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Begrudging & Infightings: Aztec’s Theogony & Cosmogony

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Aztec is a name used to describe the Nahuatl-speaking people who thrived in central Mexico circa the 14th and 16th centuries as an empire and dominated large parts of Mesoamerica. Variously, the Aztecs had different names. They are known as Aztlan (which means ‘White Land’), the Tenochca (a name adopted from one of their ancestors called Tenoch), and the Mexica, which was a derivative from Metzliapan (which stands for ‘Moon Lake’).

Ancient Aztec religious beliefs and practices were tied to their understanding of the world; the people were deeply amazed by the thought of the unknown, the universe and the end of time. These thoughts arouse some curiosity and awareness to understand better their world and how it came about.

I used the term ‘theogony’ to describe the Aztecs’ generations of gods however, not in the context of Greek mythology where the ‘primordial deities’ were the first gods and goddesses created from the nothing of Chaos but from the context of cosmogonies, that is the gods and goddess creating the earth.

For the Aztecs, they believed that it took the gods five tryouts to create the world as if the gods were testing the suitability of a perfect world for humanity. No! That was not the case. There were a series of god rivalries going on among the gods. In other words, there were begrudging and seemingly infightings among the gods as they gathered to either elect a sun god as well as create the earth for humanity. I will proceed to write about the distinctive Aztec gods with open interpretations.

Tezcatlipoca

The first creator was known as Tezcatlipoca, also a ‘Sun god’. The name Tezcatlipoca means ‘Smoking Mirror’. He was also known as the god of night and sorcery. He was a god that lived above and a creator god indeed.

Tezcatlipoca was toppled by another god known as Quetzalcoatl. As a result, Tezcatlipoca turned into a jaguar and destroyed the world. 

A coup d’état by the gods? We all know that a coup d’état is the removal of an existing government from power. Did the gods remove the first creator, Tezcatlipoca from being only a creator or did they take away his power as a god? We do not know but what we do know is that Tezcatlipoca turned into a jaguar and destroyed the world. What a shameful thing for a god to do?  

To be a god-creator, the god must participate in the rounds of becoming the sun. The gods gathered and decided that one of the gods would offer themselves to become a new sun for all.

Quetzalcoatl

Quetzalcoatl became the next god. The name Quetzalcoatl means ‘feathered serpent’. He was also known as the god of the “once and future king” figure, a god that lived above and a creator god too. He was the second sun god in the second Aztec mythology.

His light did not shine for too long because as traditional tales had it, the paw of the jaguar was the weapon that brought him down.

Even though Tezcatlipoca was toppled by Quetzalcoatl, and yet he was so powerful as a jaguar that he used his paw, as a weapon, to bring a reigning god down.

Tlaloc

The third sun god was Tlaloc. He was the rain god. It appears as if the first sun god, Tezcatlipoca had not finished with the gods. He was very envious and mischievous.

Tezcatlipoca stole Tlaloc’s wife. This left Tlaloc grief-stricken as a sun god that when the people prayed for rain, in his fury, he sent them fire which burnt the entire world.

What a misdirection of anger! How could the gods punish humans for their inadequacies? Was Tlaloc not strong enough to exert revenge on Tezcatlipoca instead of humans? Should humans blame the gods for the mishaps and catastrophes happening in their world today?

Chalchiuhtlicue

Eventually, the gods decided and chose a goddess as a sun goddess. The name Chalchiuhtlicue means ‘Lady of the Jade Skirts’ and is a goddess for childbirth. Chalchiuhtlicue was the only goddess among the Aztec sun gods. It happened that Chalchiuhtlicue was married to Tlaloc. Chalchiuhtlicue was a remarkably kind and good-natured goddess. Tezcatlipoca was not yet satisfied with his attack on Tlaloc.

Tezcatlipoca repeatedly attacked the goddess for her kindness and magnanimity, and she was bitterly wounded. She wept to the extent that her tears turned into a deluge that swept the earth.

Even the good-natured goddess could not escape the vengeful vendetta against humans. When a god does something bad, humans pay the price. The first creator, the sun god was at war with all the gods and each wounded god visited its venom on earth.

Nanauatzin

At the end of the Chalchiuhtlicue age, the gods once again gathered to choose another sun god. This time, the god would offer himself in a balefire.

They chose Nanauatzin, an old and sick god. Fair enough, he was old and sick, perhaps good for nothing. The gods had no more use for him. He leapt into the fire.

The fifth sun god was consumed in a bonfire. Metaphorically, it may mean that Nanauatzin, being a sun god is shining upon humans for eternity.

From the above chronicle of the sun gods, it seemed that it was only Nanauatzin who did not destroy the earth or world but itself. It was self-immolation.

Cosmic Order – The Balance

Nanauatzin was a permanent sun god because he killed himself and was the last sun god; meaning there was no other god/goddess after him. The ancient Aztecs had a conception of their calendar and the sun interweaving. They strove to see balance in nature. They believed any unguided steps could bring catastrophes like the moon's inertia. The possibility that the moon could stop moving. For them, there was a constant battle going on between light and darkness in the sky. As such, the warrior sun also known as Huitzilopochtli (the war god) required a blood sacrifice to defeat the darkness. The blood of the sacrificed would form invisible battalions fighting with the warrior sun or the one who fights with the sun god. Hence, the gods and humans (that is, human blood) meet to conquer darkness.

It is pertinent to note that the ancient Aztec world was divided into four equal parts and the centre was called Tenochtitlan (or their city). The heavens were divided into 13 ascending wheels within wheels and the netherworld into nine descending wheels within wheels.

The heavens were not so much removed from the earth because the heavens and earth crisscrossed at the temple at the centre of the city.  

The ancient Aztec religion was a cult of gods/goddesses commingling with the affairs of humans, though the gods came up on top. At the same time, the gods might be construed as begrudging one another and there were continual infightings among them. Notwithstanding the weaknesses or shortcomings of the gods/goddesses, they managed to create the ancient Aztec world and held it in balance.

Sources

“Aztec Sun Gods List” in Aztecs & Tenochtitlan - https://aztecsandtenochtitlan.com/aztec-gods/aztec-sun-god/ (accessed December 22, 2020).

The Editors of the Encyclopaedia Britannica – “Aztec People” in Britannica

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Aztec (accessed December 20, 2020).

‘Ancient Aztec Religion’ in Aztc-History.com - https://www.aztec-history.com/ancient-aztec-religion.html (accessed December 10, 2020).

Maestri, Nicoletta. "The Aztec Religion and Gods of the Ancient Mexica." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/aztec-religion-main-aspects-169343 (accessed December 27, 2020). 

 

 

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Comments

The doubting writer said…
I am still surprised by the fact that a society like the Aztecs, who had advanced medicine, education and scientific knowledge, could worship the gods and offer them human sacrifices. It seemed to me that the more highly developed a person is, the more generous and kind he is. And among the Aztecs, cruelty was elevated to the rank of divine. It's amazing and disgusting at the same time. Sometimes I think that's why they disappeared.
December 29, 2020 at 5:19 AM
iPostthisweek said…
Thank you Elena for your comments. One thing you have to know about most, if not all ancient religions was the barbaric nature of their conducts of human/divine affairs. So, the Aztec's was not peculiar.
December 29, 2020 at 10:27 AM
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