Mix in potato, broccoli, corn, spinach, mushrooms, carrots, and cabbage. [12] Feathered-serpent iconography is prominent at all of these sites. This confederacy engaged in almost seventy-five years of nearly continuous conflict with the Aztec Empire of the Triple Alliance until the arrival of Corts. [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 was called Kukulcan in the postclassic Maya culture that developed from . The legend of Quetzalcoatl is spoofed in the Adult Swim CGI series Xavier: Renegade Angel. After his eventual escape, Quetzalcoatl combined the now slightly shuffled bones with his blood and corn to create the first humans of the fifth age. Those bones he anointed with his own blood, giving birth to the men who inhabit the present universe. "[17], Quetzalcoatl also became linked with rulership and priestly office; additionally, among the Toltec, the name was used as a military title and its representation as an emblem. The god Quetzalcoatl then descended to the underworld and retrieved the bones of former humans from the previous four eras. Yet another version of this tale had Quetzalcoatl parting the sea and leading his followers in a march along the ocean floor. Copyright: Museo Nacional de Antropologa(Click on image to enlarge), Pic 2: Feathered Serpent at Teotihuacan. Name of God: Quetzalcoatl or Feathered Serpent. [44], Quetzalcoatl was fictionalized in the 1982 film Q as a monster that terrorizes New York City. . [1]Depictions of the Feathered Serpent usually took the form of a carved snake head placed upon a wall, with further relief carvings depicting feathers or birds. Quetzalcoatl and his tribe became famous. In the Maya area he was approximately equivalent to Kukulkan and Gukumatz, names that also roughly translate as "feathered serpent" in different Mayan languages. Cortes: The Second Coming of Quetzalcoatl? As one of the four sons of the Aztec creator deities Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl, Quetzalcoatl played an integral role in the creation of the universe. Oxford: ABC-CLIO, 2000. Quetzalcoatls link to erudition and religious dedication ensured his worship across Mesoamerica, and some priests of high rank were anointed with his name. He never offered human victims, only snakes, birds, and butterflies. [19] The most important center was Cholula, where the world's largest pyramid was dedicated to Quetzalcoatl-worship. The cosmic battle between the two brothers has been interpreted as a dualistic opposition between creative and destructive forces (Taube, 1993, p82). Aztec statue of a man holding a cocoa pod . In the Legend of the Suns, their battles saw them topple each other as regents of individual worlds. Under the guise of wind, he was called Quetzalcoatl-Ehcatl and was considered a great cultural hero. Were building the worlds most authoritative, online mythology resource, with engaging, accessible content that is both educational and compelling to read. Whether the historical figure of Ce Acatl Topiltzin did this, or whether it was the deity Feathered Serpent, we know that Quetzalcoatl was worshipped throughout Mesoamerica up until the conquest in 1521, and that the Aztecs appeared to combine Quetzalcoatl the priest with the deity.Find out how Tezcatlipoca got the better of Topiltzin by following the link below. However, Quetzalcoatl had another invocation that would help Venus through the underworld as the Evening Star: Xolotl, the dog (pic 10). They travelled past Cholula (in Puebla), into the Yucatan and Chichn Itz, and may even have gone as far as El Salvador. quetzalcoatl offerings quetzalcoatl offerings (No Ratings Yet) . 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. Quetzalcatl became the god of the morning and evening star, and his temple was the centre of ceremonial life in Tula. And when the wind rose, when the dust rumbled, and it crack and there was a great din, became it became dark and the wind blew in many directions, and it thundered; then it was said: "[Quetzalcoatl] is wrathful. Album: Esperanto Slang [ALBUM]Track: 11 of 12Title: Quetzalcoatl OfferingArtist: Captain PlanetLabel: Bastard Jazz RecordingsCat#: BJLP06Formats: DigitalDigital Release: 6th October 2014Physical Release: 13th October 2014About This Release:Globe-trotting beatmaker Captain Planet returns to soundsystems worldwide with his hotly anticipated As was common in Mesoamerican rituals, a human sacrifice was also given. As a culture hero, Quetzalcoatl (or Topilzin Quetzalcoatl) was said to be extremely wise, and according to myths, under his rulership agriculture flourished, goods were plentiful, and people lacked for nothing. In theFinal Fantasyvideo game series, Quetzalcoatl was a recurring summon or creature. Follow the link below to read more about Quetzalcoatl-Ehcatl Quetzalcoatl-Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, the Morning StarThe legend of Ce Acatl Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl