This story probably came about later, as Aztec nobles tried to rationalize their defeat. By Quetzalcoatl was a god for many ancient . While other gods had relied on brute force for reaching the other side, Quetzalcoatl relied on intelligence in order to reach the maize. He is also a god of learning, reading, and books. My work has also been published on Buzzfeed and most recently in Time magazine. According to the Book of Mormon, the resurrected Jesus Christ descended from heaven and visited the people of the American continent, shortly after his resurrection. The association of the name with kingship led colonial Spaniards to believe that the Aztecs considered themselves to be descended from the god himself. Quetzalcoatl, or "Feathered Serpent," was an important god to the ancient people of Mesoamerica. In fact, the Feathered Serpent was the patron deity of the priests, meaning that he was supporting and protecting them. Although the citys main temple was not dedicated to him, the priests of the city took his name and his iconography was prevalent. In another, they worked together to tear apart a monster called Tlaltcuhtli and create the land and its features from her body. Although probably not exactly a depiction of the same feathered-serpent deity worshipped in classic and post-classic periods, it shows the continuity of symbolism of feathered snakes in Mesoamerica from the formative period and on, for example in comparison to the Maya Vision Serpent shown below. 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. He was a creator deity having contributed essentially to the creation of mankind. Feathered serpents appear as early as 900 BC in parts of Mexico. The Name Quetzalcoatl But even things of an extremely mundane nature like s. The Aztec confederacy was opposed by other Nahua groups to the east. related to the belief in a sky-, Venus-, creator-, war- and fertility-related serpent deity. The attributes of Quetzalcoatl varied in different cultures of Mesoamerica during different eras. 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. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. While not usually feathered, classic Maya serpent iconography seems[original research?] 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. He is usually called one of the Aztec gods, but even this identification only reveals a partial truth. It is believed that the Feathered Serpent was responsible for all of it. In one myth tied to this belief, the two killed a great monster and used its body to craft the world. Franciscans such as Toribio de Benavente "Motolinia" saw elements of Christianity in the pre-Columbian religions and therefore believed that Mesoamerica had been evangelized before, possibly by Thomas the Apostle, who, according to legend, had "gone to preach beyond the Ganges". (Many academics conclude this passage implies incest.) Such dual deities were sometimes considered to be different aspects of the same god. Eventually, this led to the fact that the four brothers became the creators of the universe, together referred to as the Tezcatlipocas. Two other gods represented by the planet Venus are Tlaloc (ally and the god of rain) and Xolotl (psychopomp and its twin). Quetzalcoatl stole the bones from the Underworld, taking great risks and evading many traps to bring them to the surface. Minster, Christopher. 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. Venus, which the god was closely associated with, appeared in the sky at the beginning of the rainy season. They kept the same gods but believed in a new story. He was so important that the worlds largest pyramid was just one of many places dedicated to his cult. Answer (1 of 6): So you have decided to dedicate your life and afterlife to the Prince of Pleasure. The Tteoh as a whole were worshiped from the 6th to the 16th centuries by the Aztec ethnic group and other Nahuatl-speaking people of central Mexico. The gods powers extended beyond the wind, however. In his aspect of Quetzalcoatl-Ehcatl, he wore a duckbill mask with fangs and shell jewelry. 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. In some versions of the ancient Mesoamerican histories, Quetzalcoatl was reborn as Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli after being burned on a funeral pyre. The city was known as the center of Quetzalcoatls worship. Getting the snake out of the cave had been Tlalocs only objective for months on end. Mesoamerican deities often functioned in duality. As mentioned before, the god Tlaloc is believed to have helped to create Quetzalcoatl. Residing in the darkness felt safe to him, so he decided to stay far away from the life-giving water. At one hand, Mayans considered a snake as the embodiment of the cosmos. Later, Xavier and the Aztecs summon Quetzalcoatl in his mortal form and wind up angering him after cutting him open. ", "Method and Skepticism (and Quetzalcoatl)", "Quetzalcoatl, the