soul. Four men were born of this new attempt. They looked around and gave thanks to the Plumed Serpent for their life, and began to faithfully work the land. They sacrificed to the gods, and honoured the seasons. As they looked upon the world they were given, their knowledge grew, and their intellect with it. The gods were delighted at last, and the Plumed Serpent was at last satisfied. Finally, a race which could offer the gratitude he so craved, and guard the spectacular creation which he had unleashed, was born...

The story of the Creation according to the Maya is a vast tale, and the struggle for humanity long and arduous, spattered with blood and poetry in equal measure. The tales are recorded in a scripture known as the Popol Vuh, Mayan for 'Book of the People'. Unlike almost every other such account across the civilisations of man, this story is written and told like a novel, not a grandiose work of epic or prayer. Give it a go, and you will see this. The result if a thoroughly refreshing and engaging read. You can get a copy quite easily, and due to the comparative obscurity of Mayan mythology in the West, at a very good price from Amazon:

United Kingdom

Mayan Lore:
Popol Vuh
(A unique relic of the Mayan age, Popol Vuh is the Mayan literary telling of their Creation. It is very readable, dispensing with lofty formulae in favour of a more personal story)

United States

Mayan Lore:
Popol Vuh: The Definitive Edition of The Mayan Book of The Dawn of Life and The Glories of Gods and Kings
(A unique relic of the Mayan age, Popol Vuh is the Mayan literary telling of their Creation. It is very readable, dispensing with lofty formulae in favour of a more personal story)

The Ages of the Sun

Today we once again take up the story of the Aztec Creation tale (for the first episode in this saga, click here). As we saw last time, the earliest days of Creation were governed by the so called ‘Four Tezcatlipocas’, the sons of the primordial Tonacatecuhtli and Tonacacíhuatl, the androgynous forms of the Aztec supreme Creator god – Ometeotl. Each had been assigned a colour and a quarter of the cosmos to rule, and each were charged with the Creation of the world we know today. The White Tezcatlipoca of the West, who later was known by his more famous name – Quetzalcóatl, and the Black Tezcatlipoca of the North, later to be known infamously as Tezcatlipoca, the “Lord of the Smoking Mirror”, joined their power to conquer the mighty Earth Monster Tlaltecuhtli and create the world. However, the world born of the monster’s slain form was not the first world. It was in fact the fifth. The Creation was far from a smooth ride...

Tezcatlipoca - The Jaguar Sun
Images taken from the Codex Rios.

Four worlds had waxed and waned in older times, each victim to the endless struggles of the gods, as each vied for power and ultimate mastery of the cosmos. In the Old Age, of the Four Tezcatlipocas, Black Tezcatlipoca arose to the skies to take his place as the Sun. This was a time before humans, when instead the ethereal plains were home to a race of giants, so mighty in stature that they could tear the trees from their roots and hurl them through the air. Unlike the jötunn of the Norse lands however (for more on this, click here), the giants of the Old Age were not violent by nature, and in fact ate the acorns of the land for sustenance. The age was largely peaceful, and became known as the world of the Jaguar Sun, enduring six hundred and seventy six years. But the envy of gods is not lightly cast aside. White Tezcatlipoca, or Quetzalcóatl, could bear no longer to see Tezcatlipoca at the highest point of the sky. Seizing hold of his great staff, Quetzalcóatl struck down Tezcatlipoca from the Heavens, hurling him into the endless oceans at the farthest extremes of the land. However, by doing so, he had knocked the Sun from its place in the sky, and darkness covered the land. In his rage, Tezcatlipoca rose from the murky depths, assuming the form of a powerful jaguar. Tezcatlipoca wrenched himself onto dry land, and sent forth a plague of jaguars onto the plains of Mesoamerica, thirsty for blood and howling for revenge. The jaguars hunted down and exterminated the giants in an orgy of violence and bloodshed which would spell the doom to each of the first four worlds. His bloodlust temporarily sated, Tezcatlipoca leaped into the night sky where he became the celestial gathering of stars known to us as the constellation of the Great Bear.

Éhecatl - The Lord of the Winds
Image taken from the Codex Magliabechiano.