goes on to tell us that after a long pilgrimage towards the east, our hero found himself so thoroughly defeated by his brother Tezcatlipoca that he threw himself on a burning pyre in an act of self-sacrifice. Terry Pratchett,Eric(New York: Harper Collins Publisher, 1990), 63. A Patron of ManyThe Aztecs inherited the Toltec belief that Quetzalcoatl had a plethora of skills. The Aztec believed that Tezcatlipoca ruled of the fifth age, and while they thought that the fifth sun was the last sun, it was not a foregone conclusion that Tezcatlipoca would remain in charge. On the basis of the iconography of the feathered-serpent deity at sites such as Teotihuacan, Xochicalco, Chichn Itz, Tula and Tenochtitlan combined with certain ethnohistorical sources, historian David Carrasco has argued that the preeminent function of the feathered-serpent deity throughout Mesoamerican history was as the patron deity of the urban center - a god of culture and civilization. [8] In his form as the morning star, Venus, he is also depicted as a harpy eagle. stanley burrell marcy projects brooklyn not currently an important part of the LDS belief system, Matt Martyniuk, Mark Witton and Darren Naish, https://www.inside-mexico.com/the-legend-of-maize/, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Quetzalcoatl, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feathered_Serpent, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quetzalcoatl, https://mythopedia.com/topics/quetzalcoatl. [24], According to another version of the myth, Quetzalcoatl is one of the four sons of Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl, the four Tezcatlipocas, each of whom presided over one of the four cardinal directions. Some followers of the Latter Day Saints movement believe that Quetzalcoatl was historically Jesus Christ, who Latter-day Saints believe visited the New World as a resurrected being as reported in the Book of Mormon, but believe his name and the details of the event were gradually lost over time. Among the Aztecs, it was related to wind, Venus, Sun, merchants, arts, crafts, knowledge, and learning. garden grove police activity yesterday; airigh 'n eilean; . 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. Geometric morphometrics is the study of the form and/or shape of objects, or subjects, capturing their geometry. Salt Lake City: Deseret News Publishing Co, 1892. Place of devotion: Offerings were regularly presented to Quetzalcoatl in Tenochtitlan, but he was also celebrated in other cities like Cholula and Chichn Itz. At that time, maize was located on the other side of a mountain range that surrounded the Aztec homeland. Quetzalcoatl-Ehcatl the RoadsweeperThe Aztecs believed that Quetzalcoatl was one of four creators made by the divine dual couple, Ometeotl. [7] Animals thought to represent Quetzalcoatl include resplendent quetzals, rattlesnakes (coatl meaning "serpent" in Nahuatl), crows, and macaws. In this legend, Mixcoatl shot at Chimalma for spurning his advances. Quetzalcoatls actions successfully tricked Mictlantecuhtli into giving him the bones. [40] However, a majority of Mesoamericanist scholars, such as Matthew Restall (2003, 2018[37]), James Lockhart (1994), Susan D. Gillespie (1989), Camilla Townsend (2003a, 2003b), Louise Burkhart, Michel Graulich and Michael E. Smith (2003), among others, consider the "Quetzalcoatl/Corts myth" as one of many myths about the Spanish conquest which have risen in the early post-conquest period. One night, Tezcatlipoca plied Topilitzin-Quetzalcoatl with pulque (an alcohol made from agave); afterwards, the drunken rulerslept with his celibate priestess sister. quetzalcoatl offerings. Legend says that Ce Acatl Topiltzin and the Toltecs left Tula after being tricked and shamed by Quetzalcoatls brother, the deity Tezcatlipoca. Quetzalcoatl.Ancient History Encyclopedia. The Tlaxcalteca, along with other city-states across the Plain of Puebla, then supplied the auxiliary and logistical support for the conquests of Guatemala and West Mexico while Mixtec and Zapotec caciques (Colonial indigenous rulers) gained monopolies in the overland transport of Manila galleon trade through Mexico, and formed highly lucrative relationships with the Dominican order in the new Spanish imperial world economic system that explains so much of the enduring legacy of indigenous life-ways that characterize southern Mexico and explain the popularity of the Quetzalcoatl legends that continued through the colonial period to the present day. In addition to his guise as a plumed serpent, Quetzalcatl was often represented as a man with a beard, and, as Ehcatl, the wind god, he was shown with a mask with two protruding tubes (through which the wind blew) and a conical hat typical of the Huastec people of east-central Mexico. [citation needed], In the Codex Chimalpopoca, it is said Quetzalcoatl was coerced by Tezcatlipoca into becoming drunk on pulque, cavorting with his older sister, Quetzalpetlatl, a celibate priestess, and neglecting their religious duties. 