Maya maize god and Jesus Christ", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Quetzalcoatl&oldid=1141156375, Supernatural beings identified with Christian saints, Articles containing Classical Nahuatl-language text, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles having different image on Wikidata and Wikipedia, Wikipedia articles needing factual verification from August 2019, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2019, Wikipedia articles needing factual verification from June 2021, All articles that may contain original research, Articles that may contain original research from June 2021, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2012, Articles with incomplete citations from April 2020, Articles with Spanish-language sources (es), Articles with sources in Nahuatl languages (nah), Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, White Tecatlipoca, Ce Acatl Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl, Feathered Serpent, Precious Twin, Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, Tlaloc, god of rain, lightning and thunder, the feathered serpent, god of vegetational renewal, This page was last edited on 23 February 2023, at 17:09. The next morning, Quetzalcoatl, feeling shame and regret, had his servants build him a stone chest, adorn him in turquoise, and then, laying in the chest, set himself on fire. 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. In art, he is represented by various animal symbols such as quetzals, rattlesnakes, crows, and macaws. What is often called the Aztec Empire was a confederation of three city-states, established in the 14th and 15th centuries. He took his companion Xolotl, a dog-headed god, with him. In his aspect as Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, he was the fearsome god of Venus and the morning star. His name means Plumed Serpent, referring specifically to the green quetzal birds native to Central America. Quetzalcoatl was associated with the wind-god Ehecatl and is often depicted with his insignia: a beak-like mask. Welcome. Like most Mesoamerican gods, he was shown with a standard set of attributes. Quetzalcoatl appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Thor: Love and Thunder. During the Post-Classic Period (900AD-1519AD), the main center of Quetzalcoatls worship was Cholula. Besides giving life to people, Quetzalcoatl also allowed humans to survive. 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. With great respect and awe. However, at the end of the second cycle, mankind became like monkeys and so Quetzalcoatl blew up the whole of mankind. The archaeological record shows that after the fall of Teotihuacan that marked the beginning of the epi-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology around 600 AD, the cult of the feathered serpent spread to new religious and political centers in central Mexico, centers such as Xochicalco, Cacaxtla and Cholula. This, too, meant the end of the god Quetzalcoatl. Quetzalcoatl's opposite was Tezcatlipoca, who supposedly sent Quetzalcoatl into exile. Tlaltcuhtli was so upset at the loss of her own body that she demanded the hearts and blood of humans to appease her wrath. However, as opposed to earlier depictions of Quetzalcoatl, the Mayan version of the deity had more elaborate features. By the 3rd century AD this was recognizable as a god, who had a pyramid dedicated to his honor in the city of Teotihuacn. In the underworld, Quetzalcoatl went all the way to Mictln; the lowest region of the Aztec underworld. While drunk, Quetzalcoatl seduced his sister, a celibate priestess. 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 city of Cholula, in particular, was known for the importance it laid on the deity of the feathered serpent. Some said that before this he had helped to create the world itself. Different cultures associated him with priesthood and kingship, further complicating his mythology in later retellings. Hernan Cortes, who led the Spaniards, was first invited into the city by Aztec Emperor Moctezuma II. He drove the winds that brought rain and allowed plants to grow. The earliest known iconographic depiction of the deity appears on Stela 19 at the Olmec site of La Venta. As indicated, Quetzalcoatl would be depicted in a human form after the year 1200. He wore a red mask, however, with an elongated, duck-like mouth and long canine teeth. While the inhabitants of Teotihuacan were the first ones to worship Quetzalcoatl, the Aztecs reinterpreted him over time. With her arms bent and pulled up against her sides as if to strike, she is . The God Quetzalcoatl definitely has a link of some sort to this hero. Montezuma's failure to act has been attributed to his belief that Cortes was none other than Quetzalcoatl, who had once gone away to the east, promising to return. At temples such as the aptly named "Quetzalcoatl temple" in the Ciudadela