Quetzalcóatl’s hour had come. Seizing his immortal throne as supreme god, Quetzalcóatl assumed the form of a lord of the winds, known as Éhecatl, and rule over the land. Gone were the giants, yet now a race that resembled what would one day become humans lived under the god’s yoke. They too were peaceful, eating only the seeds of the sacred mesquite tree. The age of the Wind Sun, as it became known, endured three hundred and sixty four years of peace, before divine tensions once again threatened the world. Seething with the injustice of the usurped, Tezcatlipoca enacted a brutal vengeance. Since Quetzalcóatl had taken the form of the wind god, Tezcatlipoca decided to mock his ‘power’. Gathering his dark powers, Tezcatlipoca summoned a mighty hurricane and unleashed it upon Quetzalcóatl’s world. So powerful were the vortex’s winds, the Sun was swept from the sky, as well as the world’s inhabitants, but for a few survivors. These survivors escaped Tezcatlipoca’s wrath by hiding within the leafy boughs of the few trees not uprooted by the fell wind. These survivors would populate future worlds, and their descendants are the monkeys of the world today.

Tláloc
Image taken from the Codex Rios.

Devastated by chaos, the world looked to god of the rains, Tláloc, to guide it. Those under Tláloc’s rule made great leaps forward in human technology, learning from their god how to work the land. Enlightened by the gift of agriculture, the dwellers learned to cultivate the maize crop. Tláloc’s rule, which became known later as the world of the Rain Sun, lived on for three hundred and twelve years before the malice of gods once again seized its chance. Quetzalcóatl, like Tezcatlipoca before him, seethed with injustice and envy for his lost paradise. Quetzalcóatl humiliated Tláloc, the lord of rain, and channeled his powers into a torrent of fire which blasted the land. For a whole day, the fiery inferno engulfed the world, its flames sweeping the Sun from the sky. All life was charred by the conflagration, except for a few survivors, It was from these ancestors that the turkeys, dogs and butterflies of today are descended.

Beaten, battered and broke, Tláloc retreated, and the world passed to Chalchiúhtlicue, Tláloc’s consort. Goddess of lakes, the oceans, streams and rivers, Chalchiúhtlicue created a new Sun and begun her rule. As the most peaceful of all the worlds that had yet been created, the age of the Water Sun endured happily for six hundred and seventy six years. The people of the age lived peacefully on the seeds of wild plants, and this was the first age in which the highest deity decreed Creation to at last be over. As she did so, however, the sky waters broke, crashing down upon the Earth. Water burst from solid rock on the ground, and rose from deep within the land, obliterating most life. The Great Flood lasted for fifty two years, and the surviving people survived by adapting their physical forms to coexist with this water. It is from these peoples that the whales, fish and other creatures of the deep are descended.

Teotihuacán
Image in the Public Domain.

It was then that the fifth and current world was created, by Quetzalcóatl and Tezcatlipoca, from the body of the monster Tlaltecuhtli, who was herself one of the creatures of the deep that lived in the floodwaters (to find out what happened, click here). Yet the world was dark. Seeking to end once and for all the instability that had spelled the doom of so many worlds before it, the gods held council at Teotihuacán. Deciding that the Creation of a Sun and Moon was of the utmost importance, two gods stepped forth to volunteer for the roles. One was Tecuciztécatl – “He of the Sea Stone”, a proud god, the other was Nanahuatzin, a humble god, disfigured by scars, weals and sores. Preparing for their duty for four days, the other gods prepared an enormous pyre upon which offerings were to be laid. Both Tecuciztécatl and Nanahuatzin made offerings; fine gifts of quetzal feathers and incense from Tecuciztécatl , whilst Nanahuatzin could give only cactus thorns that he had used to make offerings of his own blood, and scabs from his injuries. The time came for them to assume their place in the Heavens. Tecuciztécatl approached the fire first, but was repelled by the intense heat. He tried again, and again, but could not summon the courage to enter the flames. Nanahuatzin approached instead. Fearlessly, he strode into the pyre, as the other gods looked on in admiration as his body crackled and burned in the flames. Emboldened, Tecuciztécatl hurried into the fire, and an eagle and a jaguar followed them in.

The sacrifice complete, the gods watched in earnest. Tecuciztécatl rose first as the Moon, but shining brightly. Close behind him followed Nanahuatzin as the Sun. But both Sun and Moon hung in the sky, motionless. The gods worried. How would the seasons pass and time progress? Nanahuatzin called down from the sky, and decreed that he would follow the daily motions, only if the gods would offer their hearts and blood in sacrifice, just as he did in the offer of his own body. Outraged, the gods refused, and one even tried to attack Nanahuatzin, but the new Sun was immovable. Resigned to the inevitable, the gods drove a knife into their chests, and the first blood sacrifice was made. The Sun accepted their offering and begun his passage through the Heavens. Ever since, the Aztec peoples offered their blood and hearts to the Sun, so that it may continue to move through the sky, and delay the day when Tezcatlipoca will fulfill his destiny as the Destroyer of Worlds...