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. As with many of his peers, Quetzalcoatls role has been revised throughout history and was altered to better suit the sensibilities of contemporary Spanish writers, who were trying to comprehend an entirely different way of thinking. Containing a round temple dedicated to the cult of Quetzalcoatl-Ehcatl, Cholula was considered a pilgrimage destination across Central Mexico. I havent made any formal offerings to any of these deities as of yet. Amongst the later Toltec and Aztec cultures, however, he had to up his game to the level of priest and creator god sounds like hard work!Lets have a look at how Quetzalcoatl was represented during the Toltec and Aztec periods Ce Acatl Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl, the PriestThe Toltecs lived in the City of Tula (near Mexico City) in the early Postclassic period (900-1200AD). Quetzalcoatl. The ancient Maya walked and even danced on stilts, The famous obsidian Aztec jar in the form of a spider monkey. Quetzalcoatl appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Thor: Love and Thunder. Quetzalcoatl was a large man. They maintained a major pilgrimage and commercial center at Cholula, Puebla which the Spaniards compared to both Rome and Mecca because the cult of the god united its constituents through a field of common social, political, and religious values without dominating them militarily. Images of serpents have been represented in Mesoamerican art since Olmec times, and we know that they are related to fertility and the earth. [20] Historian Enrique Florescano - also analyzing Teotihuacan iconography - argues that the Feathered Serpent was part of a triad of agricultural deities: The feathered serpent was furthermore connected to the planet Venus because of this planet's importance as a sign of the beginning of the rainy season. Used for divination, these documents were called Tonalamame (sing. First discovered in 1971,Quetzalcoatlusstood nearly 10 feet tall and had a wingspan of at least 36 feet. After creating fire, they molded a partial sun and gave life to the first man and woman.[4]. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. In the Codex's description of the first meeting between Moctezuma and Corts, the Aztec ruler is described as giving a prepared speech in classical oratorial Nahuatl, a speech which, as described in the codex written by the Franciscan Bernardino de Sahagn and his Tlatelolcan informants, 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. His older brothers wereXipe TotecandTezcatlipocawhile his younger brother wasHuitzilopochtli. The 1981 has a listed mintage of 30,500,000, and the 1982 with a mintage of 20,000,000. According to legend, the Aztec people initially only had access to roots and wild game. Handbook of Mesoamerican Mythology. This rivalry was a recurring theme in Aztec mythology, with the flying serpent (Quetzalcoatl) frequently pitted against the black jaguar (Tezcatlipoca). Accessed June 29, 2019.https://www.britannica.com/topic/Quetzalcoatl. In Mesoamerican history, many different ethnopolitical groups worshiped a feathered-serpent deity. Pratchett, Terry. The rationale for Aztec human sacrifice was, first and foremost, a matter of survival. Quetzalcatl wandered down to the coast of the divine water (the Atlantic Ocean) and then immolated himself on a pyre, emerging as the planet Venus. Moctezuma sent a gift of food and the ceremonial clothing of four gods (one set of which belonged to Quetzalcoatl) to the newcomers, presumably to ascertain their true intentions. John Taylor,An Examination Into and an Elucidation of the Great Principle of the Mediation and Atonement: Of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ(Salt Lake City: Deseret News Publishing Co, 1892), 201. The earliest depictions of the feathered serpent deity were fully zoomorphic, depicting the serpent as an actual snake, but already among the Classic Maya, images of the deity began acquiring human features, such as the beard (see the Borgia codex illustration above) that he was sometimes depicted with. Meehan, E. (2023, January 24). Quetzalcoatlus northropi and Quetzalcoatlus sp. They predated the Aztecs and perhaps even battled with them towards the end of Tulas cultural and economic dominance in Mesoamerica. It is also suggested that he was a son of Xochiquetzal and Mixcoatl. Copyright: imagesofanthropology.com(Click on image to enlarge), Pic 3: The legendary priest, Ce Acatl Topilltzin Quetzalcoatl in a blood-letting ceremony. Kathryn Math, Fang and Feather: The origin of avian-serpent imagery at Teotihuacan and symbolic interaction with jaguar iconography in Mesoamerica,Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research, 7 (2017), 20. Feathered Serpent.Wikipedia. 