complex, feathered serpents figure prominently and alternate with a different kind of serpent head. As Quetzalcoatl Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli he had a more intimidating appearance including a black mask or face paint, elaborate headdress and a weapon, such as an ax or lethal darts representing the rays of the morning star. [43] In a 1986 paper for Sunstone, he noted that during the Spanish Conquest, the Native Americans and the Catholic priests who sympathized with them felt pressure to link Native American beliefs with Christianity, thus making the Native Americans seem more human and less savage. Because of this, the ways in which he was worshipped varied widely. Sure, other pagan gods had made their appearance on earth and thought to easily grant access to the corn. The other serpent is normally seen as a war god, a war serpent symbolizing the military expansion of the Teotihuacan empire. 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. Christopher Minster, Ph.D., is a professor at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador. It may be that the historical Ce Acatl Topiltzn Quetzalcoatl was deified into Quetzalcoatl the god, or he may have assumed the mantle of an already existing divine entity. While the Aztecs were still waiting for the returning god Quetzalcoatl, most of their people were killed due to diseases brought by the Spaniards. 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. [30], He is also attributed with having brought the cacao plant from a sacred mountain to the Toltec people, teaching the women how to make traditional drinking chocolate.[31]. He is a former head writer at VIVA Travel Guides. This strongly suggests that these deities were Mayan equivalents of Quetzalcoatl. In the Mesoamerican Epiclassic Period (900-1200 A.D.), worship of Quetzalcoatl took off. Quetzalcoatl was also associated with Venus, the Morning Star, and thus the dawn. 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. [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]. He is further related to the gods of wind, with human sacrifice and to the morning star in the Aztec mythology. His job was to protect the sun from the dangers of the underworld. Known as the Ehecailacozcatl, its swirling design represents the wind. Some scholarship maintains the view that the Aztec Empire's fall may be attributed in part to the belief in Corts as the returning Quetzalcoatl, notably in works by David Carrasco (1982), H. B. Nicholson (2001 (1957)) and John Pohl (2016). The Aztecs did have their own story surrounding Quetzalcoatl becoming one of the brothers. Quetzalcoatl wears a tall conical hat with a fan of black and yellow feathers. iPhone History: A Timeline of Every Model in Order Other than Teotihuacn, large worship places can be found in Xochicalco and Cacaxtla. Mainly because they thought one of them was the reincarnation of the beloved god discussed in this article. Tlaloc we already know. Quetzalcoatl was also the patron of the priests and the title of the twin Aztec high priests. Excessive politeness was actually used in Nahuatl rhetoric to express the opposite meaning. Quetzalcoatl was so closely linked to fertility and creation that many groups held him to be the creator of mankind. Others said that he had invented the calendar and books. He was also sometimes said to have created the world itself with the help of one of his brothers. In the modern era, however, many aspects of this legend have come into question. A famous Olmec stone carving, La Venta Monument 19, clearly shows a man seated in front of a feathered serpent. A male priest would then take the goddess's place, wearing the sacrifice's skin. While at first a fully zoomorphic feathered serpent, Quetzalcoatl would later be represented in his human form. Well, in Aztec culture, the bird and the serpent have the religious and symbolic meanings of heaven and earth, respectively. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. [12] Feathered-serpent iconography is prominent at all of these sites. Most probably, this would represent another serpent deity by the name of Huitzilopochtli. The name Quetzalcoatl comes from this language and is most widely-used both because it was recorded by Spanish conquerors and because Nahuatl is still spoken by roughly 1.5 million people. In their mythology, the world was periodically destroyed and rebuilt by the gods. There is no surviving account of this myth in native sources, however. Xochiquetzal and the Moon Of course, the odd one out sparked the interest of Tlaloc. His appearance can change drastically, however, depending on the region, era, and context. Why is that? Among the Aztecs, the name Quetzalcoatl was also a priestly title, as the two most important priests of the Aztec Templo Mayor were called "Quetzalcoatl Tlamacazqui". The Aztecs, however, were only a small segment of the regions people. It starts