United Kingdom

Aztec Hymns:

Rig Veda Americanus: Sacred Songs of the Ancient Aztecs (Forgotten Books)
(A collection of prayers to the gods, translated from the Nahuatl language)

Spanish account:
The Conquest of New Spain (Classics)
(A written account of the conquest given by a Spanish soldier who actually served under Cortés himself, and therefore a valuable resource)

General reference:
Mythology of the Aztecs and Maya: Myths and Legends of Ancient Mexico and Northern Central America (Mythology Of...)
(A very nice introduction to Aztec and Mayan Mythology, which I found very useful a few years back. Due to the vast nature of the subject, such a book is always helpful in the beginning. The actual front cover is different to the one displayed on Amazon, and the book itself has many high quality photographs in it)

United States

Aztec Hymns:
Rig Veda Americanus (Illustrated Edition) (Dodo Press)
(A collection of prayers to the gods, translated from the Nahuatl language)

Spanish Account:
The Conquest of New Spain (Penguin Classics)
(A written account of the conquest given by a Spanish soldier who actually served under Cortés himself, and therefore a valuable resource)

General reference:
The Mythology of the Aztec and Maya: An illustrated encyclopedia of the gods, myths and legends of the Aztecs, Maya and other peoples of ancient Mexico ... 200 fine art illustrations and photographs
(A very nice introduction to Aztec and Mayan Mythology, which I found very useful a few years back. Due to the vast nature of the subject, such a book is always helpful in the beginning. The actual front cover is different to the one displayed on Amazon, and the book itself has many high quality photographs in it)

The First Aztecs

       “ Among these temples there is one which far surpasses all the rest, whose grandeur

         of architectural details no human tongue is able to describe;

         for within its precincts, surrounded by a lofty wall, there is room enough

         for a town of five hundred families. ”

                       - THE WORDS OF HERNAN CORTÉS TO HIS MASTER, EMPEROR CHARLES V

The Valley of Mexico
Painting by José Maria Valesco.

Such was the awe which the Aztec peoples inspired within the mind of the man who would one day seal their doom. Almost five hundred years since the fall of Tenochtitlan, a city which rivalled Paris, Venice and Constantinople at their height, we continue to be fascinated by the culture of the tribes which inhabited the Valley of Mexico. As the event which sowed the seeds for the American story, and an almost theatrical showdown between pagan gods and Christianity, it is little wonder the Aztec Empire holds a special place in world history. Fine workers of gold, jade and obsidian, fearless warriors, legendary builders and fanatically zealous about their gods, there is much to look on in awe, just as Cortés and his small band of Conquistadors did so many years ago. Deeply pious, mythology and history were so intricately entwined in Aztec culture so as to be indistinguishable from one another. We start, as the Aztecs did, with how they came into being.

Quetzalcóatl
Image taken from the Codex Codex Telleriano-Remensis.

The primeval creator of the cosmos was Ometeotl, the god of duality, so named because he existed in both male and female forms. These forms were known as Tonacatecuhtli and Tonacacíhuatl respectively. Both forms resided in the thirteenth and highest level of the Aztec Heaven, known as Omeyocán. One day, out of the darkness, Tonacatecuhtli and Tonacacíhuatl gave birth to four gods, known as The Four Tezcatlipocas, and charged them with creating the gods, the world and the human race. Each Tezcatlipoca was granted a quarter of the cosmos, and was associated with a particular colour. Red Tezcatlipoca, who commanded the East, was the god of vegetation and the creation of new life, and would later be renamed Xipe Totec “The Flayed One” (so named because he would one day flay himself to give food to humanity). Black Tezcatlipoca, who ruled the North, was associated with the night, discord, war and strife, and would later retain the name of Tezcatlipoca “Lord of the Smoking Mirror”, and be known as a malevolent force in the World. White Tezcatlipoca, who took the West, was a god of the winds and a hero of the Aztec peoples, and would one day be renamed as Quetzalcóatl “Feathered Serpent”. To the south was assigned Blue Tezcatlipoca, the god of the sun, war and patron of the Aztec tribe, who would one day take the name Huitzilopochtli “Hummingbird on the Left” and become the supreme deity of the Aztec pantheon.

Tezcatlipoca
Image taken from the Codex Borgia.

