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Quetzalcoatl

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Divinities

   Quetzalcoatl in human form, from the Codex Borbonicus.
   Enlarge
   Quetzalcoatl in human form, from the Codex Borbonicus.

   Quetzalcoatl ("feathered serpent" or "plumed serpent") is the Nahuatl
   name for the Feathered-Serpent deity of ancient Mesoamerican culture.
   In Mesoamerican myth Quetzalcoatl is also a mythical culture hero from
   whom almost all mesoamerican peoples claim descent. These myths often
   describe him as the a divine ruler of the mythical Toltecs of Tollan
   who after his expulsion from Tollan, travelled south or east to set up
   new cities and kingdoms. Many different Mesoamerican cultures, e.g.
   Maya, K'iche, Pipil, Zapotec claim to have been the only true lineage
   of Quetzalcoatl and thus of the mythical Toltecs.

Antecedents and origins

   A prototypical Mesoamerican serpent deity.
   Enlarge
   A prototypical Mesoamerican serpent deity.

   The name Quetzalcoatl literally means "feathered snake". The Nahuatl
   word quetzalli means "long green feather" (Molina: ), but later came to
   be applied also to the bird who give these feathers: the Resplendent
   Quetzal. Quetzal feathers were a rare and precious commodity in the
   Aztec culture. So the combination of quetzalli "precious feather" and
   coatl "snake" has often been interpreted as signifying a serpent with
   the feathers of Quetzal. The meaning of his local name in other
   Mesoamerican languages is similar. The Maya of Yucatán knew him as
   Kukulk'an; the K'iche-Maya of Guatemala, as Guk'umatz, both names can
   be translated as "feathersnake".

   The Feathered Serpent deity was important in art and religion in most
   of Mesoamerica for close to 2,000 years, from the Pre-Classic era until
   the Spanish conquest. Civilizations worshipping the Feathered Serpent
   included the Olmec, Mixtec, Toltec, Aztec, who adopted it from the
   people of Teotihuacan, and the Maya.

   The cult of the serpent in Mesoamerica is very old; there are
   representations of snakes with bird-like characteristics as old as the
   Olmec preclassic (1150-500 BC). The snake represents the earth and
   vegetation, but it was in Teotihuacan (around 150 BC) where the snake
   got the precious feathers of the Quetzal, as seen in the Murals of the
   city. The most elaborate representations come from the old Quetzalcoatl
   Temple built around 200 BC, which shows a rattlesnake with the long
   green feathers of the quetzal.

   Teotihuacan was dedicated to Tlaloc, the water god, at the same time
   Quetzalcoatl, as a snake, was a representation of the fertility of the
   earth, and it was subordinate to Tlaloc. As the cult evolved, it became
   independent.
   Quetzalcoatl in human form, using the symbols of Ehecatl, from the
   Codex Borgia.
   Enlarge
   Quetzalcoatl in human form, using the symbols of Ehecatl, from the
   Codex Borgia.

   In time Quetzalcoatl was mixed with other gods, and acquired their
   attributes. Quetzalcoatl is often associated with Ehecatl, the wind
   god, and represents the forces of nature, and is also associated with
   the morning star (Venus). Quetzalcoatl became a representation of the
   rain, the celestial water and their associated winds, while Tlaloc
   would be the god of earthly water, the water in lakes, caverns and
   rivers, and also of vegetation. Eventually Quetzalcoatl was transformed
   into one of the gods of the creation (Ipalnemohuani).

   The Teotihuacan influence took the god to the Mayas, who adopted him as
   Kukulkán. The Maya regarded him as a being who would transport the
   gods.

   In Xochicalco (700-900 AD), the political class began to claim that
   they ruled in the name of Quetzalcoatl, and representations of the god
   became more human. They influenced the Toltec, and the Toltec rulers
   began to use the name of Quetzalcoatl. The Toltec represented
   Quetzalcoatl as man, with god-like attributes, and these attributes
   were also associated with their rulers.

   The most famous of those rulers was Topiltzin Ce Acatl Quetzalcoatl. Ce
   Acatl means "one reed" and is the calendaric name of the ruler (923 -
   947), whose legends became almost inseparable from accounts of the god.
   The Toltecs would associate Quetzalcoatl with their own god,
   Tezcatlipoca, and make them equals, enemies and twins. The legends of
   Ce Acatl told us that he thought his face was ugly, so he let his beard
   grow to hide it, and eventually he wore a white mask. This legend has
   been distorted so representations of Quezalcoatl as a white bearded man
   have become common.

   The Nahuas would take the legends of Quetzalcoatl and mix them with
   their own. Quetzalcoatl would be considered the originator of the arts,
   poetry and all knowledge. The figure of Ce Acatl would become
   inseparable from the image of the god.

Religion and Ritual

   Statue of Quetzalcoatl.
   Enlarge
   Statue of Quetzalcoatl.

   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 individual as the Kukulcan who invaded Yucatán at about the
   same time. The Mixtec also recorded a ruler named for the Feathered
   Serpent. In the 10th century a ruler closely associated with
   Quetzalcoatl ruled the Toltecs; his name was Topiltzin Ce Acatl
   Quetzalcoatl. This ruler was said to be the son of either the great
   Chichimeca warrior, Mixcoatl and the Culhuacano woman Chimalman, or of
   their descent.

   The Toltecs had a dualistic belief system. Quetzalcoatl's opposite was
   Tezcatlipoca, who supposedly sent Quetzalcoatl into exile.
   Alternatively, he left willingly on a raft of snakes, promising to
   return.