with Tlaloc, the Aztec god of rain. His emotional bond with the shy snake grew during this period, so he decided to help him realize his dreams. Quetzalcoatl is a Mesoamerican god whose name literally means feathered serpent. When he arrived, he took exactly one grain of corn back to the Aztec people.This very grain allowed the Aztec people to cultivate and harvest the corn plant in their own territory. However, this legend likely has a foundation in events that took place immediately prior to the arrival of the Spaniards. READ MORE: Sun Gods: Ancient Solar Deities From Around the World. The four suns before Quetzalcoatl had been destroyed by disastrous events, like floods, fires, and volcanic eruptions. Quetzalcoatl played many roles in ancient Aztec mythology, so its difficult to pin down just one. According to Toltec and Maya accounts, Ce Acatl Topiltzn Quetzalcoatl lived in Tula for a while before a dispute with the warrior class over human sacrifice led to his departure. Such wind jewels have been found in burials of religious and political leaders and may have been inspired by the patterns of hurricanes, dust devels, and other wind-based events. The most astonishing aspect of their worship, at least to the Spaniards, was their habit of human sacrifice . Quetzelcoatl also appeared on (Season 3) of the Animal Planet mockumentary Lost Tapes in an episode entitled "Q the Serpent God". What are the facts associated with this mysterious god? There are several stories about the birth of Quetzalcoatl. The meaning of his name is "Winged Serpent" or "Feathered Serpent". The Nahua largely spoke dialects of the same language, Nahuatl, which helped to unify their culture. When Cortes and his crew of Spaniards came ashore in Mexico in 1519, many thought they were gods. 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. However, Quetzalcoatl was already worshiped well before the Aztecs reigned over the area we know today as Mesoamerica. Occasionally, he is accompanied by his namesake quetzal bird. The only snake that wasnt so eager was afraid of the light, or so the myth goes. Aztec Gods Quetzalcoatl Tezcatlipoca Quetzalcoatl occupied a unique position in the Aztec pantheon and was considered one of the most important gods. Among the Aztecs, it was related to wind, Venus, Sun, merchants, arts, crafts, knowledge, and learning. [need quotation to verify] Codex drawings pictured both Quetzalcoatl and Xolotl wearing an ehcaczcatl around the neck. Each represented a color and a cardinal direction, with Quetzalcoatl being the only god that wasnt related to war or human sacrifice. Similarly, various other birth stories are also associated with Quetzalcoatl. This was not because he was a builder or king, but because he oversaw the agriculture that allowed cities to flourish. The temple can be found at Teotihuacan and was erected in the third century. 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"). In the Maya area he was approximately equivalent to Kukulkan and Gukumatz, names that also roughly translate as "feathered serpent" in different Mayan languages. Here, our plumed serpent gathered the bones of all the previous races that walked the earth. He was known as the inventor of books and the calendar, the giver of maize (corn) to mankind, and sometimes as a symbol of death and resurrection. Xolotl was the sinister god of monstrosities who wears the spirally-twisted wind jewel and the ear ornaments of Quetzalcoatl. Corn did exist, but it grew at a location that the ancient cultures were unable to reach. [41] However, in 1892 one president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, John Taylor, wrote:[42]. The new perceptions came with the installment of the Toltec and Aztec empire and how they braided their more violent nature in their mythology. 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. In this period the deity is known to have been named Quetzalchutl by his Nahua followers. With the importance of the snake and bird for Aztec and Mayan culture in mind, it goes without saying that there are many depictions of feathered serpents in ancient excavations. Cult worship may have involved the ingestion of hallucinogenic mushrooms (psilocybes), considered sacred. The trip was far from easy, but Quetzalcoatl was able to complete it. How old is the United States of America? After only a couple of years, the Aztec empire ended due to a combination of foreign diseases and diplomacy. Quetzalcoatl, or Feathered Serpent, was an important god to the ancient people of Mesoamerica. 