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 name of theKiche Maya deity Ququmatzmeant Quetzal Serpent while theYucatec Maya god Kukulkantranslated to the less specific Feathered Serpent.. While not usually feathered, classic Maya serpent iconography seems[original research?] No accounts written by the Aztecs agree with Corts and his men, and Professor Felipe Fernndez-Armesto tells us why (follow the link below), This article was uploaded to the Mexicolore website on Aug 31st 2013, (Written/compiled by Julia Flood/Mexicolore). The different roles of Quetzalcoatl are partly attributable to a series of . bank of america trustee fee schedule. [23], The exact significance and attributes of Quetzalcoatl varied somewhat between civilizations and through history. He appears seated in Omnipotence City of the gods, where all major deities are located, during an announcement from leader of the gods, Zeus. Quetzalcoatl managed to complete this challenge through clever trickery. He is the 9th of the 13 Lords of the Day and is often . His name became one of veneration. Some versions held that Quetzalcoatl cremated himself; others stated that he spent eight days in the underworld before reemerging as Venus or the morning star. Codex Borgia, fol.19(Click on image to enlarge), Pic 10: Aztec stone sculpture of Xolotl, National Anthropology Museum, Mexico City (Wikipedia)(Click on image to enlarge), Pic 11: Quetzalcoatl-Ehcatl (upper-right). In Aztec mythology, he was the brother of Tezcatlipoca, Huitzilopochtli and Xipe Totec. Chimalma later married Mixcoatl, but the two were unable to conceive. The priests practiced forms of self-mutilation, such as . what two major landmasses broke apart from pangaea. When the brothers separated the sky from the earth, they even turned into the trees that held the two apart, earnings the names of Quetzalhuxotl and Tezcacahuitl.Quetzalcoatls life-giving ability gave rise to many of the things around us. After praying at an altar to Quetzalcoatl and swallowing a precious stone (emerald or jade, depending on the version of the tale), Chimalma became pregnant with Topiltzin-Quetzalcoatl. Pour in chicken broth and bring to a boil. These carvings also included a conch shell, which was a symbol of the wind. Entwined in the annals of history, both god and historical figure became one. Aztec religion was syncretistic, absorbing elements from many other Mesoamerican cultures. On the right hand side is Quetzalcoatl-Ehcatl.Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli served as patron deity of astrological knowledge and was of profound importance in religious books in the Central Highlands and Oaxaca. Learn more about our mission. Quetzalcoatl Fact FileInterests: Saving the world (or making it), preserving life, cultivating knowledge and recognising beauty.Day Sign: WindTrecena (13 day week): 1 Jaguar. Well, legend has it that the cocoa tree was taken from a sacred mountain by the feathered-serpent deity Quetzalcoatl. Recipes and Ramblings From Life on the Farm . Wikipedia contributors. Quetzalcatl ruled over the days that bore the name ehcatl (wind) and over the 18th 13-day series of the ritual calendar. In an example from Yaxchilan, the Vision Serpent has the human face of the young maize-god, further suggesting a connection to fertility and vegetational renewal; the Maya Young Maize god was also connected to Venus. Guess how many feathers went into making this shield? And what I want to do is find things that would represent a unique contribution to the world - the contribution that only I, and my portfolio of talents, can make happen. [37] This speech, which has been widely referred to, has been a factor in the widespread belief that Moctezuma was addressing Corts as the returning god Quetzalcoatl. Cult worship may have involved the ingestion of hallucinogenic mushrooms (psilocybes), considered sacred. With this appendage he was able to sweep the roads clean before the arrival of the rain gods (pic 5). Quetzalcatls calendar name was Ce Acatl (One Reed). He wore a chain of sea-shells around his neck and . The business-strike 5 Pesos featuring the stone head of Quetzalcoatl was a mass-production issue that was produced from 1980 until 1985. The Feathered Snake symbol is a beautiful juxtaposition of the earthly serpent of immortality and the Heavenly bird of Spirit. In a version of the myth, Quetzalcoatl was born by a virgin named Chimalman, to whom the god Ometeotl appeared in a dream. This is because he dropped, but then saved, the bones of humankind as he tripped over a quail while escaping from the Mictlan (Graulich, 1996). He proceeded to turn himself into a black ant and followed the other ants over the mountains. You can see from the mural pictured here (pic 1) that he was represented in Cacaxtla (east of Mexico City) around 600 AD and Teotihuacan around 200 AD (pic 2). [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. He never offered human victims, only snakes, birds, and butterflies.