Deep tensions began to simmer between Quetzalcóatl and Tezcatlipoca, but six hundred years later, even they had to put aside their differences in face of a new foe. A primordial force was rising which was rapidly beginning to eclipse the power of the gods. This force was Tlaltecuhtli, the Earth Monster, who spread terror wherever she ventured in the seas. Using his own foot as bait, Tezcatlipoca lay in wait for Tlaltecuhtli. Suddenly the monster appeared, but the god was not fast enough. Seizing Tezcatlipoca’s foot, the monster tore it from his body and devoured it. Enduring the pain, Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcóatl took the forms of great rippling serpents, eyes flashing, and seized the monster. One god coiled around her left arm and right foot, and the other her right arm and left foot, and together they tore her apart into two vast pieces. The first piece they hurled into the Heavens and made the sky, and the second they laid out in to make the flat expanse of the Earth (this provides an interesting parallel with the Norse creation, click here for more). The other gods were displeased with the fate of Tlaltecuhtli, reprimanding Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcóatl, and declaring that from the earthly part of the monster, sweet smelling flowers, herbs and trees would grow. They also decreed that springs and rivers would come forth from her eyes, whilst her mouth formed rivers and caverns. Her nose became the tall snow capped mountains and the deep valleyed sierras. Mankind has since grown used to walking on her body. From her body they also fashioned further gods; Tlaloc, god of the rains and Chalchiúhtlicue, his consort. From her body was crafted the Underworld too (known as Mictlán), and its masters; Mictlantecuhtli and Mictecacacίhuatl, the god and goddess of the dead. Born too was Xochiquetzal, whose name means “Flower Feather”, who was goddess of flowers and the Earth, song and dance. The gods also fixed the calendar at two hundred and sixty days.

Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcóatl together raised the first sun in the sky, and crafted the first man and woman, called Oxomoco and Cipactonal. They gave birth to a son, called Piltzintecuhtli, who was the first human to have enjoyed pleasure in life, and a wife was fashioned for him from a hair from the head of the flower goddess Xochiquetzal. With their original task of creation complete, the four master gods began the four ages of Earth’s history, yet bloodshed, and the reason why the Aztecs offered human sacrifices to the gods, was coming...

Aztec mythology is a vast story, with many events having many differing stories. Different gods rose into prominence as the ages of the Earth progressed, with the position of supreme deity changing hands several times in mythology. Crucial to understanding the Aztec peoples is understanding their beliefs, as all the facets of their culture were branches growing off the central trunk that was their religion. The next part of the Aztec story we will return to is how the the gods struggled over mastery of the Sun, how the Aztec peoples first arrived by the shores of Lake Texcoco (the basin of which now contains Mexico City), and the rise to prominence of the god Huitzilopochtli in the pantheon.

With the transformation of the Aztec Empire into the colony of New Spain, much of the Aztec culture was subject to forcible conversion to Christianity, and native customs found their survival under threat. With terrible atrocities committed by the conquistadors, countless relics of Aztec culture lay in ruins. It is testament to Aztec brilliance that even the remains which survived such inquisitions continue to hold sway over our imagination. One must understand that much of the Aztec religion was discovered by Spanish missionaries through speech, as the Aztecs largely recorded their stories through art rather than verse. The story I have told today can be pieced together from several sources, some difficult to access, but I have listed one Aztec and one Spanish, both available quite easily at Amazon:

United Kingdom

Aztec Hymns:

Rig Veda Americanus: Sacred Songs of the Ancient Aztecs (Forgotten Books)
(A collection of prayers to the gods, translated from the Nahuatl language)

Spanish account:
The Conquest of New Spain (Classics)
(A written account of the conquest given by a Spanish soldier who actually served under Cortés himself, and therefore a valuable resource)

General reference:
Mythology of the Aztecs and Maya: Myths and Legends of Ancient Mexico and Northern Central America (Mythology Of...)
(A very nice introduction to Aztec and Mayan Mythology, which I found very useful a few years back. Due to the vast nature of the subject, such a book is always helpful in the beginning. The actual front cover is different to the one displayed on Amazon, and the book itself has many high quality photographs in it)

United States

Aztec Hymns:
Rig Veda Americanus (Illustrated Edition) (Dodo Press)
(A collection of prayers to the gods, translated from the Nahuatl language)

Spanish Account:
The Conquest of New Spain (Penguin Classics)
(A written account of the conquest given by a Spanish soldier who actually served under Cortés himself, and therefore a valuable resource)

General reference:
The Mythology of the Aztec and Maya: An illustrated encyclopedia of the gods, myths and legends of the Aztecs, Maya and other peoples of ancient Mexico ... 200 fine art illustrations and photographs
(A very nice introduction to Aztec and Mayan Mythology, which I found very useful a few years back. Due to the vast nature of the subject, such a book is always helpful in the beginning. The actual front cover is different to the one displayed on Amazon, and the book itself has many high quality photographs in it)