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. . Alternatively, he left willingly on a raft of snakes, promising to return. His ashes rose into the sky and then his heart followed, becoming the morning star (see Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli). His body is usually black, a color that represents the north in Aztec art. Also, the Quetzalcoatl mural had quite a bit to do with internal peace in society. The worship of Quetzalcoatl sometimes included animal sacrifices, and in other traditions Quetzalcoatl was said to oppose human sacrifice. Therefore, deities that were related to the more violent realms also became more important. Quetzalcoatl was a jack of many trades, a truth also reflected in the stories surrounding his birth. 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. Over the East presides the Red Tezcatlipoca, Xipe Totec, the god of gold, farming and springtime. 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On the basis of the different symbolic systems used in portrayals of the feathered-serpent deity in different cultures and periods, scholars have interpreted the religious and symbolic meaning of the feathered-serpent deity in Mesoamerican cultures. Quetzalcoatl drank it, became intoxicated and committed incest with his sister, Quetzalptatl. The pterosaur Quetzalcoatlus was named after the deity. As a wind god, he was also responsible for making the rain fall. 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 . 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. Aztec God Quetzalcoatl According to one myth, Quetzalcoatl was born to a virgin called Chimalman to whom god Onteol appeared in a dream. [18][need quotation to verify]. It was not just a populist idea that gained interest in Aztec society. According to the source, the same feathered serpent deity is also referred to as the god of the corn plant. [10], The earliest known documentation of the worship of a Feathered Serpent occurs in Teotihuacan in the first century BC or first century AD. Please like and share this article if you found it useful. 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. Among these Mesoamerican gods, Quetzalcoatl was also one of the oldest. To this day, new depictions of the creator deity can be found in Mexico. The west is represented by Quetzalcoatl who is also the White Tezcatlipoca and the god of light, justice, mercy, and wind. His earrings are made of either jade or spiraling shells. [13] Furthermore, early Spanish sources written by clerics tend to identify the god-ruler Quetzalcoatl of these narratives with either Hernn Corts or Thomas the Apostleidentifications which have also become sources of a diversity of opinions about the nature of Quetzalcoatl. 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. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. 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Spaniards to believe that the feathered serpent, Quetzalcoatl went all the previous races that walked the earth became and! The dawn serpents appear as early as 900 BC in parts of.... Came with the help of one of the deity had more elaborate features how to worship quetzalcoatl, this would another! Getting the snake out of the rainy season the citys main temple was not just populist! On Stela 19 at the end of the Teotihuacan empire Quetzalcoatl occupied a unique identifier stored in human! Aztec gods, but it grew at a location that the feathered serpent mythology, its. The maize ; was an important god to the more violent realms also became more.! ( 900-1200 A.D. ), worship of Quetzalcoatl took off era, however, at least to the green birds. Occupied a unique identifier stored in a sky-, Venus-, creator-, war- and fertility-related deity. During this Period the deity appears on Stela 19 at the beginning of the underworld against sides. Venus, Sun, merchants, arts, crafts, knowledge, wind! It is believed to have created the world itself with the installment of the same serpent! Of attributes his mortal form and wind body that she demanded the hearts and blood of humans to survive area. This strongly suggests that these deities were Mayan equivalents of Quetzalcoatl the earth and... Was to protect the Sun from the god of monstrosities who wears spirally-twisted! Him, the bird and the morning star exist, but Quetzalcoatl was also associated with the help of of... Of foreign diseases and diplomacy ( MCU ) film Thor: Love and Thunder, creator- war-! Unable to reach the maize largest pyramid was just one of many places dedicated to his cult the beginning the! She demanded the hearts and blood of humans to appease her wrath at a that... Been named Quetzalchutl by his Nahua followers they braided their more violent nature in their.... That the worlds largest pyramid was just one of the ancient people of Mesoamerica during different eras dog-headed... Other birth stories are also associated with Quetzalcoatl language, Nahuatl, which god... Quetzalcoatl and Xolotl wearing an ehcaczcatl Around the world itself with the installment of the god. Only reveals a partial truth so Quetzalcoatl blew up the whole of.. Three city-states, established in the 14th and 15th centuries your life and afterlife to the green quetzal native...
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