   The Aztec turned him into a symbol of dying and resurrection and a
   patron of priests. When the Aztecs adopted the culture of the Toltecs,
   they made twin gods of Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl, opposite and
   equal; Quetzalcoatl was also called White Tezcatlipoca, to contrast him
   to the black Tezcatlipoca. Together, they created the world;
   Tezcatlipoca lost his foot in that process. Because white was the
   colour symbol of Quezalcoatl, it does not mean Quezalcoatl was white.

   Along with other gods, like Tezcatlipoca, and Tlaloc, Quetzalcoatl
   would be called "Ipalnemohuani", which means "by whom we live", a title
   reserved for the gods directly involved in the creation. Because the
   name, Ipalnemohuani is singular, this had lead to speculations that the
   Aztec were becoming monotheist, and all the main gods, were only one.
   While this interpretation cannot be ruled out, it is probably an
   oversimpification of the Aztec religion.

In modern times

   In some rural parts of Mexico, there still exists a belief that in some
   caves, near certain towns, there lives a monster, a great feathered
   snake that can only be seen by special people. The monster must be
   placated for there to be plentiful rain. The feathered snake is also
   still worshipped by Huichol and Cora Indians.

   The cult of Quetzalcoatl has been more or less idealized, and the image
   of a "white god" has become part of the popular culture.

   Some modern esoteric groups, sometimes called "Mexicanistas", have
   mixed the cult of Queztalcoatl with modern esoteric practices. There
   are also claims that Quetzalcoatl was either a lone viking, Levite,
   Jesus, a survivor from Atlantis, or even an extraterrestrial.

Attributes

   The exact significance and attributes of Quetzalcoatl varied somewhat
   between civilizations and through history. Quetzalcoatl was often
   considered the god of the morning star, and his twin brother Xolotl was
   the evening star ( Venus). As the morning star he was known by the
   title Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, meaning "lord of the star of the dawn." 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.
   Quetzalcoatl was also the patron of the priests and the title of the
   Aztec high priest.

   Most Mesoamerican beliefs included cycles of worlds. Usually, our
   current time was considered the fifth world, the previous four having
   been destroyed by flood, fire and the like. Quetzalcoatl allegedly went
   to Mictlan, the underworld, and created fifth-world mankind from the
   bones of the previous races (with the help of Cihuacoatl), using his
   own blood, from a wound, to imbue the bones with new life.

   His birth, along with his twin Xolotl, was unusual; it was a virgin
   birth, to the goddess Coatlicue. Alternatively, he was a son of
   Xochiquetzal and Mixcoatl.

   One Aztec story claims that Quetzalcoatl was seduced by Tezcatlipoca
   into becoming drunk and sleeping with a celibate priestess, and then
   burned himself to death out of remorse. His heart became the morning
   star (see Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli).

Moctezuma Controversy

   It has been widely believed that the Aztec Emperor Moctezuma II
   initially believed the landing of Hernán Cortés in 1519 to be
   Quetzalcoatl's return. This has been questioned by many ethnohistorians
   (e.g. Matthew Restall 2001) who argue that the Quetzalcoatl-Cortés
   connection is asserted in no documents created independently of
   post-Conquest Spanish influence, and that there is little proof of a
   pre-Hispanic belief in Quetzalcoatl's return. Most documents expounding
   this theory are of entirely Spanish origin, such as Cortés's letters to
   Charles V of Spain, in which Cortés goes to great pains to present the
   naïve gullibility of the Mexicans in general as a great aid in his
   conquest of Mexico.

   Much of the idea of Cortés being seen as a deity can be traced back to
   the Florentine Codex written down some 50 years after the conquest. In
   the codex's description of the first meeting between Moctezuma and
   Cortés, the Aztec ruler is described as giving a prepared speech in
   classical oratorial Nahuatl, a speech which as described verbatim in
   the codex (written by Sahagún's, Tlatelolcan informants who were
   probably not eyewitnesses of the meeting) included such prostrate
   declarations of divine or near-divine admiration as, "You have
   graciously come on earth, you have graciously approached your water,
   your high place of Mexico, you have come down to your mat, your throne,
   which I have briefly kept for you, I who used to keep it for you," and,
   "You have graciously arrived, you have known pain, you have known
   weariness, now come on earth, take your rest, enter into your palace,
   rest your limbs; may our lords come on earth." Subtleties in, and an
   imperfect scholarly understanding of, high Nahuatl rhetorical style
   make the exact intent of these comments tricky to ascertain, but
   Restall argues that Moctezuma politely offering his throne to Cortés
   (if indeed he did ever give the speech as reported) may well have been
   meant as the exactly opposite of what it was taken to mean: politeness
   in Aztec culture was a way to assert dominance and show superiority.
   This speech, which has been widely referred to, has been a factor in
   the widespread belief that Moctezuma was addressing Cortés as the
   returning god Quetzalcoatl.

   Other parties have also propagated the idea that the Native Americans
   believed the conquistadors to be gods: most notably the historians of
   the Franciscan order such as Fray Geronimo Mendieta (Martínez 1980).
   Some Franciscans at this time held millennarian beliefs (Phelan 1956)
   and the natives taking the Spanish conquerors for gods was an idea that
   went well with this theology. Bernardino de Sahagún, who compiled the
   Florentine Codex, was also a Franciscan.

   Some scholars still hold the view that the fall of the Aztec empire can
   in part be attributed to Moctezumas belief in Cortés as the returning
   Quetzalcoatl, but most modern scholars see the "Quetzalcoatl/Cortés
   myth" as one of many myths about the Spanish conquest which have risen
   in the early post-conquest period.

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