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)

  

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)